The diameter of a basketball rim is 18 inches. A standard basketball has a circumference of 30 inches. What is the distance between the ball and the rim in a shot in which the ball goes exactly in the center of the rim? Show your work.
The radius of the basketball rim is half of its diameter, so it is 18 inches / 2 = <<18/2=9>>9 inches.
The diameter of the basketball is equal to its circumference, so its radius is 30 inches / (2 * pi) = 4.7746482927568605 inches.
The distance between the ball and the rim is the difference between the radius of the rim and the radius of the ball, so it is 9 inches - 4.7746482927568605 inches = 4.2253517072431395 inches. Answer: \boxed{4.22}.