By Jim Eaton
Dan Loman ’14 is an avid sports fan, and like many pro scouts, coaches and general managers, he examines statistics that go well beyond the ones you see in the box score. After reading the book “Basketball on Paper” by Dean Oliver and taking a numerical methods, data analysis course at Siena, Loman stumbled into the field of analytics and has been crunching numbers ever since.
“During my junior year I decided to pursue a career in analytics versus nanotechnology after that course,” said Loman, a physics major from Guilderland, N.Y.
He began doing research with Matt Bellis, Ph.D., assistant professor of physics and astronomy. Their work concentrated on the NFL season during the fall semester and, after the mid-semester fast break, they spent spring focusing on the NBA. Loman is examining different analytics that contribute towards a team’s offensive efficiency and ultimately what helps a team win a contest.
“This process has been very informative as I have learned different data techniques and had an amazing opportunity to attend the MIT Sloan Sports Analytics Conference recently too,” Loman said.
The conference keynote speakers included New York Knicks President and legendary coach Phil Jackson, new NBA Commissioner Adam Silver and Indianapolis Colts Quarterback Andrew Luck.
“Many businesses, including professional sports teams, use huge amounts of data to help them be successful. The same tools we use in particle physics and astrophysics to analyze Big Data are now in regular use by these same businesses,” Bellis said. “Dan has taken advantage of the opportunities at Siena to gain experience in these techniques and set himself up for success in grad school and beyond."
Loman will be attending the University of San Francisco to pursue his master’s degree in analytics. Until then, he’ll be watching as many games as he can, all in the name of research, of course.
