[BillyMac]

Originally Posted by Camron Rust

I've refined my analysis and have created a diagram (to scale)...



Note three areas indicated by red, blue and green markings.

1. Below the red line, it is not possible for the ball to go into the basket without going over the backboard. Think of the red line as the path of the center of the ball. If the center of the ball is above that line, it can't go in....it will bounce out. If the center of the ball is below that line, it must go over the board (and may still miss).
2. If the entire ball is above the blue, solid line, the ball has a clear path into the basket without any part of the ball going above any part of the backboard.
3. Above the green, solid line, the ball has a clear path to the entire basket without any part of the ball going above any part of the backboard.

Not diagrammed, but fairly obvious. From the exact corner, there is a path to "most" of the basket that doesn't go above any part of the backboard.

So, a baseline shot (directly over the baseline) can't be legally made from less than 9' from the center of the backboard (3' outside the lane). For the next few feet, the shot can be legally made but some part of the ball will cross over at least part of the backboard. At about 13', there begins to be an entirely clean path directly into the basket. At 25', only the back couple inches of the basket is shielded by the backboard. Of course, the margin of error is very small near or inside the blue line, but it is possible.

Wow. Thanks for the effort. Confucius supposedly said, "One picture is worth a thousand words". If he said it, he was right. Now I understand what you mean.