Jenna Odell

Morgan Arroyo
Jillian Mejia
Ignacio Cid
Title: Notre Dame High School Basketball Size
Question: What should the size of a basketball be for the use of high school basketball teams?
Background: The WNBA changed the size of the ball so that it'll be easier for them to have a
better grip. Also they also changed the ball size to be equal to the the hand length of both NBA
and WNBA players. Though it would be hard to have the exact length for both leagues since
most of players have different lengths and heights. It would also be hard change the ball to be
exact if new athletes come in and are different in size and length as well.
Hypothesis: High schools should have the same size basketball for women's and men's teams.
---> if the ball is too small for men, they would not have good control over the ball which could
lead to overthrowing since the ball would be too light for them to hold. If women's basketballs
were to become larger, they would have better aim and hold of the ball which would improve
their overall control over it. They would just have to adjust to a modified shooting technique
based on the weight and size change of the new ball.
Procedure: (change to paragraph form) As we started this lab, we measured both the men's and
women's heights and hand lengths in centimeters. Afterwards, we found the average heights of
each team by adding all heights together then dividing it by the number of players they had. We
did this same equation to find out the hand size average as well. The difference of heights is
18.6 centimeters and the difference of hand lengths is 3.03 centimeters. The mens ball
circumference is 29.5 centimeters and the womens ball circumference is 28.5 centimeters. The
difference between the balls is only one centimeter.
Data:
Girls Basketball Players

Hand Length (cm)

Height (cm)

19.1

167.6

16.5

165.1

17.1

167.6

19.1

171.5

17.1

157.5

19.1

160

15.9

162.6

15.9

171.5

14.6

163.8

10

15.9

172.7

11

16.5

170.2

12

15.9

165.1

13

17

158

14

16.5

160

15

17.5

165

16

17

174

17

17

154

18

17.8

177.7

19

17.8

177.7

20

16.5

148.6

21

16.5

149.9

22

17.8

175

23

16.5

160

Boys Basketball Players

Hand Length (cm)

Height (cm)

20.5

195

20

193

20

179

20

191

19

187

19.5

187.9

20.5

195

19.5

195.5

22

185

10

19.5

170

11

20

169

12

18.5

165.1

13

22

193

14

19

182.9

Average

Boys Basketball Players

Girls Basketball Players

Height

184.9 cm

166.3 cm

Hand Length

20 cm

16.96 cm

Quantitative Analysis:

1. The average height for the boys basketball team is 184.9 cm and average hand length is
20 cm.
2. The average height for the girls basketball team is 166.3 cm and the average hand
length is 16.97 cm.
3. Boys basketball team: 20/14 x ?/184.9 ----> 264.14/29.5 ----> 8.95 cm;
Girls
basketball team: 16.97/23 x ?/166.3 ----> 122.7/28.5 ---> 4.30 cm
Qualitative Analysis: The hand length and height of the boy and girls is severely different. The
boys have a significantly bigger hand length and are taller. The difference of the height is 18.6
centimeters and the difference of the hand length is 3.03 centimeters. The advantages for the
boys would be a better grip on the ball. Also an advantage for the boys would be better control
over the ball, especially with shooting and keeping it stable. A disadvantage for the boys would
be the weight change of the ball. They are used to the ball being heavier and with the resistance
of the new ball would be weaker causing their original force put out to be too strong leading to
over throwing. For women there are only disadvantages for making the ball smaller. Based off
our data we found that the women have smaller hands, therefore if the ball becomes smaller the
women will not have a good control over the ball. Also while dribbling or passing the ball the
women won't be able to manage the ball as well. The weight change will also be a disadvantage
for the women because it's something new they would have to adapt to.
Conclusion:

The results of the lab proved that our hypothesis was wrong. In order for a correct proportion
between height, hand length, and ball circumference for the women's team the ball would have
to smaller than the mens team. The mens high school team average of height and hand length
was far greater, differing in 18.6 centimeters in height and 3.03 centimeters in hand length, than
the womens team. When conducting our experiment, the tape measures only reached 60
inches (152.4 centimeters). Due to this the measurement of height could have been slightly off
because the tape measurer did not reach to the height of most of the players. Another error that
could have occurred is miscalculations, either with converting measurements or with equations.
This mistake could slightly offset the averages for the mens and womens teams. We should not
alter the size of the womens basketball because they would have to readjust to the new model.
The disadvantages of having the ball smaller would be the control of dribbling and passing and
adjusting to a lighter weight. The disadvantages of having a larger ball would be adjusting to the
heaviness and having a difficult time to grip the ball due to the womens team having smaller
hands.