1. Ben Crissy
Ms. Tillery
Period 6
18 April 2012
Senior Project Speech
Did you know that approximately 63% of all statistics are made up? I’m Ben
Crissy, and I’m here to discuss my senior project which deals with the factual stats, sports
statistics.
When I was required to choose a topic for my senior project, I immediately saw a
great opportunity to test the waters of my future career. However, I was torn between
engineering and sports statistics. In the end, my love of ESPN and sports prevailed as I
decided to keep the statistics for Creekview’s Varsity Boys’ Basketball team.
I have played basketball since fifth grade, so I was familiar with basketball
statistics going into the project. First, I immediately approached my facilitator, Coach
Clemons, for tips on recording the games’ stats since he has kept the stats for Creekview
since the school’s opening. He recommended that I make a spreadsheet on Excel and to
take a clipboard to the games. The spreadsheet I created looks like this. (Change slide)
Furthermore, my research paper enlightened me even more about a career as a
sports statistician. Additionally, it also taught me how to better analyze the statistics. At
first glance, basketball appears to be a sport where the team that shoots the best wins.
After my research, I found this was not necessarily true. Often overlooked statistics such
as assists and defensive rebounds have consistently correlated with wins. Additionally,
poor shot selection may cause losses. When playing consecutive games, players will

2. become more tired and tempted to shoot three-pointers in order to reduce fatigue.
However, some teams can be over-dependant on three point shots, this is also known as
“living and dying by the three.”
My product is an accumulation and percentage of stats from the entire basketball
season. (Hand out both copies of stats) I attended 12 out of the 25 regular season games
including all of the home games. I did not attend the other 13 regular season games as
many of the games were far away or I had other plans. Nonetheless, I still had much more
than 15 hours. I obtained the 13 games I missed from my facilitator, Coach Clemons. I
then combined my stats with Coach Clemons’ to create my product. After developing my
end of the season stats, I compared them with Coach Clemon’s end of the season stats
and they are nearly identical. The totals are off a little since Coach Clemon’s stats
included four region games that I did not include. On the other hand, the percentages for
each individual player and the team as a whole nearly correlate exactly.
At the first game, I quickly caught on to the process of recording the game’s stats.
When the game is fast-paced, it is difficult to record the stats and watch the game at the
same time. It’s not like watching the game on TV where you can rewind and see what
you missed, you have to get it right the first time or ask for help. At times, the game
would be so fast paced that I would remember to record some stats, but forget who did
what. I would find myself asking others around me questions such as “Who passed the
assist on that play?” or “Who got that defensive rebound?” I discussed this problem with
Coach Clemons and he described my problem as a natural occurrence that even he
experiences at times. The only solution he recommended me was to ask others around
me, which I had already been doing.

3. In order to give you an idea of the process I went through in order to create my
product, I created a tutorial that demonstrates exactly what a statistician does during a
basketball game. (Start Video) The player in the black shirt passed the ball to the player
in the gray shirt who shot and made a three pointer. This counts as an assist for the player
in the black shirt, and a three point attempt and make by the player in the gray shirt. Next,
the player in the blue shirt is credited for a field goal attempt and a field goal conversion
as he shoots a layup. The player in the black shirt attempts to pass to his teammate in
blue, but gray cuts off his pass. This counts as a turnover for black and a steal for gray.
Blue attempts to shoot, but is blocked by black. This is recorded as a field goal attempt
for blue, and a block for black. In this scene, gray is credited with a missed field goal
attempt while black is credited with an offensive rebound and a field goal attempt and
make. Gray attempts a field goal, but misses and blue grabs the defensive rebound. When
gray attempts a layup, he is contested and fouled by blue. This counts as a foul for blue.
Gray is not credited with a missed field goal attempt and is awarded with two free
throws. Gray misses his first free throw attempt. Rebounds are not credited on the first
free throw. Gray converts his second free throw attempt and is 1 for 2 from the line. This
video is a good representation of what it was like to record stats at the basketball games,
however, the games were much more fast paced making it difficult to watch and record
stats at the same time.
In conclusion, I feel that this project really challenged me. Normally when I work,
I tend to work slowly in order to be thorough. This project really tested me as I could not
accurately double check my work during the games as there was not enough time. I
essentially chose to record the basketball team’s stats as I hope to become a professional

4. sports statistician and be able to work my way up the ladder and eventually work for
ESPN. Unfortunately, I am still undecided on where I will attend college. I will most
likely be attending Kennesaw State University or the University of Georgia. I plan to
major in statistics and minor in sports management or another sports related field. Thank
you for your time. Do you have any questions?