Minnesota Lynx players are quick to credit Noah Basketball with helping them, as earlier this month they went on to win their fourth WNBA Championship.
Noah isn’t a new assistant to head coach Cheryl Reeve; it’s an interactive computer system that has refined the team’s shooting accuracy.
Installed above a basket’s rim, the system records all shots from anywhere on a court in real-time, providing players instant audio feedback about whether a shot is too far left or right, its depth in the basket and its entry angle. That allows players to pinpoint exactly why they make — or miss — shots, and adjust their technique accordingly.
“I attribute a lot of our success to it,” Reeve told the St. Paul Pioneer Press.
Noah Basketball CEO John Carter also says the system helps players improve over time by encouraging them to replicate successful shots and, in turn, develop muscle memory, saying its research shows a 45-degree angle and 11-inch depth make up the perfect shot.
“Players love it,” Carter said.. “They know — and their coaches know — when they don’t score enough. This can tell them why.”
The system is now used by about half of NBA teams, half of SEC teams, and several schools in each Power 5 conference, and costs $4,800 per court with 3D sensors tracking shots and the system providing audible feedback.
But Carter says the company’s main target is high schools, which may find its $2,600 single hoop system more affordable.
Both types require a monthly subscription fee that starts at $100.
“This generation of players trusts technology,” Carter said. “If a computer says they can shoot better, they believe it.”
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But Noah, which says it has 20 patents, wants to develop beyond shooting, and is now working on technology to analyze rebounding, automatically recognize players, and track data for entire teams at once — all things Carter says will help both his company and the teams using Noah succeed.
“It’s fun to see when players start buying in and get it.,” Carter said. “To see their improvement is really great.”