Basketball and Mathematics: two apparently distant worlds that find the perfect synthesis in Giampaolo ‘Pippo’ Ricci. Born in 1991, born in Rome, professional basketball player – Captain of Olimpia Milano and cornerstone of the national team – he is not only a champion on the parquet, where he won 4 championships between Bologna and Milan, but also in books, having obtained a degree in mathematics cultivated between one training session and another. His career, told in the book I wanted to be Robinis a perfect example of work ethic, humility and patience. His commitment goes beyond the field and study: a few years ago he founded the charity Amani Education ODVwith which he built a school in Tanzania.
In this interview we tried to look at sport through his eyes, discovering that behind a basket there is much more science than it seems: we will talk about theequation of the parabola for the perfect shot, how technology is changing training and the relationship between nutrition and performance.
Pippo, let’s start from here: you are a very high level athlete, captain of Olimpia Milano and a cornerstone of the national team, but you have a degree in mathematics. How did you manage to reconcile these two worlds, which are often mutually exclusive?
It wasn’t easy. Let’s say that my career was different from the others: in the youth team I wasn’t the “Golden Boy”, the one destined for Serie A. My parents always taught me the importance of school: duty first, then pleasure. When I was a scout, they gave me as a “totem” – symbolic name – Curious Hippopotamus. I was hoping for an eagle or a lion, but instead… hippopotamus. But “Curious” defined me well: at school I liked to pay attention.
Why did you choose mathematics?
I chose to do mathematics at the Sapienza University of Rome almost for a logistical reason: it was the only faculty that didn’t have to be attended in the morning, when I trained. Then I moved to Pavia. I studied in my spare time, maybe an hour a day, but consistently. For me it was a duty towards myself: I didn’t know where I would get with basketball, I was a kid in Serie B, and cultivating my studies was fundamental.
Do you think that if you hadn’t continued your studies you would have gotten to where you are now? Did your degree give you an edge as an athlete too?
Maybe without studying I wouldn’t have gotten here. I see many colleagues who live on basketball alone: if the game goes badly or they get injured, they collapse because that’s all they have. For me, studying was a lifeline. Basketball and mathematics fed themselves. Mathematics gave me the method, the ability not to lower my head in the face of a “failure” or a defeat. When I played badly on Sunday, on Monday I opened my books and my head went elsewhere, I unplugged from the pressure. I almost felt like a “superhero” with a double identity, and this made me take to the field mentally lighter than those who only had the ball in slices of life.
There’s a lot of hidden math in basketball: shot patterns, rotations, blocking angles, space management. Do you think your studies have helped you visualize these things better in the field? I don’t mean do the math while you play, but more like ‘mindset‘…
Absolutely yes. There is an anecdote that I often tell: an analysis professor, seeing me stuck on a function on the blackboard, told me: “Walk away. Take a step back and look at the whole thing“. On the pitch I do the same mindset mathematics helps me to have everything under control and stay focused. I don’t calculate the angle, obviously, but I visualize the spacing, I know that if the point guard looks in one direction I can steal a meter from the other. Knowing the opponents’ statistics – whether they go left or right, their percentages – gives me confidence. It’s the rule of “control what you can control“: if I have studied everything, the anxiety disappears. It’s like going to an exam 100% prepared: you know you can pass it.
There is a lot of mathematics in the evolution of the game too. If we look at the data, 20 years ago there were 16 triples per game, today we are at 38. Simply put: a 3-pointer is worth more, so statistically it is worth it. This year you’re shooting a crazy 40.4% from three: have you had to adapt to this ‘mathematical revolution’ or is it a natural gift?
I had to work a lot on it. I understood that if I didn’t have the three-point shot in my baggage, I would be a limited player and I wouldn’t have a career at a high level. It’s pure work ethic. I spent entire summers shooting 1000 times a day. At first you think about the whole movement: bend your knees, extend your triceps, snap your wrist. Then, after doing it thousands of times, it becomes automatic. Today I feel like a much better player than two years ago thanks to this work.
Curiously, mathematics is actually one of the secrets behind my technical improvement. I applied a precise principle to shooting: the equation of the parabola. I understood that by raising the arc of the trajectory, the probability of the ball entering increases.
(When a player throws the ball, the trajectory it follows through the air is precisely a parabolic arc. The equation 𝑦 = 𝑎𝑥2 + 𝑏𝑥 + 𝑐 describes the parabolic trajectory of the basketball; Raising the arc maximizes the angle of entry into the basket, increasing your chances of scoring. If the ball arrives “from above” (more vertical), the basket offers its maximum circular opening; if it arrives flat, the useful target is reduced to a narrow ellipse, leaving much less margin for error.)
