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How is basketball and math related


Math in Basketball – How Math Is Used in Sports – Cool Math

At first glance, basketball and math seemingly have little in common. While basketball is hugely popular in American schools, math has a considerably smaller fan following. However, a closer look at the sport reveals that there is a considerable amount of math in basketball. Pointing out how math is used in basketball is a great way to get your kids more excited about angles and percentages, while helping them realize how important math is in everyday life.

The angle at which the ball is thrown is determined as the angle made by the extension of the player's arms and a perpendicular line starting from the player's hips.

The math in basketball involves a wide range of math topics. Kids can practice geometry, percentages and even basic mathematical operations while playing or watching a game of basketball.

  • Geometry in basketball

Whether they realize it or not, basketball players make use of many geometric concepts while playing a game. The most basic of these ideas is in the dimensions of the basketball court. The diameter of the hoop (18 in), the diameter of the ball (9.4 in), the width of the court (50 ft) and the length from the three point line to the hoop (19 ft) are all standard measures that must be adhered to in any basketball court. Knowing these measurements is useful for kids who would like to practice basketball at home without access to a full-fledged basketball court.

The path the basketball will take once it’s shot comes down to the angle at which it is shot, the force applied and the height of the player’s arms. When shooting from behind the free throw line, a smaller angle is necessary to get the ball through the hoop. However, when making a field throw, a larger angle is called for. When a defender is trying to block the shot, a higher shot is necessary. In this case, the elbows should be as close to the face as possible.

Understanding arcs will help determine how best to shoot the ball. Basketball players understand that throwing the ball right at the basket will not help it go into the hoop. On the other hand, shooting the ball in an arc will increase its chances of falling through the hoop. Getting the arc right is important to ensure that the ball does not fall in the wrong place.

The best height to dribble can also be determined mathematically. When standing in one place, dribble from a lower height to maintain better control of the ball. When running, dribbling from the height of your hips will allow you to move faster. To pass the ball while dribbling, use straighter angles to pass the ball along a greater distance.

Understanding geometry is also important for good defense. This will help predict the player’s moves, and also determine how to face the player. Facing the player directly will give the player greater space to move on either side. However, facing the player at an angle will curb his freedom. Mathematics can also be used to decide how to stand while going on defense. The more you bend your knees, the quicker you can move.  Utilizing geometry, math in basketball plays a crucial role in the actual playing of the sport.

  • Statistics in basketball

Statistics is essential for analyzing a game of basketball. For players, statistics can be used to determine individual strengths and weaknesses. For spectators, statistics is used to determine the value of players and analyze the performance of an individual or the entire team. Percentages are a common way of comparing players’ performances. It is used to get values like the rebound rate, which is the percentage of missed shots a player rebounds while on the court. Statistics is also used to rank a player based on the number of shots, steals and assists made during a game. Averages are used to get values like the points per game average, and ratios are used to get values like the turnover to assist ratio.

  • Addition and Subtraction in Basketball

For young basketball fans, math in basketball is a great opportunity to practice simple skills like counting, addition and subtraction. Young kids can add up the points made in every shot to get the team’s total score. Kids can also be asked to use subtraction to determine how many points a team will need to catch up with the leading team, or to win the game.

Basketball Mathematics—and 4 Other Ways to Mix Movement and Learning

When researchers from the University of Copenhagen set out to examine the cognitive and academic benefits of pairing lessons with physical activity, they zeroed in on basketball and mathematics, hoping that combining the two might illustrate the potential of making classroom learning a less sedentary activity, according to a Science Daily research brief.

“Our aim, with integrating mathematical tasks with concrete and physically active basketball tasks, was to make the learning activities more interesting, meaningful, play-based, and fun for the children,” the researchers note in the study, published in Frontiers in Psychology. “More specifically, we hypothesize that basketball combined with mathematics is a concrete physically active way of employing, practicing, and learning mathematics that will result in students feeling a higher degree of autonomy and competence, and is more intrinsically motivating than classroom-based mathematics.

Results of the six-week study—which involved 757 elementary school students in the Danish city of Copenhagen, half doing math while playing basketball, the other half studying math in class as usual, and playing basketball solely as a regular gym class activity—delivered promising results. Among the students who experienced the “six-week mashup of hoops and math,” Science Daily notes, the researchers reported a 6 percent boost in math mastery. Intrinsic motivation, they found, was 16 percent higher than for the kids doing standard math in the classroom. The “hoops and math” kids also showed a 14 percent improvement in “perceived autonomy,” or self-determination, compared to peers learning in the classroom.

