get your education

During lunch, when our office was celebrating the birthday of one of our colleagues, a rather tall family came in and was seated at the adjoining table. I recognized them as the family of an NBA basketball player that had been drafted directly from high school, and mentioned that to the person on my right who is one of our newer faculty members. He asked, "Did he finish college?"

I said, "I don't know." In a few minutes, the player walked in and joined his family.

As we finished our party and were preparing to leave, I tapped him on the shoulder and asked, "What are you doing about your education? Are you going to try to get a degree?" (We had been introduced at a funeral, so he recognized me, so it wasn't just an out of the blue thing. His father and I have known each other for several years.) He said, "My mom wants me to." I said, "We do, too!" indicating that my colleagues at the university and I thought it was important.

I asked if he had looked into the online degree programs, and recommended he check them out as a way to reach the goal, even with an NBA schedule.

You see, a great deal of basketball is in your head. I have already mentioned the importance of self control, but basketball really is applied physics, which is applied math.

When you make a pass or a shot, the law of conservation of momentum dictates the velocity of the ball as it leaves your hands. Momentum IN = Momentum OUT. Momentum is mass times velocity. The momentum IN has to do with the mass and velocity of the whole system, i.e., you and the ball, but the momentum out is separated into the ball's mass and velocity, and your mass and velocity.

If it were possible for you to completely, instantaneously stop, but release the ball at that same instant, all your momentum would go into the ball. The ball weighs a little more than a pound (21 oz). If you weigh 200 pounds, and you released a one pound ball, the ball should leave your hands about 200 times faster than you were traveling while holding it.

Even though that isn't possible, you can still take advantage of the momentum rule by stepping forward while you are passing. We call that, "stepping into the ball." To put zip into your pass, put your body weight into the pass by stepping forward as you release the ball.

There are two other physics laws involved in passing, viz., acceleration and angular momentum, where you have a great deal of influence on the ball. We will talk about them, later.

Get educated before playing. If not, get educated. Your career only lasts until your next injury or someone smarter and quicker comes along.