![]() In this scenario, a small error in the timing of the release can cause the ball to grossly overshoot or undershoot the hoop. However, in trying to achieve this straight down entry, the amateur risks lobbing the ball extremely high due to their mediocre control. This is good, as it means that if a throw is close to being exactly on target it has a very high chance of going in. When the ball approaches the net from directly above, as in a typical underarm throw, the cross-section of the target is large from the ball’s vantage point. But for amateurs who have only crude control, the release of the ball overarm is safer, sparing casual players the dilemma of choosing style or results.Īn important factor in comparing the two strategies was how the ball approaches its target. ![]() It found that if the player is capable of controlling the release angle and speed well, the underarm throw has slightly better odds of going in. The study, published in the journal Royal Society Open Science, considered the chances of the ball being on target, depending on the style, speed and accuracy of a throw. “So what if some call it the ‘granny throw’? What matters is that the ball goes through the hoop! Rick Barry’s record does support the underarm throw.” “One suspects there are social and cultural reasons you don’t see that practised too often,” he said. Venkadesan acknowledges that it is a difficult case to make. But he struggled to convince his teammates due to the inescapable fact that shooting underarm “makes you look like a sissy,” Barry said. The retired NBA player Rick Barry, a pioneer of the underarm free throw, was one of the most effective shooters of all time and when he retired in 1980 his 90% free throw record ranked first in NBA history. However, it remains to be seen whether science will prove more persuasive than professional advocates of the underarm style.
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