Abstract:Background: Basketball requires muscular power, agility, and low body fat. Anthropometric and physical assessments can help distinguish players by position or age. In Benin, university competitions highlight elite athletes, but data on younger players remain limited.
Objective: To examine relationships between anthropometric profiles and physical abilities in male and female basketball players at the 2023 University Games of Benin.
Methods: A comparative cross-sectional study involved 45 men and 43 women from 13 teams in Grand-Popo. Measurements included body mass, height, wingspan, and hand span. Physical tests were the sargent jump, medicine ball throw, 20 m sprint, and T-test.
Results: Among women, performance was consistent across positions; the throw test correlated with body mass (r = 0.332) and hand span (r = 0.379). In men, the Sargent jump correlated with height (r = 0.413), wingspan (r = 0.347), and hand span (r = 0.443).
Conclusion: Anthropometry influences vertical jump and upper-limb strength, informing talent identification and training in Beninese university basketball.
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