[canuckrefguy]

Originally posted by assignmentmaker
Rule 1-12-2 says: "The ball shall be inflated to an air pressure such that when it is dropped to the playing surface from a height of 6 feet, measured to the bottom of the ball, it shall rebound to a height, measured to the top of the ball, of not less that 49" when it strikes on its least resilient spot, nor more than 54" when it strikes on its most resilient spot.

My impression is that basketballs nowadays are overinflated more often than not, perhaps because electric pumps make inflating too easy. When overinflated, they bounce higher than the standard calls for, and - of concern to those fond of a smooth, easy game - they don't go in as often as they otherwise might.

I have always taken it that 'its' in rule 1-12-2 references the resilience of a spot on the floor, not a spot on the ball, though it could mean the ball . . . Let's assume 'its' refers to the floor and that the floor is uniform. Player height (just considering guards), however, isn't uniform, however, especially average player height on a genderal basis.

I find that a girls basketball that rebounds to the high end of the 1-12-2 drop test range is, for many high school varsity girls games, too bouncy, coming up too high too easily, getting away from the players. The situation is only worse for lower level games.

Secondarily, as alluded to above, when the ball is overinflated, it rockets off the rim. The shooter's touch that might give a ball grazing the front rim a chance is swamped by the bounciness of the ball. The game is often more ragged.

I now come complete with a needle. Where I officiate, the game ball, more often that not, is one of the balls the players are warming up with. I test a bunch of home team balls and, if I find a nice round one (throw it up spinning and look for any wobble), I'll adjust its inflation as needed so that the ball rebounds closer to a genderally adjusted norm. Deflating the ball isn't as easy you might think. With the needle at full, moistened insertion, something in the design of the valve appears to inhibits air flow back out; kneeling with a knee on the ball can speed the process. And, if the crowd thinks you're praying, they should respect that . . .

There's probably an inherent differential in pressure that should be specified for boys and girls balls solely because of the different diameters. The smaller ball will be inherently stiffer, though, it's true, lighter - all given the same material. But that's a story for a Journal of Basketball Science thread.

Yuh think?



[Edited by assignmentmaker on Jan 28th, 2006 at 08:38 PM]

Okay, that was twice as long, and half as clear