Kentucky maximizing Noah Shooting System under John Welch

No, the Noah Shooting System featured in Kentucky basketball‘s first summer practice highlight reel is not a new development for the Wildcats. John Calipari talked about it extensively at SEC Media Day back in October, using it to predict a breakthrough season for Jacob Toppin in Lexington.

“We have a machine in our gym, it’s called the Noah machine, and it hangs over all of our baskets,” Calipari said at the time. “When guys come in and shoot, there’s face recognition, so when they go in and shoot on their own or with a manager, it counts the number of shots they take.”

It’s essentially an eye-in-the-sky of sorts that tracks shot quality and quantity using live data and analytics, providing feedback on shot arc, depth and left/right accuracy to correct jump shots in real time. The goal is to build muscle memory to help work toward becoming a better shooter with continued reps.

Toppin put up nearly three thousand jumpers in three weeks to lead the Wildcats ahead of the regular season.

“He’s living in the gym,” Calipari said. “Every player I’ve ever coached that lives in the gym, they’ve had breakthroughs. They had breakthroughs.”

Fast forward to this week, and the Noah Shooting System craze has returned. Why? For starters, it’s back in sight and back in mind. The Wildcats shared a GIF featuring freshmen standouts DJ Wagner and Reed Sheppard sharing a high-five with the technology prominently displayed in the background.

Included is a breakdown of 2- and 3-point shots separated by arc, depth and left/right, along with a rim shooting map separating makes and misses and how many landed in the ‘Splash Zone.’

Get better every day 📈📈📈 pic.twitter.com/nkJs3zzbJN
— Kentucky Men’s Basketball (@KentuckyMBB) June 29, 2023

Noah Basketball is used by 26 of 30 NBA teams and over 50 NCAA Division I programs, a system designed to create the perfect shot — 490-plus million shots of data reveal that includes a straight forward-facing launch at a 45-degree angle to fall 11 inches deep into the basket (two inches past center). The name Noah was adopted from the story of Noah’s Arc in the Bible, the company hoping to build the perfect (shooting) arc.

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The Noah Shooting System was named a finalist for both SBJ’s Best in Athlete Performance Technology and STA Group’s Best Technology for Data and Analytics.

So again, why is this important now? Beyond looking good in the background of some practice footage, it’s been a staple for assistant coach and player development extraordinaire John Welch essentially from the moment the Wildcats arrived on campus to open the month of June.

In fact, KSR has learned that the Noah Shooting System has been a daily tool for Welch in player workouts inside the Joe Craft Center, digging into shot growth, muscle memory and reinforcing good habits — just like the pros. The resource was utilized by players individually last season, but more as a shot counter and accountability measure rather than a true development tool.

That has changed following the addition of Welch to the coaching staff.

Welch’s drive for player development shouldn’t come as a surprise — that’s what he was brought to Lexington to do. With three decades of coaching experience, including 20 at the NBA level, he’s worked under legends of the game such as Doc Rivers, George Karl, Jason Kidd, Hubie Brown and Jerry Tarkanian. His job description includes offensive strategy, scouting and game-planning while being at the forefront of development and the implementation of all individual on-court player training.

That includes individual workouts and film sessions to improve skills, decision making and efficiency.

The advanced technology was already in place just waiting to be utilized to its fullest capabilities. Welch has done just that in his first full month on the job.