What's with all the suits.

[Pappy]

I've been watching college basketball, yesterday and today, and counting as many 6-7 suits sitting with team. Why so many? You have the coach, assistant coach and team doctor. Seems like overkill to me as the rest don't do much but sit on their behinds. What am I missing?

 

[jujube]

Probably the defense attorneys. Maybe the probation officers.

 

[FazeFour]

Probably the defense attorneys. Maybe the probation officers.

Funny because it's probably true.

 

[Pappy]

Yep, I got that. Would a students tuition go down if a few of these do nothing's were to leave? I imagine they draw a good paycheck.

 

[Pappy]

I just found the answer to my own question.

Who is sitting front row? Who is sitting second row?

No, this isn't an old Abbott and Costello routine. This week's bit of NBA terminology refers to the seating arrangements and game duties of the non-players sitting on an NBA bench. Other than the players, there are a whole bunch of folks, many in their finest Men's Wearhouse suits, sitting on or behind the team bench.

To start the New Year, let's meet the "front and second row."

The "front row" refers to the actual court side bench, which really isn't a bench anymore. (I'm shocked the NBA's marketing department hasn't gone the EPL route with the league-wide sponsorship and custom Recaro car seats for the team benches). The NBA rules stipulate that athletic trainer, head coach and no more than three assistant coaches can sit on the court-side bench.

[h=4]

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The "second row" is set up directly behind the bench. It is normally occupied by a fourth assistant or player development assistant(s), a video coordinator, sometimes an advance scout, members of the athletic performance staff, an assistant trainer and the team's security person. Plus, if you have a big superstar, he probably has his own individual security sitting second row, as well.

That's a lot of people. What do they all do during the game? Their responsibilities vary depending on the franchise, but this has been my experience working for the teams I have.

The lead assistant coach or associate head coach normally sits between the athletic trainer and the head coach. He is the head coach's consigliere, Tom Hagen to Don Corleone. He may be a former head coach or a longtime assistant. He is usually given a great deal of latitude in terms of advice, suggestions and strategy. (Unless, it's how to deal with Sollozzo. Coach Sonny just wouldn't take any advice).

One of the first-row coaches would definitely have been responsible for the advance scouting report on that night's opponent. He would offer advice and suggestions based on that advance work. In some cases, he would make defensive calls if he knew the opponent's play-calling signals.

In every case, the assistant coaches are tracking data. Some teams leave this to their second-row assistants, but the majority of teams follow these general game charting responsibilities for assistants and other staff.

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[h=4]First row:[/h]

• Offensive sets/actions (play calls, results, points per possession, etc.).
• Defensive efficiency (the five W's: who, what, when, where and why... also how).
• Defensive contests/non-contests and missed coverages.

The athletic trainer is responsible for tracking fouls and timeouts. This is the same pretty much throughout the association. More importantly, the trainer is also responsible for the coach's whiteboard. And non-marking pens. And eraser. And gum and other treats such as soda to accidentally "spill" at the opportune moment. Very important.
[h=4]Second row:[/h]

• Opposition offensive calls and times (for the next time the two teams play).
• Play-by-play times for the video staff to cut up clips for both halftime and in-game instruction. The coaches usually want a couple of significant offensive and defensive possessions to use at the half, if necessary.
• Defensive deflections.
• Individual player notes and anecdotal observations.

All this tracking goes back to the 1970s. As teams added coaching staff, they were able to get more complex in their tracking of what was going on during the 48 minutes. Current broadcasting legend Hubie Brown was one of the first pro coaches to have his assistants chart extensively. Brown's Kentucky Colonels of the ABA tracked everything: play calls, out-of-bounds plays, fast-break and secondary shots, turnovers, deflections, etc. They also tracked the success of their many press defensive scheme. That's a little different than today's NBA.
Many of you may wonder why there's any need to chart anything on the bench, given the rise of advanced statistics and metrics. The reason? It gives the coaching staff some immediate feedback and also keeps staff focused on the small details. That, in turn, allows the head coach to look at the big picture with enough information without being overwhelmed with data.
So, that's the goal someday. Second row. Tracking deflections. And a shot at moving up the coaching food chain.