Basketball Statistics Blog

Friday Press Clippings:
Basketball ~ Optimal Aim Points for Bank Shots By Dr. Chau M. Tran

From Science Daily
By Dr. Chau M. Tran
Download source here: ' Basketball ~ Optimal Aim Points for Bank Shots ' by Dr. Chau M. Tran and Taylor M. Adams

"... The basketball is in your hands. The score is tied and there are only a few seconds left on the clock. You have the ball about 10 feet away from the basket on the right side of the court, just outside the free-throw lane.

It's decision time: Is it best to try a direct shot to win the game on a swish? Or do you use the backboard and bank home the winning basket? ..."

"... New research by engineers at North Carolina State University show that you had a better chance of scoring that particular game-winning bucket with a bank shot than with a direct shot. ..."

"... The results show the optimal aim points make a "V" shape near the top center of the backboard's "square," which is actually a 24-inch by 18-inch rectangle which surrounds the rim.

Away from the free-throw lane, these aim points were higher on the backboard and thus further from the rim.

From closer to the free-throw lane, the aim points were lower on the backboard and closer to the rim. ..."

"... 'Basketball players can't take a slide rule out on the court, but our study suggests that a few intuitive assumptions about bank shots are true,' says Dr. Larry Silverberg, professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering at NC State and the lead author of a paper describing the research. ..."

"... The researchers made a few assumptions while conducting the study. They used a men's basketball, which is slightly bigger and heavier than a women's basketball; launched the simulated shots from 6, 7, and 8 feet above the ground; and imparted 3 hertz of backspin -- which means three revolutions per second -- on the shots. ..."

"... The research was published in the Journal of Quantitative Analysis in Sports. Lecturer Dr. Chau M. Tran and undergraduate student Taylor M. Adams co-authored the paper with Silverberg.

The Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering is part of NC State's College of Engineering. ..."

Read more articles in Science Daily.

To read today's 'Press Clippings' in Spanish,
click this week above on the 'Español' tab or afterwards click here:
' El ‘informe Rudy’ que llevó al ÑBA a Dallas by Eduardo Schell ~ Marca .

---

Friday Video Clippings:
The Rick and Rachel Sports Show

The Rick and Rachel Sports Show

To watch today's 'Video Clippings' in Spanish,
click this week above on the 'Español' tab or afterwards click here:
' No Dejes que el Dinero Mate al Pensamiento ' by Laurent Dif et all. .

'Press and Video Clippings'
is a Series of Notes edited every Friday

To Read ALL the Clippings in this Series, click here: Categories > Contents Online

Your comments are Welcomed ! ... by means of eBA InterMail English ! NO NEED TO REGISTER !

tags:  basketball  ~  statistician's digest   ~  basketball analysis  ~  advanced stats  ~  Dr. Chau M. Tran  ~  Optimal Aim Points for Bank Shots
visit:  eBA Portal  ~  Stats Forums  ~  eBA Encyclopedia  ~  eBA Clinics  ~  eBA System Book  ~  eBA on Facebook  ~  eBA on Twitter  ~  eBA Store