Alright, let’s talk about how I went about scouting Brandin Podziemski. It wasn’t some big assignment, more like something I got curious about after seeing his name pop up a few times. You hear chatter, see a flashy play here and there online, and eventually, you think, “Okay, I gotta sit down and actually watch this kid.”
Getting Started: Finding the Tape
First thing I did was try to find some full game footage. Highlights are nice, they get you hyped, but they don’t tell the whole story, you know? You miss the mistakes, the flow of the game, how a guy acts when things aren’t going his way. It took a bit of digging, honestly. Not like scouting a top-3 pick where every game is on major networks. I had to find some Santa Clara games, some older stuff from his Illinois days too, just to get a baseline.
- Checked some college basketball archives.
- Looked for full game uploads, not just clip reels.
- Tried to get a mix of games – some where he played well, some where maybe he struggled.
The Watching Process: What I Looked For
So, I finally got a few games queued up. I usually start broad. Just watch the game, get a feel for his energy, his body language. Where does he position himself? Is he engaged even when the ball isn’t near him?
Then I started focusing more specifically. Offense first. How does he score? Is it mostly shooting? Driving? Does he create his own shot or rely on others? I watched his shooting form – release point, footwork. Seemed pretty smooth, repeatable. He wasn’t shy about letting it fly.
Then, the other stuff. Passing was something that caught my eye. He seemed to see the floor pretty well, made some nice reads. Not just basic passes, but setting guys up. Rebounding too – for a guard, he really got in there and mixed it up on the boards. That stood out.
Defense is always tougher to judge from broadcasts. You don’t always see the whole picture. But I tried to watch his positioning, his effort, how he moved his feet. Did he stay in front of his man? Did he communicate? It wasn’t lockdown defender stuff from what I saw initially, but he seemed active, had a nose for the ball sometimes.
Putting it Together: Forming an Opinion
After watching maybe three or four full games, plus skimming through some others, I started forming a picture. He’s got that shooter’s confidence, definitely. But the rebounding and the passing added layers I wasn’t necessarily expecting just from the buzz I’d heard.
I didn’t just rely on the tape, though. I poked around a bit, looked at his basic stats from college. Numbers aren’t everything, but they can confirm or question what you see. His rebounding numbers backed up what I saw on film. His assist numbers were solid too.
My overall feeling? He struck me as a guy with a really good feel for the game. Not the most explosive athlete you’ll ever see, maybe not gonna be an All-Defense guy right away. But smart, skilled, and seemed like he knew how to play basketball, how to contribute in different ways. He had that knack for being in the right place, grabbing a key rebound, making the right pass. It wasn’t just about scoring.
So yeah, that was my process. Just sitting down, watching the games, focusing on different aspects, and trying to build a complete picture based on what I saw with my own eyes. No fancy software, just observation and thinking about what makes a player effective. He seemed like a solid ballplayer, the kind of guy who finds ways to help a team.
