The Physics of Basketball

Collin Grant Physics 105 Book Review The Physics of Basketball This books name is the Physics of Basketball by John Joseph Fontanella. It was published by Johns Hopkins University Press. When first found and began reading this book, I was skeptical as to how accurate and how truly relative this would be to either basketball or to the principles of physics that I have learned this year. I was not sure if he would be very knowledgeable about basketball, and make his physics references very simple as to make it a children or teenagers book, or would it be very complicated application of physics and just a brief relation to basketball. I was however pleasantly surprised at how accurate and how basketball oriented it was! It was actually a fun read! I enjoyed to review the concepts that I have learned over the past semester in a format such as this because basketball is one of my favorite sports. He began with simpler concepts about momentum. He used references like Shaq and "Muggsy" Bouges. Shaq is over 7 feet and big, and Bouges is just over 5 feet and small.... Yeah there is a big difference since Shaq can actually get going pretty quick. Anyways, he then related momentum to other concepts in physics, and most all of the book, by the authors own statement, is related to the `shot' of the basketball into the hoop. Anyone who has played basketball knows that you cannot just throw directly at the rim and expect to get it in. You begin to `get a feel' for what must be done in order to get the ball to go into the hoop. I have known for a while that you must get it above the rim, coming down into it as soft as possible in order to get a `good shot' going. This is evidenced by the best shooters in the NBA and how even if they take an off balanced shot or some other crazy thing, the ball will often bounce around the rim and go in. This is called the `Shooters Touch'. I really enjoyed learning about a thing called Magnus Force, which is one component in this "Soft Shot" and also evidenced in the curving of a baseball. Overall, this author did an excellent job at explaining Physics in a fun, yet informative way.

Wow! I wish my high school science teachers had used the information in this book to teach physics. I would have paid more attention and probably shot a higher field goal percentage as a player much sooner than I did. My coaches just bulled me into shooting with the correct arch, using the sweet spot, etc. when I shot. If I had really understood why these things were so important for shooting success, I would have complied much sooner! To be honest, parts of the book are beyond me simply because I don't understand the physics. A couple of sections were tedious to get through. But, for any basketball coach who wants more insight into the whys of why certain aspects of the game are the way they are, this book will provide that insight. For physics teachers who would like to make their classes relate to the world of some of their students, it would not hurt to include some of the information in this book. And for those basketball fans who love the obscure and arcane, this book is a must! Kevin Sivils - author of Game Strategies and Tactics for Basketball: Bench Coaching for Success

This is a great book for delving deeper into the game of basketball and getting the low down on practical physics. Highly recommend this.

Over the years, I have found it fascinating to read books on the physics of baseball. Curve balls do curve, knuckle balls do knuckle and scientists have come to admit to the facts that the experimentalists (baseball players) have known for decades. In this book, Fontanella, a physics professor at the United States Naval Academy and a former college basketball player, analyzes the many ways a basketball can bounce. It is very detailed yet extremely entertaining. It is so specific that he points out how much less a basketball weighs as a consequence of air buoyancy. Even to the point where he compares the differences in the weights between the balls used in the women's game versus the men's game. While that part was not of great interest, the rest certainly was. Like the baseball players, the basketball players have carried out a lot of empirical research. However, not to the extent that Fontanella has. He is very specific about the best angle for a shot, where the "sweet spot" is on the backboard when attempting a lay up and even to the distortion affects on a basketball when it is bounced. While the latter may not appear significant, it is critical for shooting percentages. As the author points out, very few shots are "nothing but net." Most make some contact with the rim and many bounce off the rim before going through the net. The manner in which the ball bounces off the rim is critical. If you have ever played, you know the difference between a soft shot and a "brick." This is not a book where the author expresses his love for the game and then throws in a bit of physics. It is a serious treatise on basketball with enough formulas so that it could be used in a high school or college physics class. That part was impressive, many coaches would find an examination of this book time well spent. Published in Journal of Recreational Mathematics, reprinted with permission

Physics teachers can add some pizzazz to their lectures with these great basketball stories used to explain physics.