AI-Enhanced Cognitive Training and Basketball Athletes' Situational Awareness on the Court

This study comprehensively examined the relationship between artificial intelligence (AI)-enhanced cognitive training and basketball athletes' situational awareness (SA) on the court. A descriptive-comparative-correlational research design was systematically employed, utilizing a sample of 149 collegiate basketball athletes from Guangzhou Sport University as primary respondents. Data were collected via a validated, researcher-made questionnaire and rigorously analyzed using descriptive statistics, independent samples t-tests, one-way ANOVA, and Pearson's r correlation. The empirical results revealed that athletes perceived AI-enhanced cognitive training as slightly effective overall (overall mean = 2.50). Participants reported stronger perceived benefits in critical areas such as anticipation, focus, strategic retention, processing speed, and adaptability, although they noted limited gains in reaction time and decision-making accuracy. Demographic variables, including sex and age, did not significantly influence training perceptions; however, more experienced athletes reported significantly better strategic retention and adaptability. Furthermore, the athletes' self-assessed situational awareness was found to be moderately developed (overall mean = 2.50), characterized by notable strengths in anticipation and spatial awareness, alongside distinct weaknesses in opponent recognition and high-pressure decision-making. Situational awareness did not differ significantly across sex, age, or playing experience. Ultimately, a weak overall correlation existed between AI training perception and situational awareness (r = 0.04, p > 0.05), with only isolated significant links observed. These critical findings strongly justify the strategic development of a specialized, AI-powered situational awareness training program integrating targeted cognitive drills, realistic game scenarios, and personalized feedback to substantially improve skill transfer to actual on-court athletic performance.