College coaches look for specific play types to evaluate a prospective recruit's playing ability across a handful of skills. You’re likely to have more clips highlighting certain skills that are most relevant for your position or play style, and these specific skills will be a core focus of a college coach’s evaluation process. Below, we outline the different positions in basketball, and the skills college coaches will be looking for.

Basketball Skills in Pinned Playlist

Below are the different skills to choose from when building your pinned playlist. 

• Shooting
• Driving
• Ball Handling
• Passing
• Defense
• Transition Offense
• Rebounding
• Post Moves
• Screens
• Other

** If you think something is missing or need assistance, submit a form to request a new skill tag. 🔗 Form Link → **

Reminder: If a clip contains multiple skills or is an extended play, use multiple tags so college coaches can evaluate it accurately.

Basketball Position Guide

Below, we break down the different positions in basketball: point guard, shooting guard, small forward, power forward, and center and exactly the type of skills coaches are looking to evaluate. 

Guards

Point Guards and Shooting Guards are usually grouped together, and players often play both positions at different points in a game. However, college coaches typically evaluate the skills of a PG and SG slightly differently.

Point Guard

When college coaches evaluate skills for a prospective PG, they pay close attention to ball control, decision-making, and ability to create offense by directly scoring or passing.

Shooting Guard

When college coaches evaluate skills for a prospective SG or a combo guard, they look for scoring ability and defensive play. Shooting guards are expected to showcase shooting ability (obviously), but some SGs also show effective scoring by cutting to the basket or driving.

Guard Skills Guide 

• Driving: Show college coaches your ability to create offense opportunities through driving and decision-making.

  • Examples:

    • Driving and finishing at the basket

    • Driving and dishing to an open teammate

    • Attacking the basket coming off of a screen

• Shooting: Coaches do NOT want to see you shooting free throws, and it’s not an effective way to impress college coaches. Instead, focus on your shooting ability within game action.

  • Examples:

    • Catch and shoot

    • Shooting off of the dribble

• Handling: Ball control is a critical piece of the evaluation process for all guards, but it is essential for PGs since they are the primary ball handlers on the court. 

  • Examples:

    • Taking the ball up the court against pressure

    • Ball control against tight defense

• Passing: Passing is an important skill at the next level. Use your passing clips to highlight your decision-making and ability to create scoring opportunities for your teammates.

  • Examples:

    • Passing off of ball screens

    • Passes into the post

• Defense: Defensive highlights are great opportunities to showcase several abilities: athleticism, basketball IQ, and effort.

  • Examples:

    • Steals

    • Full-court pressure

    • Forced bad passes

    • Defending against a ball screen — going under or fighting over

• Transition Offense: Including transition plays in your playlist is a great way to show multiple elements of your game. Effective transition play requires athleticism, good decision-making, and the ability to create offense for yourself and your teammates.

  • Examples:

    • Fast break buckets

    • Running the floor to score

    • Passes that lead to scores

Forwards

There are several types of forwards with varying skill sets. Bigger forwards may play in the paint more often and can be evaluated based on their abilities to contribute as a post player. Some forwards are effective by using their athleticism as a slashing scorer on the offensive end or their ability to defend against a range of positions.

Ultimately, choose the clips that offer a mix of plays and highlight your best attributes.

Small Forward

College coaches evaluate many of the same skills as they do for guards — scoring ability, passing, and defense. However, college coaches aren’t expecting the same level of ball handling from a forward as is expected from a guard.

Power Forward

Traditional PFs are often evaluated on their ability to play in the post. Some distinct aspects coaches will look for are setting screens, post moves, and rebounding. See the section below for a further description of post-skills

Post Players

Post players include the traditional positions of Power Forward and Center. Depending on the personnel or offensive style of the team, these positions may be considered interchangeable or have distinct responsibilities.

College coaches want to see a post player’s ability to contribute to both ends of the floor. On offense, coaches will evaluate an athlete’s ability to score in the post and create opportunities by setting screens. On defense, coaches evaluate a player’s athleticism and ability to disrupt the other team.

Post Skills

• Shooting: Demonstrating an ability to shoot from mid-range or the perimeter is a great way to capture a college coach’s attention as a post player. Highlight your ability to score from outside the low-post:

  • Examples:

    • Mid-range jump shots

    • Perimeter shooting

    • Baseline jumpers

• Screens: Screens are a crucial part of the game in college. College coaches want to see your ability to set clean screens and create offense.

  • Examples:

    • Screen and cut to the basket

    • Screen and pop for a jump shot

    • Screen opening a scoring lane for the ball handler

• Post Moves: Highlight your ability to score in the post. These clips will help show your footwork and ability to finish at the rim.

• Defense: As a post player, include defensive clips that show your dominance in the lane and highlight your ability to move athletically.

  • Examples:

    • Blocking or disrupting shot attempts in the post

    • Ability to guard multiple positions

    • Closing out on the perimeter

    • Sliding across for help defense

• Rebounding: Include a few clips that highlight your rebounding radius and ability to secure the ball off the glass. For defensive rebounds, show how you’re helping start the transition to the other side of the floor by making an outlet pass or having good court awareness.

After learning what coaches are looking for with your specific position, it’s time to start creating your pinned playlist. Check out our article, “Building and Publishing Pinned Playlists,” to get started!