Every basketball player understands that there’s nothing worse than playing with a bad or heavy basketball. They also understand that there is a significant difference in weight and texture varying between brands. For example, shooting with a Wilson Evolution ball is much different than shooting with a Spalding Legacy, which is the standard ball used for high school games in Missouri. The Wilson Evolution is slightly heavier and is slightly more slippery compared to the lighter, more controllable Spalding Legacy that high school players have gotten used to.
With college basketball starting up, there’s many games being held on a neutral court, meaning that the basketballs being used are often not the same balls that the respective teams would have used at a home game. On Nov. 12, Kentucky played Duke and won 77-72. Kentucky shot 10-25 from 3 (40%) while Duke shot 4-24 from 3 (16.7%). Unusually, the Spalding Legacy was used instead of the more common Wilson or Nilke Elite, which are usually used by Duke and Kentucky. Duke coach Jon Scheyer did not have his team practice with the Spalding basketballs, while Kentucky coach Mark Pope did. Some may think that the type of basketball is a trivial matter and this is just a coincidence. Although that is possible, the same occurrence happened last year in March Madness.
Last year, SEC teams such as Kentucky, Alabama, and Texas A&M all saw 3 point shooting percentages decrease downwards of 20% each in their first round tournament matchups. This was very likely due to the use of the Wilson Evolution throughout the entirety of the tournament. The coaching decision of Mark Pope to use the Spalding basketballs leading up to their matchup against Duke demonstrates something bigger than sports itself. It shows attention to detail, preparation, and adaptability. All of which will serve them well as they aim for a long awaited deep postseason run.
