Home »
Misc »
How to make a highlight video for basketball
How to make a highlight video for basketball
How to Make a Basketball Highlight Video for Men’s Basketball
In a perfect world, basketball coaches would be able to evaluate all their top recruits in person. But unfortunately, they just don’t have the time or budget to see every prospect this way. Cue: basketball highlight videos. A well-crafted highlight video can put a recruit on a coach’s radar and secure them a second in-person evaluation. Follow these guidelines to create a video that stands out.
Quick Links
The importance of video in college basketball recruiting
How to make a basketball skills video
College basketball recruiting video tips
What do coaches look for in a basketball highlight video?
What are some good basketball highlight video songs?
How long should a basketball highlight video be?
Center highlight video
Point guard highlight video
Power forward highlight video
Shooting guard highlight video
Small forward highlight video
How to make a basketball highlight video on hudl
Basketball recruiting video services
The importance of a college basketball recruiting video
Here’s the hard hitting truth—most coaches don’t simply “discover” recruits.![]()
They don’t have the budget or time to see every prospect play in-person. And with high school and college basketball games being more staggered throughout the week compared to other sports, traveling is nearly impossible when coaches are in season. That’s why highlight videos have become essential in the basketball recruiting process. In a matter of minutes, they can garner coach interest and help student-athletes get an in-depth, second evaluation. Think of it as the first step toward getting on a coach’s radar and securing an opportunity to be evaluated in person later.
Related Articles
- How does Illinois basketball recruiting work?
- Basketball College: Offering Scholarships and On-Court Glory
- How are NCAA basketball teams organized?
How to make a basketball skills video
One of the best parts of shooting a men’s basketball skills video is that you don’t need all the bells and whistles of a traditional highlight video.
Whether you miss a shot or don’t have the best angle, your basketball skills video doesn’t have to be perfect—it’s more important to go game speed at all times and showcase your athleticism and technical abilities.
In the video below, former D1 and pro basketball player Eric Vierneisel explains that coaches want to see multiple reps of drills that showcase your skills, including:
- Ball handling and shooting drills
- Change of speed and direction
- Jumping and leaping
- Strength training and conditioning workouts, like box jumps and speed ladder work
- Shooting range and consistency
College basketball recruiting video tips
For some student-athletes, a basketball highlight video might be the reason they secure an in-person evaluation. Creating a highlight film is not as complicated as it sounds. Follow these straight-forward tips to create a video that truly stands out:
- Before you set out to film, ask your high school coach if they have footage already available.
Online video services for high school coaches, like Hudl, are popular resources. - Choose games against your best competition, such as varsity level, high-level AAU games or any nationwide tournaments. College coaches want to see how you stack up against top talent. Typically clips from two or three games is enough, but you can use more if needed.
- Focus the camera from mid-court while making sure the student-athlete is easily recognizable. The camera view shouldn’t be obstructed by the crowd, other players on the court or people walking by.
- Use a tripod to avoid a shaky camera.
- Don’t zoom in and out.
- Make sure the person filming the match isn’t cheering. If there is excessive and distracting background noise, mute the video completely. Don’t add music to the video either.
- Put a title card at the front of your basketball highlight video that includes your name and graduation year, such as “John Doe Basketball Recruiting Video Class of 2021.
” - Stack your best clips first. Typically, you’ll start your video by highlighting your shooting ability.
- Focus on your three or four strongest strengths and organize your clips to highlight them. For example, if you’re an excellent three-point shooter, showcasing six straight threes is much more effective than one three-pointer, a pass, then a free throw, and then maybe another three, etc.
- Cap your video at 20 to 30 clips and keep it under four minutes.
- Send college coaches your highlight video, as well as one unedited full game video. If they’re interested in a recruit after watching their highlight film, they will want to evaluate the full game next.
What do college coaches look for in a basketball highlight video?
A well-edited highlight video gives student-athletes a chance to show college coaches their strongest skills, athleticism, versatility and basketball IQ—all in just a few minutes. Coaches look for recruits who have the right technique and can execute on the fundamentals.
