Arkansas' High-Tech Machine Should Improve Hogs' Shooting

Practical practice helper is utilized by nearly all NBA teams and many top college programs

Arkansas Razorbacks freshman point guard Boogie Fland (2) shoots a 3-point shot during the Hogs' 65-49 win against the Troy Trojans Nov. 13 at Bud Walton Arena. Fland made 2 of 3 treys against Troy and is netting 40% for the season from beyond the arc, second best on the team. / Nelson Chenault-Imagn Images

Seems like three lifetimes ago when my family was preparing to move to Fayetteville. Two teenagers, me being one of them, didn't want to move, although living in Northwest Arkansas has been a blessing for my family for decades.

A positive was nobody in Fayetteville knew I was a terrible basketball player. So, I shot all summer long, practically every minute when I wasn't on a baseball field. Just me and that basketball, shot after shot, hour after hour. I even shot after dark, on our neighbor Danny Vicroy's hoop because it had a white backboard.

Had my dad not taken that job as a professor at the University of Arkansas, my life would've been quite different. I might've even become the best basketball player ever from the state of Indiana.

My shot was transformed. It was better, not great, still a notch below good. But it got me a starting position in ninth grade and as a senior alongside four friends at Fayetteville High who played college hoops.

Which brings me — finally, you're surely screaming — to the Razorbacks. Most are already competent shooters but they're working hard each day to refine their shot, find the net more often.

Arkansas forward Adou Thiero (3) shoots against the Lipscomb Bisons at Bud Walton Arena. Arkansas beat the Bisons 76-60 on Nov. 6. Thiero leads the Hogs in scoring at 18.5 points a game. / Nelson Chenault-Imagn Images

Great news is they have a technological wonder that benefits them far more than Vicroy's white backboard could ever help me. It's called Noah Basketball. In the NBA, 26 of the 30 teams use it.

What does Noah do? Everything but put the ball through the hoop. It tracks these three elements of the shot:
* Arc
* Depth (or distance)
* Direction (right or left)

"It comes with facial recognition, a lot of features," said Arkansas assistant coach Brad Calipari during a halftime feature of the Hogs' Nov. 13 game against Troy. "Here at Arkanas we have the live feed splash zone. All of the NBA teams use that but only a handful of colleges have the live feed.

"As soon as you shoot, you're able to see your arc, depth, left or right in real time. Make a correction based on what the Noah's telling you."

Arkansas' 7-foot-2 forward Zvonimir Ivisic (44) shoots a 3-pointer in the second half against the Troy Trojans at Bud Walton Arena. Ivisic made 6 of 7 from 3-point land to lead the Hogs to a 65-49 victory. / Nelson Chenault-Imagn Images

Has it helped the Hogs? Without a doubt, it seems. Arkansas began the season making only 5 of 30 shots from beyond the 3-point stripe, or 16.7%. Drastic improvement is shooting 43.4% since then for the last two-and-a-half games.

Calipari went to the wall of the Hogs' practice gym and demonstrated how each players' information is stored under their name on the Noah computer. A large screen is high on the wall behind each basket showing that player's shot chart.

"We don't need coaches any more. Now we've got Noah," said Arkansas' 7-2 forward Zvonimir Ivisic during the halftime feature. He wasn't serious, of course, but Ivisic made 6 of 7 from 3-point land that same night to fuel the Hogs' 65-49 win against Troy.

"Try to get everything in the green zone," said Arkansas sophomore guard DJ Wagner, who was part of the feature. "It makes a sound when you do that."

Perfect, Wagner said, is 46 for arc, 10 for depth into the rim and 0 for right or left. "Make a perfect shot and it makes a sound,. Confetti goes all over the screen and everything lights up. It's not easy to get a perfect shot."

Calipari displayed the app on his phone that can track every UA player. He said when Arkansas freshman point guard Boogie Fland, a 5-star recruit, arrived in Fayetteville the coaching staff noticed his jump shot had a higher arc and most of his misses were short.

Check out this article from the @TheAthleticCBB discussing how our technology is developing the shooting technique of college basketball phenom, @CaitlinClark22 #Noahlytics #MarchMadness https://t.co/hpomtGwVQp

— Noah Basketball (@noahbasketball) March 19, 2024

"We focused on him shooting lower and longer and it kind of helped him," Calipari said. "He's more consistently hitting the back of the rim. Most of his misses were front rim. His arc's more 45-46 and he's progressed to being a better shooter."

Calipari said Nelly Davis' arc was under 45 and that he needed to get his legs and hips under him better to provide more arc on his shot. It's been a work in progress, even though Davis hit 42 percent from beyond the 3-point line a year ago. He was struggling during preseason, perhaps also due to an injured wrist.

We loved seeing the Noah shoutout during the Arkansas Razorback Men's Basketball game against Troy on ESPN! We’re proud...

Posted by Noah Basketball on Thursday, November 14, 2024

When players are short on their shots, UA coaches use an acronym to help them get the ball into the net. One day at practice, the younger Calipari wondered if his dad was yelling to him.

The acronym is BRAD, meaning back rim and down. Get the ball to the back of the rim, it won't be short and percentages go up.

Arkansas Razorbacks coach John Calipari reacts during the season opener against the Lipscomb Bisons at Bud Walton Arena. Arkansas won 76-60. / Nelson Chenault-Imagn Images

Brad's dad, head coach John Calipari, began the halftime feature on camera telling his players during practice, "Every shot matters. You're not going to make them all but you're trying to be consistent by shooting them the exact same way every time.

"Why do we have the Noah up there (while pointing to the gym wall)? To tell you where you're missing."

Following Arkansas' last game, a 91-72 win against Pacific, the elder Calipari talked about Davis, who made 2 of 3 treys that night. Davis, just 4 of 16 from deep this season, had been 2 of 13 and Calipari didn't like what he'd been saying.

"With Nelly, as I watched, I didn't like his arc," said the Hall of Fame coach. "So when you were trying to make it a lot of times you'll shoot it right at that rim because you're just trying to make a shot. You can't shoot, you got to have arc. 

"That Noah Machine we have — when he shoots, I'm looking at the machine on there. And I'm telling him, ‘44 great, 41 get the arc up. 45, 44 great. 45, 44. When he shoots fouls (Davis is 4 of 4), they're all at 45, but when he's shooting (jumpers) sometimes they're at 41. His arc’s not high enough. So I've been telling them, ‘You get the arc there. I'm not worried about it. You're going to make 60%, 50%."

It's too bad Noah wasn't around when yours truly was an eighth grader, trying to perfect a jumper that needed a lot of work. I might've become so good that Steph Curry would've modeled his shot after mine.

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