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August 2, 2011

Mathematics Offers Advice For Basketball

Ron Cowen, Science Now


AP Photo

To shoot, or not to shoot, that is the question. Whether 'tis nobler to try to score right away or wait for a better chance.

Professional basketball players face that quandary multiple times in every game. And in an article posted at arXiv.org on 29 July, Brian Skinner, a graduate student in theoretical physics at the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, provides some mathematical guidance for the best time to take aim.

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TAGGED: sports, basketball, mathematics

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