One story idea I have for the L2M reports is a stats-heavy numerical analysis of how accurate NBA refs are throughout the games. I could see if the refs get better or worse as the game goes on.
Another story idea is to see how NBA players of draft eligibility perform based on age they are when drafted. (The NBA recently changed rules on when players who declared for the draft could renege on their decision.) I could look at the performance of players based what age / year in college they were when they left college. (Milwaukee Buck rookie Thon Maker evaded the one-and-done rule by going to prep school after he graduated high school. He said he avoided going to college because he wouldnt be focused on grades. The fact that was eligible at 18* in itself could be a story . )
The NCAA changed a few rules before last season (shot clock, 3-foot arc). I could go back and look at how the rule changes affect pace of play, TV ratings and how how long the game were before and after rules, as well as player and coach reactions.
My final story would be to examine how close gap in becoming between USA basketball and the rest of the world. Although the Olympics are over, I could look at how many international players have joined the NBA and NCAA since ’92, as well the performance of international players in the NBA, NCAA and in international youth competitions.
For the NBA draft rules idea, I would look at what Connor Riley wrote last year for the Athens Banner-Herald. He talked to several useful sources, including John Calipari, about the issue and what should be done about it.
Good potential here. Check out http://stats.nba.com and look for dependent variables. In the case of one-and-dones, those would be variables that denote a successful career. Maybe total years or games played, points per game or per season, career wins above replacement, etc. Then, for American players, see if there’s a correlation between any and all of these and number of years spent in college. You could take a similar approach to the other stories.