For many who love basketball, there is always a dream of having the chance to work for an NBA team, though many don’t know how to go about it. Entering its third edition this July, TPG Sport Group’s Pro Scout School tries to not only answer the questions about how to get work in pro basketball, but put you in the same room with decision makers at all facets of basketball.
This year’s third edition of Pro Scout School will take place in Las Vegas, July 11th and 12th. With NBA Summer League taking place a few miles away during that week, it is a great opportunity for those looking start, or get further along, their path towards a job in pro basketball
Pete Philo, a 14-year veteran of NBA front offices, is the President of TPG Sports Group. Philo’s vision to start Pro Scout School came from recurring moments from his own years on the road as a scout. “The idea came from all those years being on the road, having conversations with people at the arena, or maybe out at a restaurant after a game,” Philo explained. “People were always curious, how do you evaluate players at the NBA level, and how do you get in? So that’s where the idea came from, could we run Scout School and teach people what we do?”
Once the decision to start Scout School was set, how to go about it, and make it effective, became TPG’s focus. “Basketball is a relationships business, so that is the toughest part,” said Philo. “We set up Pro Scout School into the panels and breakout rooms to give as much information as we can at every level, and then made sure to have pieces of the event focused on social interaction between the attendees and the speakers.”
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Day one of Pro Scout School involves all of the attendees, and this year will cover such topics as “Finding a Career in the Front Office: Young Executives Perspective,” “Scouting 360: The Scouting Cycle from Management to Coaches,” and “Developing & Managing a Franchise’s Roster,” with a 50-minute question-and-answer session to wrap it up.
Day two is meant to provide a more intimate setting with the use of Breakout Rooms, the attendees broken up into smaller groups and rotating through the sessions. These sessions include topics like talent evaluation, advance scouting, and analytics.
After a successful first edition of Pro Scout School, TPG knew they had to learn and continue to evolve the experience to continue to provide a top-notch event. The second year of Pro Scout School added the GM Experience, which was a huge success. “When taking the next steps with Pro Scout School, it was important to get feedback from the attendees, and try to give people what they want,” said Philo.
The GM Experience gives a small group of twenty attendees a chance to learn directly from a pair of NBA General Managers, giving them insight into what their responsibilities are. “The first year of the GM Experience was a hit,” Philo said. “I stood back and felt happy as I saw all of these connections being made.” This year’s GM Experience, which has already sold out, will have Kevin Pritchard of the Indiana Pacers, as well as Rich Cho of the Charlotte Hornets.
With the success of the GM Experience last year, TPG has added three more experiences tailored to essential parts of an NBA organization. The President/CEO Experience will offer a look at how an NBA organization is operated on the business side, the Media/Broadcasting Experience will give access to some prominent media members on how to be effective in today’s sports media world, and the Sales & Marketing Experience, an area where NBA teams always seem to be looking for new talent, will provide an in-depth look at ticket and sponsorship sales from the experts.
Attending Pro Scout School will just be the first step for many attendees, but just being in attendance isn’t going to guarantee you a job as a pro basketball scout. “You have to have a relationship to get a job,” explained Philo. “Pro Scout School puts you in the room with these people, so spend as much time as possible with them.”
The success of Pro Scout School has been looked upon very favorably by those who already work in basketball, with many being complementary and others calling to see if they can take part. Just a look at this year’s line-up of speakers and those taking part in the experience portions shows how willing people already in the business are to give back in a way to help guide those who want to follow their paths.
This year’s Keynote Speaker is Rich Sheubrooks, a retired Nike and NBA executive. Other speakers include Philo, Utah Jazz Vice President of Player Personnel Walt Perrin, Brooklyn Nets Assistant General Manager Trajan Langdon, Dallas Maverick Director of Pro Personnel Tony Ronzone, Toronto Raptors Assistant Coach Rex Kalamian, Former college basketball coach and current ESPN analyst Fran Fraschilla, former ESPN and NBA analytics expert Dean Oliver, and many more. If you are a basketball fan, this is a paradise to you.
Pro Scout School has become just one area where TPG has looked to bring their own unique style to sports industry events. Sports Agent School has a successful first event last November, with the second scheduled for this October, and Sports Tank, where sports entrepreneurs get to pitch their ideas to venture capitalists and sports executives, in the vein of television’s Shark Tank, has been a major success in its first couple of events. “Our goal at TPG is educating the industry leaders of tomorrow,” said Philo. “We want to put on events that help and connect people.”
As someone who has worked for years now on making my way into pro basketball, I can’t say enough about how valuable an event like Pro Scout School is. It can be a long, hard road, but seeing how much Philo and the other basketball executives involved give back, not only gives hope and necessary information, but helps create connections with smart people who can give some guidance along that road.
Make sure to check out more about Pro Scout School at TPG Sport Group’s website.
Also, make sure to follow Philo and TPG on Twitter – @TPGsportsgroup
Follow me on Twitter – @NBADraftBlog or email comments to ed (at) nbadraftblog.com