Other studies support the Copenhagen findings. People learn better, research shows, when information is delivered in multiple ways, including verbal, visual, and kinesthetic, making it easier to encode into long-term memory.  And even when movement is incorporated into learning in very subtle ways, it can make a difference: a growing body of  research indicates that when teachers or students gesture or act things out as they’re learning, they tend to remember material better.

Here are a few ways that educators are pairing learning with physical activity and movement.

Acting Out Terms and Ideas

Infusing movement into learning doesn’t necessarily require a major effort. Sometimes, it can be as simple as encouraging students to use their bodies to represent or act out important terms or ideas, or to show understanding, in the process building engagement and kids’ capacity to commit learning to long-term memory, write Suzanne F. Lindt and Stacia C. Miller for Phi Delta Kappan.

After reading a book about emotions, for example, “students might be asked to stand up and act out the new words they’ve just learned, such as ‘satisfied,’ ‘furious,’ and ‘courageous’,” write Lindt and Miller who are professors at Midwestern State University in Wichita Falls, Texas. “During story time, they might be asked to stomp their feet, representing a period, every time the teacher reaches the end of a sentence. Or, when learning to add and subtract, they might be asked to hop forward or backward on a number line.

Mixing ELA and Phys Ed

At Casey Middle School, in Boulder, Colorado, English class tends to be unusually active. “It’s really a fitness class combined with language arts,” says Val Wheeler, a language arts and fitness teacher at the school, where educators are finding that pairing aerobic and anaerobic activities with academics can deliver significant boosts in student cognition, allowing students to be more alert in class, focused, and collaborative. “For three days of the week, it’s fitness and then language arts, about 45 minutes apiece. And then two days, it’s all fitness and language arts in one.”

As kids jog or walk around the soccer field, for example, they’ll discuss a topic from a book they’re reading, or brainstorm themes for a research paper during a hike. “Movement is good for everyone. It helps everybody learn. They can learn while they’re moving and they can learn after they’ve just been moving a lot,” says Alison Boggs, the school's principal. “It’s teaching them that you don’t have to sit and think to figure something out. You can move and think and figure something out.”

Learning Math Through Dance

After-school program Shine for Girls combines math with dance to help build math skills and confidence among middle school girls—an effort to dampen the effect of stereotypes and cultural norms that lead many girls to turn away from the STEM field. “Because movement allows a student an alternative approach to the information, it can help put them in the receptive state required for learning,” writes Kirin Sinha, the after-school program’s founder. “This breaching of mental barriers is especially significant for young women, who are more likely to self-limit their abilities because of the social stigma associated with mathematics and the STEM fields.”

Facilitators might, for example, help students solve algebra problems via a choreography unit. “Girls can create a simple dance of three twirls followed by a jump, and will write it down as ‘3x+y where x = twirl, y = jump,’” notes Sinha. “Through dancing, girls realize that 3(x+y) = 3x + 3y. Before they can say, ‘I can't do algebra,’ they already have. This begins the positive feedback loop of girls believing in themselves, and their confidence stems from knowing that they have the ability to succeed.”

Using Sports to Teach SEL

Pairing movement and learning isn’t limited to academics. Outside of school, sports present a uniquely valuable opportunity to build and reinforce critical social and emotional skills in a fun, collaborative environment. At the Boys & Girls Club in Greater Green Bay, Wisconsin, for instance, students aren’t simply playing flag football, or lobbing a ball over the volleyball net. As they blow off steam after school playing sports, they’re concurrently working through a sophisticated social and emotional skills curriculum, supported by staff trained to lead them through ice breakers, check-ins, goal-setting, and strategies for coping with adversity and conflict.

“When kids come here, they want the ability to run around and they want to play games. But it’s also the place where we experience them not being able to regulate their emotions,” says Eric Vanden Heuvel, the program’s executive director. “By incorporating the social emotional supports, and by training our staff in the gym, we are able to see kids in an environment that generally creates a lot of conflict and a lot of emotion, and we’re able to grow the social and emotional learning aspects and allow all kids to be successful.”

