3 point line/arc

[ibumgardner]

I was looking at the 3 point markings on a high school basketball court yesterday and realized that they aren't correct. By rule, the 3 point 'line' must be 19' 9" from the center of the basket (NCAA women and HS). However, once the arc is 'directly across' from the goal, the arc straightens until it reaches the baseline. This means that the closer you are to the baseline, the farther the distance is to the basket from behind the arc. So, when I got home, I took out my calculator and did some calculations. Since the center of the basket is 63" from the baseline, a shot taken from the baseline behind the arc is approximately 20' 5.24" (more 8" farther than shot from top of key). For those that are interested, the math for the distance is fairly simple (right triangle with legs 63" and 19'9"…find the hypotenuse).

I wonder if anyone has actually taken this into consideration. Heck, the NCAA rules committee decided to change the distance by a little more than that for the men but not the women. So, the distance does make a difference.

Thoughts?