Scouting The Spartans

CHARLOTTE, N.C. – In the blink of an eye on Sunday, after Mississippi State learned it was for sure in the NCAA Tournament, Bulldogs assistant coach David Anwar went to work.

That's just the nature of the beast in the coaching business this time of year. Celebrating can wait because the goal is to have an even bigger party down the line.

Anwar has been charged with leading the scouting duties for the Dawgs' Thursday matchup against Michigan State. So, ahead of Mississippi State's shootaround at the Spectrum Center on Wednesday, HailState.com caught up with Anwar for a quick Q&A to peek behind the curtain of his process.

What follows is the transcript of that conversation, slightly edited for clarity:

Question: How do you go about preparing for a Michigan State team you didn't even know you were playing until Sunday evening? You have to go quickly from celebrating an NCAA Tournament berth to scout mode don't you?

Anwar: Well as soon as the selection was made and we knew we were playing, I left [the selection show party at Two Brothers Smoked Meats] with [director of scouting and analytics Dillon Elder], went right to the office to get film and start working and see what Michigan State does.

Question: So, walk me through those 24 hours after being selected. Is it a late night with no sleep making sure we get a jump on things?

Anwar: It's a late night every night, but we have tremendous help as well. But we have to watch film, get a feel of [Michigan State]. Then break their sets down, break the way they play down, break the way they guard down and have a really good feel for everything by Monday afternoon.

Question: You mentioned earlier about the help you have in this process. You really do have a ton of help around you right?

Anwar: Oh yeah. We've got tremendous help from our [graduate assistants] – Shunn Buchanan, Danny Manuel; [director of basketball operations] Jovan Austin…and [Elder] as well.

Question: So when Monday arrived, what's the process behind getting everything you've seen over the previous few hours into practice?

Anwar: Well, [head coach Chris Jans] has a pretty good idea, and then we present it to Coach Jans and we decide what we're going to guard and what we think is really important to beat Michigan State.

Question: Without giving away anything you plan to implement, what stands out about this Michigan State team we'll see on Thursday?

Anwar: They are really, really fast. They are one of the best transition teams in the country. Every time there is a made basket or a missed basket, they're pushing the ball down to the other end of the floor. All five guys run, and they try to score in transition. They're also a really good rebounding team traditionally, and they're also very good at ball screens. They have two really, really good guards that are paint eaters and try to get in the paint and make plays.

Question: Whether it's Michigan State or whoever we play, where do you even begin to start scouting? Do you look at the entirety of the season or more at what teams have done recently?

Anwar: I think you look at the last month or so – the last six or seven games – as well as [teams Michigan State has played already] that are like us, that guard the way we guard and dissect it that way.

Question: Whenever you're the lead scout for an opponent, do you present all that information to the players? How do the players themselves typically hear and learn all that you've learned?

Anwar: Well, I'll present it in film, and then Coach Jans will do a lot of it in film as well – going over the game plan and so forth. So, we work together.

Question: Do you enjoy the homework part of all this and getting to learn the opposition?

Anwar: Yeah, I enjoy it. I think it's exciting to try and stop something that somebody does well and find a way to win.

Mississippi State University Athletics

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