Research project of 7th grade students on the topic "Mathematics in Basketball"

Ministry general and vocational education

Sverdlovsk regions

Municipal autonomous educational institution -

secondary secondary school No. 91

in-depth study of individual subjects

MO City of Yekaterinburg

Chkalovsky district

Name sections (subsections): natural sciences (mathematics)

Research job: Mathematics in basketball

Author(s) of the job: Korshunov Maxim Alexandrovich , 7th grade

Khamidulin Andrey Sergeevich , 7th grade

Head (supervisors) of work: Grishina Anna Aleksandrovna ,

teacher Mathematics and Informatics

____________________

____________________

2020


Contents

Introduction. 3

Chapter 1 Mathematics and basketball. 5

1.1. Basketball game. 5

1.2. Game features. 6

Chapter 2.9

2.1. Location of players on the field. 9

2.2. Calculation of dependencies. 10

Conclusion. 15

List literature: 16

Application 1. The first rules of the game. 17

Application 2. Game basketball field. 19

Application 3. Questionnaire for 7th grade students. 20

Application 4. Survey results. 21

Application 5. Screenshot of the report of the results of checking the project file by the " Anti-plagiarism " system. 22


Mathematics is a science that studies numbers, quantitative relations and spatial forms. Mathematics is a subject that studies this science. We often hear and see such definitions. For us, mathematics is a way of describing various phenomena of nature and especially society. Since in Mathematics acts as an assistant in all spheres of human activity. For example, performing calculations when creating machines, exploring space, even creating literary works and that requires mathematics.

We were interested in the question “Sport. Can mathematics to help this area of ​​human activity with precise and strict language? Of course, the very first answer is chess.

But, we decided to check out other sports as well. Since we are already we have been playing basketball for several years, then our choice fell on this particular type sports.

The topic of our research is “Mathematics in Basketball”.

Purpose of research : to study the influence of mathematics on basketball, to calculate the mathematical model of the best game with the maximum number of hits.

Tasks :

1. To study the literature on the research topic;

2. Compare and contrast common terms and concepts in mathematics and basketball;

3. Analyze the results obtained;

4. Show the application of the acquired knowledge in basketball;

Hypothesis: is it possible to build a mathematical model of an ideal basketball game.

Object research: mathematics and basketball.

Item research: mathematical component in basketball.

the following methods were selected : study of literary sources, processing of the received information, analysis, synthesis, research, practical.

Product project : creation of a mathematical model of the best game with the maximum the number of hits.

Practical significance : results can be use in additional education and self-education.


Basketball (basket - basket, boll - ball) is team game in which players throw the ball into the "basket", consisting of a ring with a mesh at the bottom. It is located at a height of just over 3 meters. from the floor (10 feet), to be more precise 3.05m. Picture 1

Dr. James is considered to be the founder of the game Naismith, who decided to diversify gymnastics lessons at the training center Christian Youth Association in Springfield, Massachusetts (USA) 1891. His idea was to throw a soccer ball in two fruit baskets without a bottom, which he attached to the balcony railing. Fans on the balconies they caught flying balls and tried to throw them into the opponent's basket, therefore, shields appeared that became the protection of the basket, and in 1893 appeared already iron rings with mesh. Given the shortcomings of the first matches, D. Naismith in during the year develops the first 13 points of the basketball rules (Appendix one).

The new game was so addictive that in 1894 The first official rules were issued in the USA. Within 10 years basketball begins to "capture the world", first the East - Japan, China, the Philippines, and then the game comes to Europe, South America, the end of this journey becomes the Olympic Games in St. Louis (USA), where the Americans organized demonstration tournament between teams from several cities. Basketball was indicative also at the 1924, 1928 Olympics.

In 1923 France hosts the first international women's tournament, in which countries participated: England, Italy, USA. The game is gaining more and more popularity and recognition in the world, and at 1932g. was The International Basketball Federation (FIBA) was founded. The first composition of the federation included 8 countries - Argentina, Greece, Italy, Latvia, Portugal, Romania, Sweden, Czechoslovakia. In 1935, the International Olympic Committee decided to recognition of basketball as an Olympic sport. In 1936 at the Olympic Games in Berlin in the program appeared basketball. D. Naismith was the guest of honor of the games - creator of this game. Teams from 21 countries participated in the basketball tournament.

