Education

Abstract

As a tall, spindly adolescent I was constantly asked if I played basketball, a query I abhorred, as I much preferred be buried in a mathematics book with my true love, calculus. My appreciation of the sport came much later, and then as a spectator at the University of Arizona (Go Wildcats!). Perhaps I would have felt differently if somebody had given me the article "Modeling Basketball Free Throws," by Jeorg Gablonsky and Andrew Lang, featured in this issue's Education section. The authors should be applauded for producing a manuscript that is accessible to introductory calculus students (a novelty for this section) and, frankly, just plain fun to read. The article explores the best way to shoot a basketball free throw by successively considering release angle, release velocity, air resistance, and the shooter's height. They start with Shaquille O'Neal, provide a classic example of the iterative process of mathematical model building, work their way through some differential equations and numerical methods, introduce the basic idea of multiobjective optimization, and end with some practical advice for the next time one is shooting a free throw. Amazingly, this is all presented using only basic calculus and written in a manner that students should find friendly and compelling. The paper illustrates how mathematics can help us understand the world around us, and suggests a number of projects and extensions suitable for those who are just beginning college mathematics. In short, this paper is a slam-dunk of an introduction to the mathematics of sport. I encourage you to give it to your students---who knows, one of them may turn out to be the next Joe Keller or, perhaps, the next Shaquille O'Neal?