The investigator made an analytical study of basketball shooting in twenty intercollegiate basketball games for men in selected colleges in the southwest region of the United States during the season of 1948-1949.

The purpose of this research was to examine the influence of fictitious scoring updates on psychological momentum (PM) and athletic performance in a competitive basketball setting. The participants included in this study were 50 male undergraduate students who reported having played basketball previously and qualified by being able to make more than 24% (12 out of 50) of their 3-point shots in a pre-trial session. Participants were told that they were competing in a 50 shot, 3-point shooting competition against another individual, equal in ability. After every 10 shots, participants were given a fabricated score update and answered four questions used to measure PM. Results showed that the fictitious score updates significantly (p < .01) influenced participants’ PM scores, where those who were told they led had higher PM scores than those who were told they trailed. As for shooting performance, no significant differences (p = .76) were found between positive and negative PM states for participants who reported experiencing both during the competition. Together, these findings suggest that manufactured score updates can influence PM, but resultant performance differences may not exist. Results of this study lend support to the notion that PM is experienced by athletes. However, when examining basketball shooting performance, the momentum-performance relationship is statistically unsupported. Thus, although PM is thought of by many as a game-changing factor, this study would suggest that PM plays a negligible role in changes to individual performance.

In my thesis I have been dealing with shooting accuracy of juniors in Bohemia Poděbrady in regional league. The aim of my work was to find out the effectivenes of shooting during matches, from particular positions and distance. The data were gained from technical records during one season period. The gathered data were compared with the results of technical records of juniors playing the first junior league and with the results of a shooting test in noncompetitive conditions. The examined group contained thirty players. Obtained results will be used for improvement of shooting training of juniors in Bohemia Poděbrady and can be the basement for works of similar kind.