Basketball comes to Russia at 1906g, to the city - Petersburg, in the sports society "Mayak" and before the October Revolution 1917 remains the game only of this city. Actively play basketball throughout country begins after 1923, and the WTO began to participate in world championships from 1959

The game does not have one main technique, it includes various game techniques and performance variations. chief the rule for the player is: accessibility, rationality of actions together with purposefulness, jumps are accurate and fast, giving the player maneuverability on field.

There are two teams of 12 people. There are 5 players from each team on the playing field. Goal: to score bigger opponent's ring the number of balls to prevent the second team from grabbing the ball and scoring into their own ring. Depending on the where the player throwing into the ring is located, a different number of points are counted for hitting. For a free throw 1 point is counted, for a throw from an average or close distance (in the jargon - paint) - 2, and 3 points given for a throw from behind the 3-point line. (Annex 2)

The ball is played with the hands only. Prohibited: running with the ball in your hands without hitting it on the floor, deliberately hitting it fist or leg, block with any part legs. Accidental touches with the foot or leg are not violations of the rules of the game. The beginning of the game is considered controversial throw in the central circle of the field, two players from rival teams.

The match is divided into four periods 10 minutes each (12 minutes in the NBA). Between the 2nd and 3rd quarters of the game is regulated break 15 minutes, other pauses are two minutes each, and in addition, coaches (in the NBA - and players) can take timeouts. After half the game, the teams must swap halves of the field.

The winner is the team that during the game was able to score more points. In case of a tie after the end of the regular time of the game, overtime is assigned, usually this is additional five minutes of play if given there is not enough time, the second, the third is assigned ... until one of the teams scores more points, and there is no the winning team is declared.

In order for the game to be effective and not like a chaotic movement around the field, roles assigned to players:

- point guard point guard or playmaker (eng. Play maker) - number one team responsible for choosing the combination of the game, which way to go and how build an attack. This player not only needs to see teammates, but also calculate the situation on the site.

- attacks - perfect possession of the ball and movements;

- protection - possesses the skills of tackling the ball. The main goal of such a player is to insure team from a fast break of the opposing team.

Such division was in the past. In the modern professional basketball, priority is given to versatile players who combine the qualities which allow the player to play adjacent positions. This is how the position stands out comboguard (eng. Combo Guard). Based on the name, it can be determined that the player combines a combination of qualities necessary for defense and attack.

It is possible to classify players not only by type of activity on court, but also by height and weight:

- Average height 183-195 centimeters, weight 75-90 kilograms - this is point guard defender (eng. Point guard) or playmaker (eng. Play maker).

- Player average height 190-200 centimeters, weight 85-100 kilograms - attacking defender (eng. Shooting guard).

- Average height 195-210 centimeters, weight 95-110 kilograms - light forward (English Small Forward).

- The average height of a professional player is 200-215 centimeters, weight 105-115 kilograms - heavy forward (English Power Forward)

-Average height 210-220 centimeters, weight 110-125 kilograms - center (English Center).


Analyzing the game after training or a match often, you ask yourself: “Is it possible to improve your results or how to come up with the ideal model for the game and always score the maximum number of points?

To find answers to these questions, we decided to turn to our peers, but before that find out “How many of them know about this game generally?". For this purpose, a survey was conducted among 7th graders. (Annex 3)

As a result, we find that only 80% of the respondents know such a game, and about the rules and features in general, only 50%. Analyzing all this, we there was an idea to create a mathematical model of an ideal game, which means to solve the following tasks:

1. Reviewed various positions of the player on the field.

2. Formulas studied depending on the distance between the player and the basket.

3.According to with these formulas, the positions of the players of the school team were calculated.

4.Checked practical way these results.

Drawing 2



Depending on the position of the players located on the field in certain areas where they can best be implemented in accordance with their classification. Looking at the positions we investigated and got such a picture (Figure 2).

When a player "fouls" during a shot, then he gets on the penalty (in the figure - the yellow line) line and throws as many times he could score points on the throw - 1 point. Zone in which any goal will be counted as two points, shown in red in the figure. Purple zone - this is the zone in which any goal will be counted for 3 points. This is the location of the zones for the left ring.

Basketball - dynamics, movement speed and quickness. In addition, this competent execution of throws. At the same time, you need to know how to properly fulfill. Let's try to figure out how to throw the ball, under what angle and at what speed to hit the basket when throwing from different distances.

