Looking for scout sources ...

... for a couple stories I want to do. What the best way to go about finding them? Should I call the local pro team and find out what they think of a college player? Contact a scouting system?
I've never really done this before, but I have a story I'd like to write.
Any help would be greatly appreciated.

 

it depends what sport you're talking about.

but generally - and i mean this very generally - unless they know you, scouts won't talk on the record about a prospect. you're not gonna get the denver broncos area scout for your region to give his honest opinion about johnny third-through-sixth round defensive end. he might give you a quote you can use without attribution if you know the scout.

if you have a relationship with, say, the player personnel guy of local NFL team and you're talking about, say, a local college hotshot, he'll give you a quote because it's harmless.

 

I should have specified.
Basketball.
I'm looking for a scout's take on a local college guy and his NBA chances. Looking for on-the-record stuff, names withheld if necessary.

 

Doesn't Marty Blake go on the record about pretty much every player?

 

Yes, he seems to live just to do that.

He is listed as the NBA's director of scouting.

 

Maybe college basketball analysts like Jay Bilas and Fran Fraschilla. Both have covered the NBA Draft in June for the last several years.

 

What was said above was very true. Scouts have a million opinions, they love to talk, but they hate to be quoted. I don't know how much you could get on the record, and you probably wouldn't get much off the record without some level of trust established.

Are there Kiper-like gurus for the NBA draft? If so, one (or more) of them might be your best bet. Those guys love to be quoted because they usually have guides or website access to sell. Failing that, try the networks that cover the NBA. They love to see their experts quoted.

 

Can someone explain central scouting-ish things to me?

Like...why should there be a league repository of scouting information? Isn't it the job of individual teams, rather than the league office, to identify and evaluate talent? Why does Marty Blake's job exist? (What does he actually do?)

 

Marty's a great guy and will talk all day. He won't, however, talk on the record about underclassmen.

At least, he hasn't in my experiences with him.

 

If your guy is NBA quality there should be scouts coming to see games once in awhile. That's a good opportunity to at least get something. I sat next to a scout once at a game and he talked my head off about a guy, with the exception I didn't use his name just "an NBA scout said..."