Robots May Not Be Made for Coaching, at Least in This Manner

Hogs' mechanical instructor might need to get out of Nelly Davis' head

Arkansas Razorbacks guard Johnell Davis (1) celebrates after making a three-point shot in the first half against the Ole Miss Rebels at Bud Walton Arena. | Nelson Chenault-Imagn Images

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — Fans can be a bit off the deep end with their theories, but a recent one thrown out on local sports radio actually made sense.

Thursday evening on "Drive Time Sports" in Little Rock, long time host Randy Rainwater threw out that someone had asked him about whether the Hogs' NOAH system might be a bit of the problem this team faces with shooting. Even with the win, outside of free throw shooting, there is little doubt the Razorbacks struggle making baskets, even lay-ups.

At first, the thought seemed a little out there. There's no way a machine that tells shooters what they are doing when the shots are falling so they can learn to repeat it time and again can cause this sort of shooting woes.

However, the analysis of guard Nelly Davis against LSU caused this whole NOAH thing to be a thought that just wouldn't go away. After all, how does one of the greatest shooters in the country suddenly not know how to make buckets.

The biggest note in that evaluation was Davis looked much sharper when he found himself in situations where he wasn't allowed to do anything other than let his natural instincts take over. In all other instances, he looked like he was overthinking things.

The problem is the concepts in John Calipari's offense don't seem overly complicated in comparison to other college offenses, so it just didn't make sense. So, with a curiosity tickled, it was time to dig up that video of NOAH being used at the Razorbacks' practices back in November.

Stunningly, it didn't appear to be getting used in an individualized way for players. See, each player has a lifetime of developing their own style that works for them.

It's not perfect for others, but it's magic for them. Yet, instead of taking a made basket and showing a player how that happened, it spat out a series of numbers telling them why they weren't perfect shooting robots.

At one point, DJ Wagner knocks down a nice jumper that barely moved the net. However, instead of talking about the information that worked for him, Wagner talked about how the machine is telling him he needs to shoot differently.

Great players aren't robots. Magic Johnson and Michael Jordan weren't machines with rinse, lather, repeat dialed up in a perfect repeat of a mechanical motion.

They were works of art that bent and twisted through the air. The shot with high arcs one moment and low and deadly the next as the weaved around defenders mid-shot, even if it was a jump shot.

Davis was expected to be a work of art also. He's dominated college basketball at a Final Four level for a long time as a fill up the basket type shooter.

Surely when Davis arrived on campus shooting over 40%, there wasn't going to be an effort to tinker with his shooting stroke. However, sure enough, the NOAH promotional package shows exactly that happening.

"Same thing with Nelly, Nelly has a tendency to be a little, not a lot, but just a bit lower than 45 and sometimes he's got to get his legs more under him, get his hips under him and get the ball up a little more," assistant coach Brad Calipari said.

Perhaps the most disturbing statement came from center Zvonimir Ivisic.

"You don't need coaches anymore," Ivisic said. "Now you've got NOAH every day in the gym. Every night. Whenever you work."

Anyone who has ever worked in the arts knows computers can't do what humans do. They are too manufactured, to precise and perfect to do the job at the same level as a human.

The human body processes so much information in split seconds and improvises in the moment. If a 7-footer is flying in from the right and a guy a couple of inches shorter is bringing his hands in from behind, the robotic shot of a machine is going to get rejected every time.

It takes a natural process of a great shooter forged over years and years of pick-up games and imaginary last second moments in driveways and gyms to make that moment happen. The last thing the shooter needs to be doing is thinking about whether he feels his hips are locking in at the precise angle needed to do what Coach Robot keeps telling him to do.

It's time for there to be a little less NOAH and a lot more Nelly when it comes to Davis. In the words of the current generation, stop telling a world class chef what seasonings he needs to be using and just let the man cook.

If there are others on the team who don't feel their natural selves because of this effort to perfect what can't be perfected unless wide open, maybe they need to be a little more themselves too. Arkansas isn't going to get many nights where they shoot 30+ free throws and knock down almost all of them.

More wins will require much better shooting. Perhaps its time to take off the electric training leash and let the dogs run wild.

HOGS FEED:

• Calipari still trying to learn on fly with Razorbacks

• Calipari monologue mirrors relief, joy felt by Razorbacks

• Hogs injured freshman celebrates with team after first sec win

• Razorbacks notch first SEC win In most unlikely fashion

• Arkansas finally plays like Razorbacks so fans treat them that way

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