Beyond the Box Score: How Coaches Evaluate the Effectiveness of Guards With Hudl Assist

Within 24 hours of a game’s conclusion, Hudl Assist delivers basketball coaches over 35 different data points recapping the game. 

It covers the full spectrum of team and individual performance metrics—ranging from lineup efficiency to effective field goal percentage. Combined with game film, it gives coaches a crystal-clear picture of what happened on the court, and where players and teams need to improve. 

Many coaches have go-to stats that tell the story of team performance. But which are the most illuminating for player performance? Better yet, which position-specific stats should coaches focus on for development? 

We asked several coaches how Hudl Assist helps them measure the effectiveness of their guards. Here are some of the main metrics they focus on.

• Plus-minus
• Turnovers
• Shot Charts
• Assist-to-Turnover Ratio

Plus-Minus

Who’s winning on the floor?

Plus-minus tracks point differential during a player’s time on the court, providing a clear picture of their impact on the game. When evaluating guards, who play a significant role in setting the pace and flow of a game, plus-minus is particularly enlightening for some coaches.

“When you look at plus-minus, [you see] who’s winning when they’re on the floor, and why they’re winning when they’re on the floor,” said David Armstrong, head coach at Baker High School. “Assist has made it easier to see who’s helping us.” 

In today's era of basketball, it’s easy for players to gauge their success by points scored and social media highlights. Plus-minus helps coaches show players what they do outside the traditional box score matters. “We don't need to think about the shots we missed, we need to think about what we're doing to help the team win,” said Armstrong. 

Plus-minus can also indicate how well a player meshes with teammates; which is important for all players, especially for point guards. Coach Kevin Furtado of Commerce High School uses VPS and plus-minus together to measure the effectiveness of his backcourt. 

“We had a girl with a 0.77 VPS, which isn’t great, but she’s got a plus 11. So what that says is she may not be scoring, but the other girls are working well with her,” he said. “Some players, their main role is to play well with others.”

Turnovers

Who’s taking care of the basketball?

Your guards are likely your primary ball-handlers. So, it’s no surprise that coaches want backcourt players who take care of the ball. Brady Vossler, assistant coach at Lincoln Southeast High School, uses turnovers to determine playing time for his guards. “It’s the easiest stat to look at it like, ok, should you be on the court or not?” he said. 

Furtado agrees. “A turnover is a lost possession,” he added. “If you’re a guard that’s averaging five-plus turnovers, your playing time is probably going to be limited.” 

Assist measures a handful of statistics around turnovers, including turnover percentage, a more nuanced look at the stat that factors in areas like time on the court and total possessions. 

Here’s an example. Let’s say your starting point guard turned the ball over six times. That number probably jumps out to you on the box score, right? 

Turnover percentage in Assist offers added context, helping coaches dive deeper. Maybe it was a fast-paced, high-possession game that went into overtime, and their turnover percentage was only 14%. Probably not a cause for alarm. 

Shot Charts

Who’s taking—and making—good shots?

Guards typically shoot from more areas of the floor than other positions. The shot chart report in Hudl Assist is a perfect tool to illustrate where the good ones are coming from. 

What determines a good shot is often coach-specific, dictated by philosophies and personnel. Armstrong is a self-described “analytics guy,” who prefers passing up the long two for three-pointers. But not all threes are created equal. 

“With guards, I like to go and try to find their three-point shot, especially the guys that are shooters and I look at the shots that they have taken,” he said. “Then I'll go through and say, ok, was it off the bounce or was it off a catch? Most of the time a guy that makes a lot of shots is getting a lot of shots he's making off the catch and he's not putting the ball on the ground.” 

Coach Antoine Stroud of Archer High School values aggressiveness from his guards and uses the shot chart to measure their willingness to get into the paint. Several key questions jump out to him. “Where are our shots coming from? Are we getting inside the gaps? Are we shooting jump shots or are we attacking the rim?”

The shot chart report gives coaches a visual of the shooting percentage for each player by area of the court. It’s also directly linked to Hudl video to provide even more context. 

Let’s say Armstrong has a player struggling from the top of the key. He can click on that zone in the shot chart and show the player clips of their attempts from there, pointing out the themes behind the misses. Maybe they’re taking too many contested shots. Or they’re putting the ball on the ground too often.

Having the data and video readily available helps strengthen Armstrong’s coaching points. 

“As time goes on [players] start to learn based off the numbers that, ok, he's right,” he said. “That's the right shot. That's the shot we need to take.”

Assist-to-Turnover Ratio

Who’s maximizing possessions?

“[Assist-to-turnover ratio] is the number one stat with my guards,” said Furtado. 

It’s something he keeps a close eye on as the postseason approaches. “Late in the season, you’re playing against better teams,” he said. “Taking care of the ball is huge. So you can’t have guards throwing the ball away.”

If turnovers are a wasted possession, assists indicate a successful one. Combining the two stats helps coaches understand which players are their most efficient passers, providing a tangible measure of who’s creating scoring opportunities for teammates and maximizing possessions. In other words, key characteristics of good guards. 

Like the other stats on this list, Hudl Assist gives coaches an edge by providing a direct link to the video from the data. Coaches who want to understand why a player has a poor assist-to-turnover ratio can immediately see clips of every assist and turnover by that player over a single game, the last five, or even the entire season. 

It’s an invaluable tool for 1:1 development sessions with players to highlight good passes, and to pinpoint passes they should have made—or shouldn’t have.

Hudl Assist equips coaches with the data to measure success at a positional level. It also saves them valuable time, removing tedious work from their plate. 

Both areas are equally important to a staff. But one thing is for certain. Having the data and corresponding clips delivered to them within 24 hours lets coaches do what they do best—analyze the data, apply it to the practice floor and help their players grow. 

Want to accelerate the development of your guards? Add Hudl Assist to your program.

Already have Assist and want to get more out of it? Check out this video.