Improving data collection methodologies of basketball players and exploring data analysis opportunities

Abstract

As businesses grow so it their data collection on customers and suppliers. But, businesses are not the only thing that’s growing. Sports is considered to be a job, a hobby and a pass time. Giving the increase importance for healthy living people are giving more importance to sports and thus collection of data is also growing in this sector. Emerging technologies allow us to collect data that we never tough of having before. And all this data collect is what is leading the world to the new thing called Big Data. Big Data needs a proper structure and should be well maintained, so as to grasp the full capabilities it offers. This dissertation aims to explore the data collection opportunities for analyses of data within the Maltese Basketball. The Maltese Basketball Association currently collects statistics using the pen and paper method. But would other opportunities can one explore when collecting data using modern technologies? This dissertation strives to identify, what data is being collected world wide for sports further to that already collected by the MBA and how is this helping improve player performance. In order to gather the required information, questionnaire was distributed to players, coaches and officials registered with the MBA and survey was distributed to selected fitness trainers. The idea was to gather the opinion of all those involved directly with the players and who help to improve their performance. Also, the Adidas MiCoach x_cell devices was used on a few players in order to identify the need of using devices like these to collect fitness information of the players. From the information collected from this research it seems that players, coaches and officials are ready to make use of this kind of data and already identify the need to have this data in order to improve player performance. The only drawback found was that of players resisting the idea of sharing personal data collected to the public