They want to see footage against high-level competition where the recruit was truly tested—think varsity high school games, national tournaments, showcases and elite camps. If the highlight video does its job and captures the coach’s attention, then the coach will also want to evaluate performance from an unedited full game, which provides further insight into the recruit’s basketball IQ and game awareness. That’s why we always recommend sending a brief and impactful highlight film, as well as one full game.
What are some good basketball highlight video songs?
Music can set an energetic tone, but it shouldn’t take away from an athlete’s performance. For that reason, we typically don’t recommend including music in a basketball highlight video. And to be honest, coaches don’t care too much about the frills; they just want to evaluate the recruit. In fact, if there’s excessive background noise, like yelling, it’s best to mute the sound completely.
How long should a basketball highlight video be?
Student-athletes need to quickly capture a coach’s attention—with an emphasis on quickly.
Basketball highlight videos should be under four minutes with 20-30 great plays that demonstrate the athlete’s strongest skills. In addition to a brief highlight film, student-athletes should separately provide full game film. If the coach is interested after watching the highlight reel, they’ll want to evaluate the recruit in one unedited game.
Center highlight video
College coaches want to evaluate the strongest parts of a center’s game. They look for technique and the ability to overpower players. Height and wingspan are key physical tools that will stand out, as well.
- Shooting ability (range) and ability to finish around the rim
- Ability to score against traditional post defense
- Rebounding
- Shot blocking and defensive ability to disrupt flow and passes (even when not blocking shots)
- Successfully guard multiple positions
- Quickness and footwork
- Properly executed pick and roll plays and defensive stops
- Game awareness—ability to process in game time and make the right decisions
In the video below, Team Edition Coordinator John Pugliese—a former NCAA Division 1, 2 and 3 college coach who’s watched hundreds of highlight/skills videos—breaks down what college coaches want to see from potential men’s basketball recruits competing for a center roster spot.
Point guard highlight video
Scoring and shooting ability is the most important aspect for perimeter players. Point guards who can take control, possess leadership skills and have a take-charge attitude will stand out.
- Shooting ability (range) and scoring
- Ability to penetrate and finish at the rim
- Ball handling and passing (making the right pass, knowing when to pass—and when not to)
- Court vision and controlling pace of the game
- Good decisions in transition
- Quickness
- Defense rotations and ability to guard bigger players and multiple positions
- Game awareness—ability to process in game time and make the right decisions
There are a few key skills student-athletes should include in their point guard highlight videos. In the video below, former NCAA D1, D2 and D3 college coach John Pugliese says potential recruits should make sure their video shows that they’re a great leader, highlights how they respond to and perform under pressure and showcases their ability to process and make decisions during games.
Power forward highlight video
Power forwards need to have a dynamic skill set and be able to demonstrate their ability to shoot, especially at mid-range.
- Shooting ability (range) and ability to finish around the rim
- Rebounding
- Shot blocking and defensive ability to disrupt flow of the game (even when not blocking shots)
- Successfully guard multiple positions
- Quickness and footwork
- Game awareness—ability to process in game time and make the right decisions
College coaches expect a lot from power forwards, and potential recruits interested in landing a men’s basketball roster spot should be prepared to showcase that they’re a jack-of-all-trades. Coaches want student-athletes to display their strength on the court, from rebounding, running, and transitioning the ball to their ability to guard, block jump shots and adapt to the opposing team.
Shooting guard highlight video
Coaches obviously want to evaluate a shooting guard’s ability to score, and they’re also looking at their technique and whether they can execute the fundamentals.
- Shooting ability and range
- Ability to make shots when moving off the dribble (catch and shoot movement)
- Defensive ability to stop penetration
- Active hands and touches on the ball
- Ball handling—this is a must for shooting guards
- Court vision
- Quickness
- Defense rotations and ability to guard bigger players and multiple positions, as well as help defense when opponent is driving by
- Game awareness—ability to process in game time and make the right decisions
In the video below, former men’s basketball coach John Pugliese breaks down what shooting guards should include in their highlight videos. Recruits interested in competing at the next level need to display more than their shooting and scoring abilities to land a roster spot—they also need to show college coaches what separates them from their competition.
Small forward highlight video
Versatility is important among small forwards. Similar to shooting guards, small forwards need to be exceptional shooters, especially at the short-to mid-range scoring area.
