By Lauryn Luderman

SSI Assistant Director Ryan Ruddy and the Ohio State’s Sports Analytics Association visited the Columbus Metropolitan Library Friday to help school-age children to learn how statistics are used in basketball.

Max Caruso and Laryssa Hedgecock, both members of SAA and statistics majors, assisted in the presentation, which focused on how to calculate different statistics in basketball, such as points per game and three-point percentages. 

Graham Knott, SAA’s president and a third-year in computer science and engineering, led a discussion about how math and basketball intersect. 

“This gives us an opportunity for people in our club…to speak to different audiences and expand sports analytics abilities to different degrees,” Knott said. 

The event was unique to kids who frequent the library, because it dove into something many of them are passionate about—sports, according to Youth Learning Specialist Audrey Gorman.  

“We have a ton of students who are very interested in sports,” Gorman said. “A lot of them have expressed interest in becoming a professional athlete after graduating, and this is a way to show them that there are other careers involving sports.” 

Those that attended seemed to enjoy learning about basketball in a different light. Gorman called the visit from SAA an “enrichment opportunity.”