Most basketball players know the angle of their shot is important to whether the shot goes in the basket. However, not many would know what the best angle is. A man named Peter Brancazio, however, figured it out. The first thing to realize is that the ball only has a little room if you make it in(about 4 1/4 inches on each side) A higher angle shot will give you more room, because the ball has less extra size inside the circle. In fact, a shot from a 30 degree angle is pretty much certain not to go in. Another factor is the height from which the ball is released. If a ball is released two feet higher, the success rate increases by 17%. There are many other factors involved, but if you take those all together the average angle comes out to 52 degrees. You can see all of those different factors here.
This is a very unique article. It applies science into an area we don’t really associate it with, sports. While not a world changing discovery, it is one that shows one of many unique ways we can apply science to almost everything in the world. It shows us that science is everywhere, and that it affects every part of our lives.
I read this article and found it very interesting. However, I don’t find it very practical. While an athlete is out on the court, under pressure, he/she isn’t gonna take the time to calculate an angle so they have a better chance at making a shot. They also had to calculate the perfect shot angle for a person of a certain height or how far from the basket they are. As the article says “Thus, for a shot leaving your hands at eight feet above the floor from 18 feet out, you’ll want to launch the ball at a bit more than 48 degrees. For most players at a distance of 10 to 25 feet, the least-effort angle ranges between 47 and 52 degrees.” This is amazing that people were able to calculate the angle of the perfect shot, but it seems like a lot of work for something that a lot of athletes aren’t going to spend time trying to use.
But I do agree that this is a cool discovery, and proves that we can apply science to all sorts of different things.
I agree with the fact that it is an interesting article, however I also agree that it isn’t practical. As Sammi stated, no athlete has the time during a game to make sure that he or she is taking their shot at the “perfect angle”. It doesn’t happen and will most likely never happen.
Another thing to consider is how this article is trying to be put into use by coaches in practice though. As a basketball player, coaches preach form to players in practice, and without knowing it they are applying what this article says. The article states that the higher you release your shot the higher chance you have to make it into the hoop. As part of the correct form coaches try and get you to release the ball from eye level or higher. While no coach is going to think about the perfect angle, they are putting this thought to good use and trying to get close to teaching players how to get closer to being “perfect”.
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