- Shooting ability and range
- Ability to make shots when moving off the dribble (catch and shoot movement)
- Defensive ability to stop penetration
- Active hands and touches on the ball
- Ball handling
- Court vision
- Quickness
- Defense rotations and ability to guard bigger players and multiple positions, as well as help defense when opponent is driving by
- Game awareness—ability to process in game time and make the right decisions
Student-athletes interested in landing a small forward roster spot should highlight that they have a variety of skills on the basketball court. College coaches look for recruits who can use their size and strength to guard and defend multiple positions, are multi-level scorers and can play defense, finish and transition.
How to make a basketball highlight video on hudl
Online video services for high school coaches, like Hudl, are becoming more popular in basketball. Student-athletes should follow the standard guidelines when creating a highlight video using Hudl:
- Choose games against your best competition, such as varsity level, high-level AAU games or any nationwide tournaments.
College coaches want to see how you stack up against top talent. Typically clips from two or three games is enough, but you can use more if needed. - Make sure the student-athlete is easily recognizable and the camera view isn’t obstructed by the crowd, other players on the court or people walking by.
- Don’t zoom in and out.
- Make sure the person filming the match isn’t cheering. If there is excessive and distracting background noise, mute the video completely. Don’t add music to the video either.
- Put a title card at the front of your basketball highlight video that includes your name and graduation year, such as “John Doe Basketball Recruiting Video Class of 2021.”
- Stack your best clips first. Typically you’ll start your video by highlighting your shooting ability. Post players should include: shooting ability, ability to finish around the rim, rebounding, shot blocking, footwork, and defensive abilities (guarding multiple positions). Perimeter players should include: scoring ability, ability to penetrate and finish at the rim, ball handling, court vision, and defensive abilities (guard bigger players and multiple positions).
- Focus on your three or four strongest strengths and organize your clips to highlight them. For example, if you’re an excellent three-point shooter, showcasing six straight threes is much more effective than one three-pointer, a pass, then a free throw, and then maybe another three, etc.
- Cap your video at 20 to 30 clips and keep it under four minutes.
- Send college coaches your highlight video, as well as one unedited full game video. If they’re interested in a recruit after watching their highlight film, they will want to evaluate the full game next.
Basketball recruiting video services
While coaches generally prefer simple, no-frills editing, a professional videographer can quickly turn disorganized raw footage into a cohesive sequence of highlights. Plus, they know exactly which plays to showcase first. That’s why many families choose to call in help when creating their highlight video.
As part of NCSA’s recruiting service for student-athletes, our full-service video editing team offers professionally edited video.
In fact, they edit more than 40,000 highlight videos each year. And, depending on the membership level, they’ll produce multiple highlight videos for the athlete and help them identify the best schools to send it to. If you’re interested in learning more about NCSA’s video offerings, call our Video Team at 866-495-5172.
Get Started for Free!
A profile only takes 60 seconds
Athlete Information
First Name *
Last Name *
Email *
Check if you reside outside of the United States
Sport *
Select SportBaseballCheerleadingEsportsField HockeyFootballMen's BasketballMen's DivingMen's GolfMen's Ice HockeyMen's LacrosseMen's RowingMen's SoccerMen's SwimmingMen's TennisMen's TrackMen's VolleyballMen's Water PoloMen's WrestlingSoftballWomen's BasketballWomen's Beach VolleyballWomen's DivingWomen's Flag FootballWomen's GolfWomen's GymnasticsWomen's Ice HockeyWomen's LacrosseWomen's RowingWomen's SoccerWomen's SwimmingWomen's TennisWomen's TrackWomen's VolleyballWomen's Water PoloWomen's Wrestling
H.
S. Grad Year *
Select Year 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025 2026 2027 2028 2029 2030
Phone *
Zip Code *
Parent Information
Parent's First Name *
Parent's Last Name *
Parent's Email *
Check if you reside outside of the United States
Phone *
By submitting, you agree to receive personalized follow-up and marketing messages from NCSA by email, phone and automated text. Consent is not a condition of purchase. Standard rates apply.
Get Started for Free!
