USC Men’s Basketball Adds Noah Pro Shooting System to Practice Facility
September 25, 2026 | Men's Basketball
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The state-of-the-art shot-tracking system is used by NBA, WNBA and G League teams.
LOS ANGELES — The USC men's basketball team's practice gym looks a little different this year.
At first glance, one might think the cameras hanging above the practice hoops are meant to film practice, but in actuality, these cameras provide valuable data for every shot the Trojans take.
In September, the program installed the Noah Pro shot tracking system, which tracks the geometry and accuracy of each player's shots. Using a series of facial-recognition cameras hanging over each basket, the Noah Pro system tracks every shot's entry angle, depth and left-to-right deviation before displaying the results on a television screen. The display also shows where each shot lands inside the rim and detailed shot charts.
As basketball becomes more of a data-driven sport and teams are racing to acquire the best information, using the Noah Pro system — which NBA, WNBA, G League and select NCAA teams use — is yet another way USC can give its players an analytical edge.
"We have amazing facilities and good coaching to go along with the best technology," Assistant coach Brad Davidson said. "There are no excuses for our guys not coming in and setting a goal for themselves of how many shots they want to take every week. When they do the drills, this gives the team real-time feedback and shows how many shots they're making."
"It gives these guys every opportunity to improve," Davidson added.
A Noah Pro camera hangs over a hoop in the practice gym.
Thanks to its facial recognition capabilities, the system is available to players whenever they want. If a player wants to practice on their own time, they can improve their shots without relying on in-person feedback.
"It makes you self-analyze the shot," Davidson said. "Most of the time, coaches are saying, 'Hey, it's flat, or get more air into it,' but it gives them real-time feedback so we can focus on coaching other things.
Junior guard Aaron Hunkin-Claytor previously used the Noah Pro system at BYU, but he says having the system at USC is another valuable resource for the program. Ever since the Noah Pro cameras were installed at USC, using the system has been extra incentive to put shots up on his own time.
"When I first got here, I was as confident in my shot as it should be as a junior," Hunkin-Claytor said. "I worked on it every day, and then when we added [Noah Pro] in the last three or four weeks, I've been coming in as much as I can. It's been improving my shot a lot."
Senior guard Rodney Rice was also familiar with the Noah Pro system after seeing it in the Minnesota Timberwolves' practice facility last season. Although he had a hunch about how his shot looked, the data has helped him improve his technique.
"I've always known I have a kind of a flatter shot," Rice said. "I think everyone's shot's different — for example, Jacob and Adonis' shots are more arced than mine. I'm just getting used to making adjustments while using that system."
While the team is still learning how to use the Noah Pro system and its features, the team has wasted no time turning their shot data into healthy competition. According to the system, the "perfect shot" has a 45-degree entry angle, 11 inches of depth and no left or right deviation. So far, the Trojans have tried to see who can make the most perfect shots, either in practice or in their free time.
"It definitely gets the competitive juices flowing," Rice, who has made two perfect shots, said. "Everyone loves competing around here, so this is fun for us."
And the results have showed. Over the last week, USC shot 67.6% from the field on over 14,000 attempts with Alijah Arenas leading the way by taking 1,967 shots. Hunkin-Claytor's average shooting arc was at 45.1 degrees — the closest to a perfect shot's trajectory — and had the best mix of accuracy and consistency, according to the data. The two most accurate shooters were Joshua Hughes (78.4%) and Isaac Bruns (77.3%).
So next time you see Rice make a pull-up jumper or Hunkin-Claytor nail a corner three, know that plenty of data went into that shot. In fact, it might even be perfect.
