Kamil Gawrzydek isn’t a character out of Lord of the Rings or a Neil Gaiman book. But I’m certain he has magic powers.
How else to explain this free throw he shot during Tuesday night’s 71-48 loss at Utah State?
How long does the ball stay on the rim? Two seconds? Three? Seems like an eternity. A better question: How does that happen?(Magic powers notwithstanding.)
That’s where John Fontanella, a physics professor at the U.S. Naval Academy and author of the book, “The Physics of Basketball,” comes in. Here’s his response to Jeff Eisenberg of The Dagger:
Try perfect. Fontanella noted that a sticky substance on the ball or a vent blowing straight down on it may have helped it stay on the rim. What are the odds of it actually happening?
“A chance in a million, I guess,” Fontanella told Eisenberg. “It’s like it rolled up to the top of a hill and just sat there. Eventually there was just enough of a disturbance, somebody stomped on the floor or a fan did something to shake it off the top.”
I’m still not ruling out magic.
Want more? I’m also on Twitter @BeyndArcMMiller.