A profile only takes 60 seconds
Athlete Information
Athlete's First Name *
Athlete's Last Name *
Check if you reside outside of the United States
Sport *
Select SportBaseballCheerleadingEsportsField HockeyFootballMen's BasketballMen's DivingMen's GolfMen's Ice HockeyMen's LacrosseMen's RowingMen's SoccerMen's SwimmingMen's TennisMen's TrackMen's VolleyballMen's Water PoloMen's WrestlingSoftballWomen's BasketballWomen's Beach VolleyballWomen's DivingWomen's Flag FootballWomen's GolfWomen's GymnasticsWomen's Ice HockeyWomen's LacrosseWomen's RowingWomen's SoccerWomen's SwimmingWomen's TennisWomen's TrackWomen's VolleyballWomen's Water PoloWomen's Wrestling
H.
S. Grad Year *
Select Year 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025 2026 2027 2028 2029 2030
Phone *
Parent Information
First Name *
Last Name *
Email *
Check if you reside outside of the United States
Phone *
Zip Code *
By submitting, you agree to receive personalized follow-up and marketing messages from NCSA by email, phone and automated text. Consent is not a condition of purchase. Standard rates apply.
Page not found - NCSA Sports
Page not found - NCSA Sports
The page you are looking for cannot be found.
Go to home page
Get Started for Free!
A profile only takes 60 seconds
Athlete Information
First Name *
Last Name *
Email *
Check if you reside outside of the United States
Sport *
Select SportBaseballCheerleadingEsportsField HockeyFootballMen's BasketballMen's DivingMen's GolfMen's Ice HockeyMen's LacrosseMen's RowingMen's SoccerMen's SwimmingMen's TennisMen's TrackMen's VolleyballMen's Water PoloMen's WrestlingSoftballWomen's BasketballWomen's Beach VolleyballWomen's DivingWomen's Flag FootballWomen's GolfWomen's GymnasticsWomen's Ice HockeyWomen's LacrosseWomen's RowingWomen's SoccerWomen's SwimmingWomen's TennisWomen's TrackWomen's VolleyballWomen's Water PoloWomen's Wrestling
H.
S. Grad Year *
Select Year 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025 2026 2027 2028 2029 2030
Phone *
Zip Code *
Parent Information
Parent's First Name *
Parent's Last Name *
Parent's Email *
Check if you reside outside of the United States
Phone *
By submitting, you agree to receive personalized follow-up and marketing messages from NCSA by email, phone and automated text. Consent is not a condition of purchase. Standard rates apply.
Get Started for Free!
A profile only takes 60 seconds
Athlete Information
Athlete's First Name *
Athlete's Last Name *
Check if you reside outside of the United States
Sport *
Select SportBaseballCheerleadingEsportsField HockeyFootballMen's BasketballMen's DivingMen's GolfMen's Ice HockeyMen's LacrosseMen's RowingMen's SoccerMen's SwimmingMen's TennisMen's TrackMen's VolleyballMen's Water PoloMen's WrestlingSoftballWomen's BasketballWomen's Beach VolleyballWomen's DivingWomen's Flag FootballWomen's GolfWomen's GymnasticsWomen's Ice HockeyWomen's LacrosseWomen's RowingWomen's SoccerWomen's SwimmingWomen's TennisWomen's TrackWomen's VolleyballWomen's Water PoloWomen's Wrestling
H.
S. Grad Year *
Select Year 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025 2026 2027 2028 2029 2030
Phone *
Parent Information
First Name *
Last Name *
Email *
Check if you reside outside of the United States
Phone *
Zip Code *
By submitting, you agree to receive personalized follow-up and marketing messages from NCSA by email, phone and automated text. Consent is not a condition of purchase. Standard rates apply.
We’re sorry, we couldn’t complete your request.
Due to federal privacy regulations, your student-athlete has to be 13 years old to create an NCSA profile.
According to information you submitted, your student-athlete is under the age of 13.
If there has been a mistake, call us at 886-495-5172.
We’ll fix it right away.
While you’re here, we invite you to educate yourself on the recruiting process. Here are two of our most popular articles:
- When does the recruiting process start?
- Everything you need to know about athletic scholarships
`
Now artificial intelligence cuts highlights. The NBA believed in technology - Fever Pitch - Blogs
Auto-magical solution – this is how WSC Sport call themselves and explain with the definition of the word from the Urban Dictionary: something happens automatically, but no one from the outside can explain exactly how.