Moving from mathematics to technology: we are in 2025, how much has technology revolutionized your daily life? Between recovery monitoring and injury prevention, how much do you rely on data?
Very, very much. For example, we have a GPS in our shorts that tracks how much we run. Sure these numbers help the staff personalize the work, but only you truly understand how you feel physically. If the data says you are in “reserve”, they make you slow down to avoid injury. In Milan the organization is obsessive: each player has his own card, his own supplements, his own weight program based on data.
Work culture is your trademark and is what leads you to call yourself a ‘Robin’. What does it mean to you to interpret this figure?
Yes, I really like the metaphor of Robin, Batman’s assistant. He’s the one who puts his ego aside to make the team win, the one who does the “dirty work” to allow Batman to shine. On an all-star team, my job is to do those little things – a block, a defense, a rebound – that don’t end up in the highlights but are essential to victory.
I have a “pop” curiosity about shooting mechanics. How is it possible that professional athletes, who train for hours every day, sometimes score 0/2 on free throws or don’t take iron?
Let’s say that here mathematics stops and emotion comes into play. A coach of mine used to say that “the ball has a soul“: feel if you’re insecure. I have teammates who maybe aren’t technically perfect, but they have an enormous ego, they feel they are the strongest in the world and therefore they score. When you’re on the line, you’re alone. If you’re afraid of making a mistake, if your arm is shaking, there’s no parable or mechanics that can hold. To score free throws you need courage: You have to challenge yourself and convince yourself that it will go in. It’s a battle that’s more mental than technical.
Staying on the pressure and putting the numbers aside. You are captain of Olimpia: in addition to the analytical mind, a very emotional and empathetic part is needed here. How do you manage this balance?
Being captain came naturally to me. Being captain for me doesn’t mean shouting or destroying the locker room. My way of being a leader is by example and listening. It’s a heavy responsibility, because I too have my bad days, my insecurities. But knowing that the team and the coach trust me gives me strength.
Do you also see yourself as ‘Robin’ in your role as captain?
For me the captain is a Robin raised to maximum power. My role is to be the point of reference for others. The captain must be there for the young player who plays 5 minutes and feels excluded, as well as for the more experienced player who needs support or protection. It means having the right word for everyone, giving energy in difficult moments and, above all, setting an example by throwing yourself at every ball on the pitch.
I know nutrition is a topic you care about a lot. Would you like to briefly tell us about your experience?
It is a fundamental theme. When I was young I had a difficult relationship with food: at 13 I weighed 121 kilos, I felt unfit and I was ashamed to show off my body. I always tried to mask my discomfort but the turning point came only when I asked for help. The first time I went to a nutritionist it changed my life. He taught me that I shouldn’t eat less, but eat better. In my life I have gone from eating too much to the opposite extreme, depriving myself of everything, even going so far as to dine only with “soda” (a protein drink used by athletes, ed).
Today I know my body perfectly: I know what I need to perform and I know when I can indulge in a little indulgence.
The career of a professional athlete ends at some point. Do you think you will use your mathematics degree for a different job in the future, or will you stay in basketball?
I would wholeheartedly like to use my degree. I would like a “normal” job, perhaps in a company, understanding the bureaucratic or managerial dynamics. I miss that normality that I sacrificed, like a Sunday lunch with the family without thinking about the match. I don’t know if I really will, but the idea of getting back into the game off the pitch fascinates me a lot.
In all this you find time for the “Amani Education” charity project in Tanzania. What is that human experience, away from the spotlight, leaving you with?
The “Amani Education” project was born almost by chance, but has become very important and stimulating. I understood that through basketball and my image as a player I can do concrete good. Going there brings me back down to earth. We complain if the hotel is not 5 stars or if the lunch is not perfect. There you see people 4000 km away who have no roof over their heads, struggle to eat even just one meal a day, have no clothes. It makes you realize how lucky we are and puts all our “problems” to rest.
To close: what message would you give to younger kids – but perhaps also to their parents – who find themselves at the crossroads of ‘either sport or school’?
My message is: do as many things as possible. Be curious, like my “hippo”. Only by trying do you understand what your true passion is. And then have patience. The results don’t come right away. You have to bang your head, lose, get back up. Don’t just dream big, work hard in everyday life. If you find that thing that makes you forget everything else while you do it, then cultivate it with all of yourself.
