The Effect of Foot Placement on the Jump Shot Accuracy of NCAA Division I Basketball Players

*Authors: Christopher Q. Williams*, Liana Webster, Frank Spaniol, and Randy Bonnette

Corresponding Author:
Christopher Williams
12214 Brightwood Dr.
Montgomery, TX 77356
cwilliams6@islander.tamucc.edu

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of foot placement on the jump shot accuracy of college basketball players. Participants were 11 female NCAA Division I basketball players. The two point shooting protocol adapted from Pojskić, Šeparović, and Užičanin (2011) was used to identify foot placement and evaluate accuracy for each subject. For each jump shot attempt, foot placement was recorded as either in front (in a dominant staggered stance), even (in a neutral parallel stance), or behind (in a cross-dominant staggered stance). Each attempt was also recorded as either a make or a miss. Descriptive and inferential statistics were used to evaluate the differences in jump shot accuracy for each of the three foot placement positions. A one-way ANOVA (p < .05) revealed no significant differences for any of the three positions. The results of the study suggest that foot placement does not have a significant impact on jump shot accuracy. However, college basketball players favor the use of a dominant stance during the jump shot. This study offers new insight into the role of foot placement in shooting accuracy. Attention should be given to foot placement when coaching players or analyzing their jump shots. Keywords: staggered stance, shooting accuracy, shooting percentage

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