On average, a player makes about 20 shots from different distances and that the game is of high quality, and the player showed good results, he needs to distribute his forces throughout the game, without putting in too much effort. But the player not only throws the ball, but also overcomes the barrier in the form of a defender, for this the ball must be thrown through it and get into the basket. It is clear that the closer the defender is to me, then the higher the trajectory of the ball will be required, and then this is subject to constant hit. But people with 100% accuracy very rarely meet m, then additional calculations are needed.

Let's introduce some designations and consider their data:

1. D M is the diameter basketball ball. A standard basketball has a diameter of 24 cm.

2. m is the mass of the ball. In the standard is 600 g.

3.H - height hoops of a basketball hoop above floor level. In standard gyms - 3.05m.

4. D K - ring diameter, it is equal to 45 cm.

5. L - distance from the center of the ring to the place of the throw.

Figure 3

during the calculations, we will consider basketball ball with a material point, while neglecting the influence of air on the flight of the ball. Let's choose a system coordinates yOx to describe the movement: axis Ox - directed horizontally, the Oy axis is directed vertically, the origin of the coordinate system O coincides with the center of the ball at the start of the throw. Since the ball is moving with free acceleration fall g=9,8m/s 2 , directed vertically down, then using kinematic equations of motion we obtain:

, where v 0 x is the horizontal projection of initial ball velocity, v 0 y – vertical projection of initial velocity ball.

After mathematical transformations, we obtain the trajectory equation ball: , where α is the angle between the direction of the initial speed v 0 and the positive direction of the 0x axis, and the tangent of the angle α is:

, where β is the angle at which the ball flies into the basket.

After transformations of the equations, we obtain a formula for determining the initial velocity ball:

Performing calculations to find the initial speed at different throwing angles for different areas of the field (different types of points), we were several best angles are marked (Table 1). At the same time, in calculations, the growth the player was taken into account as the average height for our school basketball team 1.71 m. The flight path L changed depending on the location of the player along zones on the site, the angle α varied from 20 0 to 90 0 .

Table 1

No.

υ 0 m/s

h, m

L, m

α

Single point zone

1

5.61

1.71

4.3

30 0

2

4.8

1.71

4.3

45 0

3

4.1

1. 71

4.3

60 0

Two-Point Direct Zone

4

6.5

1.71

5.8

30 0

5

5.4

1.71

5.8

45 0

6

4.5

1.71

5.8

60 0

Two-point side zone

7

5. 6

1.71

4.35

30 0

8

4.8

1.71

4.35

45 0

9

4.1

1.71

4.35

60 0

Three-Point Direct Zone

10

6.9

1.71

6.48

30 0

11

5. 7

1.71

6.48

45 0

12

4.7

1.71

6.48

60 0

Three-point side zone

13

7.5

1.71

7.55

30 0

14

6.1

1.71

7.55

45 0

15

5

1. 71

7.55

60 0

The selection of these corners is also related to the coverage area of ​​the ring:

1. If the ball is thrown at an angle of 60° to the plane of the basket, then only 0.8661 parts of the ring are used.

2.If throw taken at a 45° angle, the target is 0.7071 rings.

3. When thrown under an angle of 30 °, the affected area is reduced to 0.5 rings.

Received the data helped us determine the ideal muzzle velocity for a given angle and flight path length.

Another factor affecting the flight of the ball is rotation ball. According to the rules, the ball must be thrown with reverse rotation. This is necessary in order to to keep the ball in its flight path, increasing the chances of hitting basket, by slowing down the speed of the ball. But it's all physical phenomena that we will not count.

As a result of calculations conclusions can be drawn:

- the smaller the angle throw, the smaller the chances of getting the ball into the basket, which means there should be increased accuracy. This can be achieved by increasing the height of the flight path.

- the higher flight path, the longer the flight path of the ball.

- first case ideal and almost never found in sports, but the most acceptable throw angle ball 60 0 .

- attached at throw force determines the initial speed of the ball, which in turn determines the height of the ball's flight path. If you apply maximum force, then the accuracy will drop.

After analyzing all the results, we decided to check them on practice. Throwing the ball was carried out in accordance with the length of the trajectory flight and angle of inclination, which we first measured with a protractor. (Picture 4) In each of the cases, the hit was accurate, which means our calculations are confirmed.

