Introducing Nima Shaahinfar

Ball don't lie is sacred gospel. 

It's an absolute truth, right?

That's where Nima Shaahinfar comes in. A UCLA graduate with a degree in physics, an attorney (UC Hastings College of the Law) plus a graduate of USF's Sports Management Masters program, he has added assistant basketball coach at City College of San Francisco (CCSF) to his bonafides.

As CCSF Coach Justin Labagh offered, "he's an advanced stats guy who gives us a different perspective. He's really helped us out."

Besides conducting very early morning workouts, Shaahinfar is the metrics guy for the Rams. From video, he develops a numerical narrative for each player.

Labagh described Shaahinfar's work as determining the "positives and negatives per possession. For example, if Gabe Bealer is in zone two [on the court], Nima determines that we get 1.3 points per possession if he passes the ball out versus 0.9 points if he shoots. Or if a player creates an advantage, does he keep it or lose it with a pass or a dribble or a shot?"

Those findings are but minuscule illustrations of the information that can be ordained from applying various mathematical principles to the actions and reactions on the court.

CCSF also shares the metrics with suitors interested in Ram players. "We forward the stats to schools recruiting our kids," according to Labagh.

But it's not just an exercise in collecting numbers.

Shaahinfar inputs data into worksheets,with up to 4,000,000 cells of data and the goal being a determination of the offensive and defensive efficiency of each player. "Through game charting, I create a database of advanced statistics, including adjusted plus-minus and offensive and defensive efficiency ratings for each player, to show how we are most efficient as a team and to help the players understand how they are most efficient individually," Shaahinfar said.

He continued, “Offensively, shot selection and basketball IQ are as important as skill. With the statistics we keep, we help players define their shot selection with specificity in consideration of various factors, and we stress raising their shot selection standard, passing up good shots for great shots, and making the game easier for each other. The design is for players have a better understanding of how to get better shots by getting and maintaining an advantage as a team. Applying it in practice and morning workouts, we work on those shots and drills related to ball movement. Defensively, we focus on how players earn possession for the team on rebounds and 50/50 balls in general, screen outs and forcing turnovers, as well as how well they contest shots and defend penetration and the post."

Having worked with NBA teams, quoted in ESPN magazine on his research and presenting research at various conferences, Shaahinfar sees great value in attending the most prestigious of such gatherings, the MIT Sloan Sports Analytics Conference which is usually held in Boston during late February . "I highly recommend attending, whether as someone interested in analytics or even a casual fan of sports."

He wants to continue coaching basketball with a focus on advanced statistics despite the more lucrative opportunities his various educational achievements could bring.

So how did his connection to CCSF basketball come about? "I attended law school with Coach Labagh's wife and I was looking to get into coaching. He was open-minded and I had the opportunity to show him what I could do."

Shaahinfar's work is already having a significant impact. By twining ball with the twin pillars of film and numbers so that together there's no possibility of a lie.