Registration of rebound possession zones in basketball.

Abstract

The aim of this project was to register the rebound possession zones in Basketball and the frequency of their occurrence in a sum of Basketball games, so as to determine the probable direction of the ball after unsuccessful shots. To achieve this one hundred and thirty (n=130) games of Men’s teams organized by FIBA in various Leagues during the periods 1999 – 2002 were recorded. Sixty games (n=60) of National teams and seventy (n=70) of club level were analysed by the computer program Sportscout. The defense area was divided into five zones and the direction of the ball after unsuccessful attempts were recorded. For the statistic analysis of the data the command Crosstabs and x2 (Chi-square) test and the correspondences and classification (cluster) were employed. The results suggested that a) the ball after unsuccessful shots from zones 1 or 5 is headed in the vast majority (69% – 79%) to zones 1 or 5 and in half the cases to the zone across where the shot was taken, b) the ball after successful shots from zones 2 or 4 in 70% of the cases is headed after bouncing to zones 2 and 4, and c) 85% of unsuccessful shots from zone 3 returns to zone 3. These results determine the probable directions of the ball after bouncing and offer important information to Coaches.