Figure 4

6 30 0 ) (angle 60 0 )


affecting the quality of the throw, for example, physical and psychological. As well as in our calculations, we did not take into account physical phenomena and their calculations, which will be studied by us in the future in the course "Physics" and then our formulas and calculations will be finalized.

Working on this topic, we confirmed our hypothesis: it is possible whether to build a mathematical model of an ideal basketball game. But would like add that this is possible when taking into account a large number of factors - rotation ball, flight path, player height, etc.

In conclusion, we add that basketball is not only a beautiful sight sports, but the connection of physics and mathematics, where mathematics is an assistant.

For us, this project was the starting point in the study of only mathematics, physics, but in the awareness of the vast field of application of mathematics to human activity, and as Alfred said North Whitehead: "The most interesting property arithmetic is that it applies to everything: to taste sensations and sounds, to apples and angels, to thoughts and bones.


1. Gershenzon EAT. Mechanics: Proc. Allowance for students. Higher pedagogical educational institutions / E.M. Gershenzon, N.N. Malov, A.N. Mansurov. - M .: Publishing Center "Academy", 200. - 384 p.

2. Pichurin L. F. Za pages of the textbook of algebra: book. for students in grades 7–9 avg. school - M .: Enlightenment, 1990.– 224 p.: ill.

3.http://sdushortambov.ru/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=73&Itemid=1

4.https://vm.ru/sport/163491-13-pravil-basketbola-dzhejmsa-nejsmita

5.https://sportyfi.ru/basketbol/priemi/peremeshchenie/

-o-pravilah.html

7.http://life.mosmetod.ru/index.php/item/kak-zabrosit-myach-v-basketbolnuyu-korzinu

8.http://images.yandex.ru

9.https://www.nkj.ru/archive/articles/33854/


1. The ball can be thrown in any direction with one hand (now you can throw with two hands).

2. You can hit the ball hit with one or two hands in any direction, but never with a fist (this hasn't changed, but accidental touches don't count).

3. The player cannot run with the ball. The player must throw the ball from the point at which he caught it, an exception is made for a player running at high speed (now with the ball you can run).

4. Ball needed keep brushes. You can not use the forearms and body to hold the ball.

5. In any case hitting, grabbing, holding and pushing the opponent are not allowed. First violation of this rule by any player shall be called a foul; second foul disqualifies him until the next ball has been potted, and if any the obvious intention to injure the player is a disqualification for the entire game. At it is not allowed to replace a disqualified player. (now allowed 5 fouls with removal to the bench and replacement of the player).

6. Hitting the ball fist - violation of paragraphs of rules 2 and 4, the punishment is described in paragraph 5.

7. If any of side commits three fouls in a row, then a goal is recorded for its opponent (this means that during this time the opponent must not commit a single foul).

8. Goal counts if a ball thrown or bouncing off the floor enters the basket and stays there. Defending players are not allowed to touch the ball or basket in throw moment. If the ball touches the edge and the opponents move the basket, then a goal is counted (now the ball bouncing off the floor does not bring points to the team, but the ball can be helped in flight).

9. If the ball goes out of bounds, he must be thrown into the field by the first to touch his player. In the event of a dispute, the referee must throw the ball into the field. thrower the player is allowed to hold the ball for five seconds. If he keeps it longer, then the ball is given to the opponent (nowadays, if the team is delaying time, they are given foul).

10. The referee must monitor the actions of players and fouls, as well as notify the referee of three fouls committed in a row. He is vested with the power to disqualify players according to rule 5.

11. The referee must watch the ball and determine when the ball is in play (inbounds) and when going into touch (out of bounds), which side shall be in possession the ball, as well as perform any other action that is normally performed by the referee (Now the referee can help the side judge).

12. The game consists of two halves of 15 minutes each with a break of 5 minutes between them (now four games of ten minutes each. First and last break - two minutes, between halves - 15 minutes).

13. Party, scoring more balls during this period of time is the winner.


Pyotr Stepanyants, Moscow State University: “I do not exclude that we will soon be able to train the throwing technique even without a ring” - ASB - Blogs - Blogs - Blogs - Blogs - Blogs - Blogs - Blogs - Blogs - Blogs - Blogs - Blogs - Blogs - Blogs - Blogs - Blogs - Blogs - Blogs - Blogs - Blogs - Blogs - Blogs Pyotr Stepanyants

, ASB champion of the 2021/22 season as part of the Moscow State University, player of the Russian student team at the World Universiade in Naples-2019talks about the relationship between basketball and mathematics, years of study at the university, as well as victory in the Superfinal of the Association.

