Redefining Basketball Bank Shots by: Applying Geometrical Mathematical Models

Presenter(s)

Josh Wells, Zander Braun

Abstract or Description

Redefining Basketball Bank Shots By:

Applying Geometrical Mathematical Models

Josh Wells and Zander Braun

The purpose of this investigation was to discover which angle on the

basketball court would be the best location to make the most bank shots

and if doing a mathematical analysis would be a good way to test this

experiment. We hypothesized that the 45 degree angle would be the

most successful angle.

This experiment involved three steps: creating a scale size model, analyzing

using geometry and algebra, and testing it out on a real court. Our control

was the distance of the player shooting the ball which we used 3 meters

from the center of the basket for angles 90, 75, 60, 45 and 30 degrees. The

90 degree angle was our baseline angle where all relative probability was

compared against for results.

The data collected did not support our original hypothesis. The scale size

model showed that the 30 degree angle had the best probability and our

geometrical analysis showed that the 60 degree angle had the best

probability of bank shots. The real court test also showed that 30-degree

angle was the best location for more banked shots.

The findings led us to believe that a mathematical analysis can show which

angle on the court helps improve the probability of making a bank shot on

the court. Using the results of our study, we feel that shooting at the 30

degree angle will help our team score more baskets!