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to the common man". He forced Cannon to interact with coaches and players, rather than just crunch numbers behind the scenes. "If he was going to do this, he couldn't do it with a lab coat on," Telep explained. Cannon spent so much time with Telep that his kids thought Cannon lived there. He joined Telep on recruiting trips, crunching numbers while Telep enjoyed the
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Cannon is hesitant to take credit for advancing the statistical movement in basketball, saying "Hopefully I don't screw it up and other teams think it's a good idea still." Others have been less hesitant. Telep jokes that he will surely work for Cannon someday. "You don't put limits on people like
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In his first year at Butler, Cannon made a strong impression. Stevens called Cannon's work on lineup and substitution patterns "very impactful" and said "He's really an invaluable resource." Assistant coach
Michael Lewis, a former doubter in the value of statistical analysis, has been persuaded by
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After graduation, Cannon was leaning towards becoming a writer. His parents just hoped Cannon could find a job of any kind. His father remarked that Cannon had earned the right to pursue his passion, joking "if he had to live in the basement for a year, we could feed him. He would’ve had to share
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Over the next seven years, Telep mentored Cannon. Cannon's analytical strengths were obvious, but he lacked the personality to be successful in the sporting world. His first report was like "straight out of a scientific journal", Telep recalls. Telep worked, teaching Cannon how to "communicating
256:. While classmates did their senior projects on economic models and health care management, Cannon's was on high school basketball recruiting, leading his father to joke "Who are the slipshod parents who led him down this path?" Cannon graduated with a degree in statistics in the spring of 2012.
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As time went on, Cannon's basketball savvy increased as he learned how to scout talent. Studies conducted for Telep included determining which regions of the country were over or under recruited, analyzing the effect of landing top recruits on college programs, and determining the failure rate of
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and was intrigued with the idea of bringing advanced statistics to basketball. "My mind (was) wide open about how we can apply to basketball", Telep recalled. After lunch, Cannon approached Telep: "There's this kid in my house that I don't know what to do with. Can you help me?" Telep met with
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for college, majoring in statistics. On the advice of Telep, Cannon took writing classes to increase his ability to communicate. Starting his sophomore year, Cannon sought outside opportunities to publish his writing. By graduation, Cannon had written articles on his statistical research for
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What makes Drew special, and this shouldn't be taken lightly, is that he's good at crunching numbers and he's good at interpreting those numbers in a way that a coach can understand, sensibly and rationally. He knows his role in informing a coach's opinion. For a guy to do that at 22 is pretty
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After each game, Cannon produces a ten-page report completely breaking down the game analytically. The report takes between ten and twelve hours to complete. One of his main responsibilities is to determine which lineup combinations work best. Over time, Cannon has developed a series of
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Cannon's work. When asked what changed his mind, Lewis replied "He hasn't been wrong". After the season, Butler created a new position, "basketball analyst", specifically for Cannon. Stevens said he did not know of any other team to have such a position, but "there is one now."
315:. One of his first decisions as coach was to hire Cannon, although his role was not immediately defined. Stevens said that's the way he wants it, remarking "I like the idea that it’s not really defined ... I don’t want it to be restraining at all."
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substitution rules designed to maximize the team's performance. During the offseason, he plans to study what practice drills led to better game play. "He thinks of things like that all the time that are completely out of the box," remarked
Stevens.
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and writing on the side". His parents were excited with the offer, but also surprised. "Does he realize you are monumentally under qualified for this position?" Jim Cannon told his son. In reality, Cannon was well qualified -
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was contacting Cannon to discuss potential recruits. Two weeks later, Stevens offered Cannon a job as graduate manager. "I really excited to not have to get a real job," Cannon recalled. "I was a couple weeks from getting a
127:. Over the next seven years, his research helped improve Telep's recruiting, while Telep worked to round out Cannon's personality. Cannon developed writing skills during college and his research was published by
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team. Cannon produced regular reports on how to increase the team's efficiency. The success of his recommendations won over doubters and led to multiple reporters describing Cannon as Butler's "secret weapon".
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the basement with the dog, but so be it." Cannon soon moved to
Chicago where he lived with family and considered tending bar on the side as he freelanced for the websites he wrote for during college.
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sees a bright future for Cannon. "Certainly he's going to be the guy people look at in the next 10 years who want to get into this business." he remarked. According to
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teams to employ statisticians, Cannon became the first person hired by a college team solely to perform advanced statistical analysis.
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called him a "perfect match" for
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for his junior high team, but did not play for his high school team. Cannon has a younger sister, Maria, and a younger brother, Chris.
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from the same time period. Cannon "probably had about 25 projects going on" by age 15, recalled his father Jim Cannon.
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baseball books. By thirteen, he was designing his own statistical projects to analyze sports - for example, comparing
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Telep, meanwhile, has retired the internship position, believing he would never find talent comparable to Cannon's.
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sports section. Coaches began to expect Cannon's presence, asking Telep where he was when Cannon missed a trip.
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nightlife. " gets lost in his computer more than anyone that I've ever seen," says Telep.
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Cannon played sports as a child, but was not athletically gifted. He was the
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At a casual lunch with friends in 2004, Jim Cannon met recruiting specialist
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580:"Former Duke student transforms writing career into coaching gig at Butler"
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foreign-born recruits. A study he did on what constitutes a good
399:"Butler has found secret weapon in statistical guru Drew Cannon"
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451:"Raleigh math guru Cannon is Butler basketball's secret weapon"
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was among the first schools to subscribe, and soon head coach
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480:Debby Knox (September 24, 2012).
714:Butler Bulldogs men's basketball
449:Andrew Carter (March 20, 2013).
578:Brandy Buck (October 2, 2012).
507:Holmes, Baxter (July 9, 2013).
165:As a young child growing up in
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235:Cardinal Gibbons High School
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112:who currently works on the
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709:Boston Celtics personnel
167:Raleigh, North Carolina
719:Duke University alumni
704:American statisticians
678:Collection of writings
665:Collection of writings
649:Collection of writings
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233:Cannon graduated from
206:Internship and college
46:Durham, North Carolina
660:Basketball Prospectus
245:Basketball Prospectus
237:in 2008 and attended
175:Negro league baseball
141:. He graduated from
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319:him", he explains.
612:. Indianapolis Star
260:Professional career
670:2013-07-15 at the
654:2013-04-22 at the
404:Sports Illustrated
397:(March 20, 2013).
293:Sports Illustrated
226:The New York Times
488:on March 25, 2013
461:on March 23, 2013
411:on April 10, 2013
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395:Pete Thamel
328:outrageous.
321:Ken Pomeroy
177:players to
102:Drew Cannon
53:Nationality
23:Drew Cannon
688:Categories
518:2023-02-26
336:References
283:bartending
254:Kenpom.com
193:Dave Telep
171:Bill James
161:Early life
139:Kenpom.com
125:Dave Telep
121:Bill James
35:1990-04-21
589:March 27,
492:March 27,
465:March 27,
415:March 26,
221:mid-major
213:Las Vegas
198:Moneyball
186:sixth man
61:Education
668:Archived
652:Archived
616:July 13,
552:July 13,
82:Employer
56:American
674:at ESPN
639:Twitter
287:Chicago
285:gig in
116:staff.
274:Butler
252:, and
137:, and
67:, 2012
618:2013
591:2013
554:2013
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467:2013
417:2013
250:ESPN
239:Duke
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135:ESPN
108:and
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