Israeli startup WSC Sport broke into the US market in late 2015 and turned the highlighting process in the NBA upside down. There, video reviews are especially needed, because there are dozens of effective actions in each game, and it is fundamentally important for a fan to highlight the main ones.
WSC Sport Technology is artificial intelligence that can collect highlights from really key moments without the participation of a human at all.
The technology recognizes the signs of the most important episodes: how the score changes after an accurate throw, how emotionally the players and fans react, whether the commentator powerfully intones, and so on.
In the course of the match the algorithm generates a rating from all game segments in general, each of which is marked with details attack, throw immediately after the pass).
The technology allows you to create highlights at any time and for any duration, just set these parameters. For example, cuts of the actions of a particular player fit perfectly into a live broadcast, if he is especially (or unexpectedly) good, during a long break or immediately after the match, a video of the main moments as a whole is organic.
A club or an owner of media rights can use customized highlights at any time and for any reason: if you want to highlight the main character of a winning match - we collect a minute video for Instagram, it is important to beautifully announce the extension of the contract - in a couple of clicks we order his best ones in the program from WSC Sport highlights from last season.
Naturally, it was possible to do the same before, but manually and with a constant risk of missing something. Israel's technology, which is rapidly learning itself and already conquering other sports, is a perfect example of intensive development, when a standardized task is transferred to smart development, and human resources can be directed to creativity . In addition, manual assembly takes extra time, and WSC Sport returns the advantage to clubs and the league in the fight for the second screen of the viewer.
“NBA representatives were one of the first people we had a dialogue with, with whom we talked at all,” says project co-founder Aviv Arnon. - The first thing we heard from them: "Prove it." And we worked a whole season in the D-league to show our capabilities. Then we processed videos of matches of 18 out of 30 NBA teams, during this time we created more than 20,000 clips, about 350-450 for each game.
The leadership of the NBA also saw the prospect of promoting the league in specific territories.
For example, in France or Germany, the audience definitely follows their compatriots more closely and wants to see videos of their best moments first of all. Manually creating highlights that target every significant market would be impossible.
The same method helps the NBA to interact directly with the audience: before the 2016 finals, the league launched a Facebook messenger bot that sends highlights to users on request. For example, the bot asks about your favorite player, then offers to choose which moments with his participation are more interesting for the fan (from the previous game, generally the best of the season or in the playoffs) and sends just them. And then he offers a subscription to cuts with the participation of this player - they will come to the messenger after each match.
In September 2016, after the full launch of work with the NBA, Intel invested $12 million in WSC Sport. The founders of the service immediately announced that they would invest this money in development outside of basketball and sports in general.
In an interview for a special project by Sports.ru and Sostav.ru, WSC Sport Business Development Director Galit Shiri revealed the details of the service and how the company plans to develop.
- You use a variety of metrics to rank episodes over the course of a game. But how exactly does it work: do you have a constant list of priorities (a top shot is always higher than usual, a three-pointer in the last second of possession is more important than a calm one) or does the system decide everything on the fly?
- Our technology is constantly learning, so the further we go, the better we can harness the power of artificial intelligence. The algorithm prioritizes in real time because different events can be the most important in different matches . The most important thing for us is not just to collect moments in a cut, but with the help of AI technologies to succinctly formulate the same plot that developed in the match.
– How quickly can you adapt technology to new challenges? For example, in another sport or in a different field altogether.
- This is a very fast process, because any new project builds on the experience that the algorithm has gained in the past. For example, the adaptation of WSC Sports to tennis, when we agreed to cooperate with the US Open, took just a couple of days. If the technology is not at all familiar with the new sport, we will need several weeks - during this time we will train the system so that it understands the logic of what is happening, the types of actions and determine the most significant episodes. When the algorithm has the logic of choosing moments and building a video, you can start working and produce highlights.
- What sports and non-sporting events do you plan to cover, which is a priority for the development of WSC Sport?
– We are ready to work with any owner of media rights who needs to develop interaction with the audience, to work on the penetration of the brand into the field of view of a larger number of users. Now we are already working with 11 sports (football and hockey among them), but in general the technology is applicable everywhere.
