Every basketball coach has told his players that free throws win games. A new study from the University of Kansas used innovative, markerless motion capture technology to determine the mechanics of skilled free throw shooters and better understand one of the biggest keys to success in the game.
According to the study, skilled free throw shooters – who could make more than 70% of their shots – performed the shooting motion in a more controlled manner. They had lower knee and center of mass peaks and average angular velocities compared to non-experienced shooters. Also, skilled shooters achieved a greater release height and had less forward torso lean at the point of ball release.
“These findings imply that the movement of basketball shooting is not as simple as some may think. Shooting efficiency cannot simply be attributed to one biomechanical variable. It is based on a mix of multiple segmental body movements performed in a controlled manner,” says Dimitrije. Cabarkapa, lead author of the study and deputy director of the Jayhawk Athletic Performance Laboratory.
The study examined 34 men with at least four years of basketball experience, ranging from recreational to collegiate competitive levels. Each participant attempted 10 free throws with a 10-15 second rest interval between each attempt. A three-dimensional markerless motion capture system developed by the Southwest Research Institute (SwRI Enable, San Antonio, Texas), consisting of nine high-definition cameras (120 fps), was used to capture the biomechanical characteristics of free throw shooting movements and to analyse. .
“We are very interested in analyzing basketball shooting mechanics and what performance parameters distinguish skilled and non-skilled shooters,” Cabarkapa said. “High-speed video analysis is one way we can do that, but innovative technological tools like markerless motion capture systems can allow us to dig even deeper into that. In my opinion, the future of sports science is based on the use of non-invasive and time-efficient testing methods.”
The study, conducted at the Jayhawk Athletic Performance Laboratory, also found that when differentiating between made and missed shots by skilled free throw shooters, an overemphasis on release height could be counterproductive.
“These findings can be metaphorically represented by some healthy habits of daily life. Exercise, drinking water and consuming enough vitamins and minerals are all very beneficial to our health. However, overdoing these things can be harmful in certain cases and can even production of the disease. the opposite effect than expected,” Cabarkapa said.
The study, published in the journal Limits in sports and active life, was co-authored with Damjana Cabarkapa and Andrew Fry of the Jayhawk Performance Athletic Laboratory at KU; Jonathan Miller of KU’s Higuchi Biosciences Center; and Tylan Templin, Lance Frazer and Daniel Nicolella of the Southwest Research Institute.
Using motion capture technology without markers is useful for several reasons, the authors said, because other motion capture systems that use markers to be placed on the skin or clothing have several problems, such as not staying in place and the participant’s awareness of the markers. which can change normal movement patterns. This is crucial when testing in a sport-specific environment, where efficiency is key. The use of markerless motion capture technology enables non-invasive assessment.
Dimitrije Cabarkapa said that, to the authors’ knowledge, this is the first study to use this motion capture system to investigate the biomechanical characteristics of skilled free throw shooters. Previous research has shown that teams with better free-throw skills, especially late in the game, are more likely to win. Although the current study did not include the effects of fatigue on shooting mechanics and accuracy, researchers hope to investigate that factor in upcoming studies, as well as the effect of the presence of a defender on shooting mechanics and accuracy.
The laboratory is part of the Wu Tsai Human Performance Alliance, a consortium of researchers investigating optimal human performance. This alliance includes Stanford University, University of Oregon, Boston Children’s Hospital, Salk Institute, University of California San Diego and KU.
“These findings add to the work we have done in the past and to the body of scientific literature related to basketball shooting performance that we are continually expanding in our laboratory,” said Dimitrije Cabarkapa. “We have found that both the preparation and release phases of the shooting motion are critical to achieving solid levels of shooting efficiency. The implementation of innovative technology can allow us to understand the transition phase of the shooting motion and the kinematic chain in more detail Ultimately, our goal is to have an answer to the question every basketball fan wants to know: ‘Why did Steph Curry miss that shot?’”
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