How to make a basketball highlight tape college coaches will watch

A college coach might look at dozens of players in a night. Your highlight tape gets a minute or two to make them want to see more. Here's how to make that count.

Keep it short

Aim for three to five minutes. Coaches decide fast. A tight three minute tape of your best work beats ten minutes of everything you've ever done.

Put your best plays first

Lead with your best 30 seconds. If a coach stops watching after the first minute, they should already know what you do well.

Make it easy to find you

• Start with a title card: your name, US class (for example Class of 2028), position, height, club and school.
• Before each clip, mark yourself with an arrow or circle for a second or two, so the coach knows who to watch.
• Use clips from games, not training or drills.

Show what your position needs

Coaches recruit for a role. Show the things they'll be looking for:

• Guards: handling under pressure, getting into the paint, passing, shooting off the catch and the dribble, defending the ball.
• Wings: shooting, attacking closeouts, finishing, guarding more than one position.
• Bigs: finishing around the rim, rebounding, screening and rolling, protecting the rim, running the floor.

Include defence and effort plays, not just scoring. Coaches notice.

Use recent footage

Use your most recent season. When you have new footage, make a new tape. On AussieScout you can keep older tapes as Highlight tape 2 and so on.

Skip the music and the effects

Music is fine, but coaches often watch with the sound off. Slow motion, long intros and effects waste their time. Plain and clear works best.

Add a full game tape too

A highlight tape shows your best moments. A full game tape shows everything else: how you play off the ball, how you defend for a whole game, how you react to mistakes. Most college coaches want to see at least one full game before they recruit a player. Pick a game against good opposition where you played real minutes.

Where to put it

Upload your tapes to YouTube or Hudl, then add the links to your AussieScout profile. Coaches can watch them there next to your stats, school reports and eligibility, and you only ever need to send one link.