The way we consume our #sports is undergoing a transformation, and #fans are going to benefit. Watch here: pic.twitter.com/bN1UC43W0q
— WSC Sports (@WSC_Sports) June 25, 2019
WSC Sport is one of the leaders in creating ultra-personalized content. In addition to the NBA, MLS, the most progressive sports media Bleacher Report and others are already cooperating with the company. They all understand that in parallel with global coverage, the demand for individual media consumption is growing.
There are many people among the audience who want to decide for themselves what and when to watch. “Our product is truly a tool that puts the individual in complete control of what they watch,” Daniel Schichman, founder and CEO of WSC Sports, explains in a column for SportsProMedia. “Now you can no longer target content to specific markets or demographics, but give users the chance to customize it for themselves.
”
In fact, integration with a chatbot in a messenger is an unlimited access for an ordinary user to a huge content database, which is automatically (more precisely, automagically) created for any occasion. Now any media company and organization that wants to be active and visible through their own content has a powerful additional tool.
First published on Sostav.ru as part of a joint project with Sports.ru on sports marketing.
In honor of Giannis, a ring was placed on Olympus. A guy from Yekaterinburg helped
It's time to fight! Agency of sports marketing Fever Pitch
9 definitions, which each basketball player
Learns to speak in the same language
Learning to speak in one language
We decided to help begin to get a basketball language so as not to get lost on the site and better understand EXPERIENCED PLAYERS.
!!! If you haven't seen the first article with 11 terms, read it first:
!!! If you haven't seen the first article with 11 terms, read it first:
Basketball terms everyone should know
This word in basketball has two meanings: sometimes they say this about the bench.
"Sit on the bank." And sometimes they call it a block shot. We hope that you will distribute cans, and not sit on it.
Another definition for blockshot:
Pick and roll
One of the simple combinations in basketball, which is based on the interaction of two players. The first moves with the ball, the second puts a screen (peak) and after the screen he turns around (roll) and moves to the ring.
Pick-n-pop
This combination is a variation of the pick-and-roll, only in this version the player who puts the screen does not move towards the ring, but opens up to the throw.
The difference in playing the combination will be in reading the actions of the defense.
In the 1990s, Utah and its duo of Karl Malone (2 in all-time scoring) and John Stockton (1 in all-time assists) often played this combo.
Eurostep
One of the ways to complete the attack in the passage is when the first step is taken in one direction and the second in the other.
This movement began to be popularized by Manu Ginobili, and now Giannis Antetokounmpo stands out with this technique from his size, sweeping steps and powerful dunks from not the most convenient positions.
See a short and simple analysis from the Greek:
Back door
A type of offensive interaction when a player without the ball runs behind his defender and receives a pass there. For a better understanding, watch the video:
Ankle breaker
A term that is often heard in relation to street basketball, although it is sometimes seen at the professional level. This phrase refers to a situation where the ball carrier makes some movement and the defender goes down. In some cases, the ankle is twisted along with this ...
Coast to coast
This is the name given to the passage of one player from his ring to someone else's in a fast break.
Double, triple (triple-double) and quadruple-double
All of these terms refer to achievements in statistics per match.
Each game is recorded: points, rebounds, assists, block shots and interceptions. When 10+ points are observed for 2 indicators of them, it will be a double. If according to 3 indicators - triple, if according to 4 - quadruple-double.
Interesting fact: Russell Westbrook is the second player in history to average a triple-double per game in 1 season. However, he is the only one who has done this more than once.
Interesting fact
Only 4 people in the history of the NBA collected a quadruple-double. The last one was recorded in 1994 by David Robinson.
Do you want to take your first steps in basketball or improve your basic skills? We have a Basic Basketball Skills workout for you. See the schedule and sign up:
SIGN UP
Coach: Yuriy Bespalov
- Professional player of the INANOMO 3x3 team;
- Champion of Russia 3x3 2019;
- Winner and medalist of the MOFB championship;
- MLBL Summer League MVP 2017;
- Multiple participant of Moscow Open;
- Champion of Moscow 3x3 2017;
- MVP GrunisCup 2017.