– Is basketball a sport for a mathematician, or is mathematics a science for a basketball player?

– Sports for a mathematician is an important and integral component, an element of comprehensive development. It is no coincidence that physical education is included in the program of 8 semesters at the Mekhmat, there are no other such long-term disciplines. If we talk directly about basketball, then in its nature there is a probabilistic basis. Each team aims to make the type of attack that will result in the highest average number of points per possession. Thus, basketball is a sport for mathematicians. The converse is generally not true. The range of applications of mathematics is so wide that scientists rarely pay attention to basketball. However, now such a discipline as 3x3 basketball has become very popular. The rating system inherent in this sport, as well as a number of other nuances, make it almost necessary for the presence of a mathematician in the team.

– Mekhmat of Moscow State University is not just a faculty, but a real legend. Please, name the three main, in your opinion, qualities of a true mechmatian. Do you personally possess these qualities to the fullest?

- The first two qualities: efficiency and patience. You should always keep in mind that a serious task will not be solved immediately. It is necessary to be able to keep concentration for a long time, to manipulate large amounts of information. You also need to be prepared for the fact that the problem will never be solved (some famous problems were solved after tens or even hundreds of years). Efficiency is, by the way, a quality that sports train well, so I think that having been involved in sports and mathematics for years, I managed to cultivate this quality in myself. Patience is more difficult, but I'm working on it. The third most important quality for a mathematician is a sense of humor. This is what you need to apply if efficiency and patience have not succeeded, and the task has not yet succumbed to you. Do I have this quality to the fullest? I don’t know, but when I joke, the listeners laugh out of politeness.

– Please tell us about the topic of your final thesis. Why is it attractive to you personally and how would you justify its relevance to a wide audience? Do you consider the completed research completed or do you intend to continue without parting with your native faculty?

– My thesis is devoted to orthorecursive expansions, this topic is related to the theory of bursts, applicable, for example, in signal processing. I am personally attracted by the fact that behind the seeming simplicity of the initial definitions lies a whole world of unsolved problems. Science is a big white sheet hidden in the wallpaper shop. I am glad that I got to this sheet. Then I'm going to enter the graduate school of the Mekhmat and continue research, as well as publish the results already obtained in a scientific journal.

- "The new champion and MVP of the Superfinal 2022 Petr Stepanyants - about the massacre on the floor, a broken nose and the preparation of Moscow State University for the most important matches of the season. " This quote from the MSU basketball team's VKontakte feed is awe-inspiring. Do major matches really require such dramatic dedication? And, by the way, about the thrill. What is the composition of the fan pool of the MSU basketball team?

- It's nice to come back to the memories of the final game. It really was a real battle that kept both participants and spectators in suspense. The fate of the game was decided at the last second. The match was shown live on television, and then I heard a lot of comments that even casual viewers who turned on the game just to look out of curiosity could not stop watching. Of course, such matches require dedication from the players, and all the participants demonstrated it in full. No one felt sorry for themselves, and how could it be otherwise, if we went to this game for years of training. What is the pool of our fans? Well, let's count. The basketball team is a special project at MSU. In the form in which it exists now, the team was created by the decision of our rector Viktor Antonovich Sadovnichy 10 years ago. And I know from senior comrades that 15 minutes before the start of the first final match in the history of the MSU basketball team, Viktor Antonovich personally admonished the players. It was in 2015, when MSU became the champion for the first time! This means that we know one loyal fan who has supported the team all these years. Now MSU has become the champion of Russia for the third time in its history, and I am sure that we were supported not only by the current students of MSU, but also by all graduates, and those who in one way or another participated in the life of the team during these ten years. There are a lot of such people, some of them travel with the team to different cities where we perform. Thank you all very much!

– Mathematics works for sports – the work of scientists helps an athlete to evaluate his abilities and improve his results. What idea would you suggest using the achievements of mathematics for basketball? For example, what about augmented reality?

- In addition to the above-mentioned applications of mathematics in counting hands, analyzing game situations and calculating rating points, mathematics is actively used in basketball statistics.


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