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ABERDEEN, S.D. -- Feb. 12, 2008 -- When Northern State University coach Don Meyer passed Dean Smith for No. 2 on the all-time NCAA coaching win list on Feb. 1, he did not think about its significance. Instead, he thought about practice.
Practice?
“Yes, I thought about what we needed to do in the next practice and what we needed to do in the next game to get better,” said Meyer, who has coached 36 years and with 884 victories is five ahead of the legendary University of North Carolina coach.
But later on, when Meyer was alone and had time to reflect on being just 18 from tying all-time leader Bob Knight, he admitted his thoughts turned another direction.
“You don’t think about the wins,” Meyer said. “You think about all the coaches who worked beside you and all the players you coached. That’s what it’s all about.”
Meyer climbed the coveted list by being an old-school coach who believes in repetition, sweat and smarts. His teams are balanced,
disciplined and can shoot. Currently, the Wolves are shooting an impressive 51.3 percent from the field, 46 percent from three-point
land and have seven players hitting 80 percent or better on free throws. Good shooting is a key reason for the team’s current 22-2 record and No. 8 national ranking.
Meyer credits the NOAH Shooting System for his team’s success from the perimeter. NOAH, which is used by many NBA, college and high school teams, is the first of its kind for measuring the arc of a shot. The all-seeing computer gives out the arc degree of any shot and the depth of where it will land. NOAH determines what should be done to change the arc and thus improve shooting percentages.
“My team uses NOAH because it works,“ Meyer said. “Us old-school guys don’t just use something to use it, we use it because it works. We’re
not going to waste our time.”
Now when a player shoots the ball flat during a game, Meyer will bark out the arc degree from the sidelines.
That’s not surprising to NOAH Basketball CEO John Carter, who said the system gives the body continuous feedback so eventually the
body adjusts to recognize the correct angle.
“NOAH brings a video game approach to shooting a basketball,” Carter said. “To today’s generation, that’s a big deal. Kids can compete
against each other with NOAH just like they would with HALO or Rock Band.”
Craig Nelson, a 5-foot-11 senior guard, sprained his knee and sat out three games earlier this season. Instead of missing practice time,
Nelson worked on his shooting with NOAH.
“Whenever anyone is injured, Coach Meyer stresses that you need to get into the gym and do some skill work,” said Nelson, who wants to be a third-generation coach. His grandfather, Ed Beyer, is the winningest high school coach in North Dakota history with 678 career victories.
“We can use NOAH for 15-20 minutes and shoot around 200 free throws. Coach always says that we need to practice with a purpose. With NOAH, that’s exactly what we’re doing.”
The extra work has paid off. Nelson is 36 for 39 (92.3 percent) on free throws and 52 for 105 (49.5 percent) on three pointers.
“The thing about bad shooting, it’s painful to watch,” Carter said. “To everyone in the stands, there’s nothing worse. But good shooting? That epitomizes good basketball.”
Added Meyer, “Morgan Wooten, the great high school coach, once said you can never spend enough time on shooting. I believe it. NOAH helps us maximize that time.”
THE NOAH WAY: A study showed that 75 percent of missed free throws taken during NCAA competition fall short. The NOAH Shooting System produces better game shooters because it gives players better control of shot distance. Players miss fewer shots short and long, and thus prevent shooting slumps and increase shooting percentages. Please feel free to print this story in your publication. If I can be of further assistance, please contact Pam Stapleton 256-216-8909 or
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