Automating Insight to Simplify Analysis with the University of North Florida
Through Hudl’s core suite of tools for college teams, NCAA League Exchange, Hudl Sportscode and Hudl Focus, Chase Driscoll and the Osprey’s of North Florida are unlocking new levels of productivity. For a staff that has to wear many hats, it’s enabling them to do so much more than they ever expected.
Chase Driscoll, Director of Basketball Operations at the University of North Florida, has seen what success looks like at his alma mater, but he didn’t have a firm understanding about the goings on behind the scenes. “I was a part of our two championship runs, all that hype,” said Driscoll. “But I was a player, so I never really got to do a lot of the analytics, video, what the managers do. So I went to [Oral Roberts] as a graduate assistant, and that was the first time I really got introduced to [Hudl] Sportscode.”
It’s a common path many ex-players take– player to graduate assistant, then to full-time assistant or director of operations. For so many, that path leads them directly to Hudl Sportscode, the industry standard for real-time, customizable performance analysis. “At that time, it was just an old license that was left on a laptop that we had,” Driscoll elaborated. “We didn’t have anything where we could, like, script out code windows. We just had basic code windows and hotkeys, different things like that.”
When he left ORU, Driscoll was forced to use other tools that limited his ability to unlock key insight. “If you go down to Synergy or other stuff that’s out there, it’s so different because there’s just so much you can do with Sportscode that you just can’t do with other products,” said Driscoll.
Building Workflows that Elevate
When he took the job at his alma mater, Hudl’s suite of analysis tools became a necessity. Many in college basketball can’t afford a robust staff with dedicated resources focused on specific tasks related to scouting and game analysis. The structure at North Florida, like many other mid-majors, means that they really have to focus on workflows that save time– something that Hudl helps Driscoll excel at.
Tools like NCAA League Exchange - which gives teams across the sport access to Sportscode ready video and data, has become ingrained into their day-to-day process. “Exchange has been phenomenal for us,” Driscoll said. “That's probably been one of the biggest new parts that you guys put out there that we've utilized, it makes scouts and everything like that a lot easier to pull clips.”
It's nice that we have things that we can do that can make their life a lot simpler if they're not as tech savvy. It just makes it easier for them to understand.
Unlocking Efficiency with Automatic Capture
And now, Driscoll has looked to bring automated capture to their team with Hudl Focus – the smart camera that records games and practices, and is the only camera that integrates directly with Hudl Sportscode. “The biggest thing Hudl Focus brings is definitely automation,” Driscoll quipped. “Because I'm sure everybody in the room knows, no matter what sport you are in, sometimes the person up there, the manager or whoever it is, falls asleep. And then he's got to like, turn the camera real quick to catch the player.”
The importance truly is within the camera's capabilities, “being able to switch between different angles, the panoramic and the one that tracks each side of the court, you can get so much more in depth,” said Driscoll “If we're running full court sets, we can get the full court and guys can actually see it all at once with the panoramic, which is phenomenal when you're trying to run those late game plays and things like that.”
Since North Florida doesn’t have a dedicated practice gym, they’ve installed Hudl Focus Indoor in their main gym, bringing the capabilities of its live tracking into game analysis as well. “That live feed has become a god-send for our analysis workflow,” said Driscoll. “Our staff, you know, they've been doing this for a long time,” Driscoll added. “They know the ins and outs and everything like that. But it's nice that we have things that we can do that can make their life a lot simpler if they're not as tech savvy. It just makes it easier for them to understand.”
“It gives us more time to do a deeper dive and get into other things,” said Driscoll. “So if we're coding the game, trying to get data for the coach. You can get such a deeper of a dive into so many more aspects, just because it's so much easier."
