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There's a New Arc Builder in Town
August, 2003 Practice usually makes perfect when it comes to the free throw. But nothing really existed to give players concrete feedback on just how well they're shooting. To help his daughter, Alan Marty, MBA '84, improvised a carefully placed garden rake on its end so when she barely cleared the rake, her chances of making a basket improved. This got Marty and a band of others thinking. That rake is now in his garage, having been replaced by a computerized device that helps free throwers build the perfect arc on their shots. Appropriately named after that famous "ark builder," Noah monitors the trajectory of a free throw shot and instantly will tell the player the arc degree the ball makes. After a complete session, the screen shows the actual trajectory of each shot using different colored lines. Marty brought up the idea to a fellow pickup player, Ridge McGhee, in 2001. The two started developing a prototype, and a chance conversation by Alan's wife, Cindy Thompson Marty, MBA '84, with church member Tom Edwards, Sloan '96, brought a mix of mathematics and a NASA-based research history to the team. Finally, Jervis Williams, MBA '92, came on board in 2003 to assist with the marketing and distribution of Noah. All share a great love of basketball and loaned out the machine to be tested by coaches at this year's NCAA women's and men's finals. A demo of the product can be seen at www.noahbasketball.com. |
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There's a New Arc Builder in Town
