James Pauley
NBSA

James Pauley thought he couldn't get any better, and he was okay with that. The San Diego resident was consistently making 94 percent of his free throws in competitions, in exhibitions and in practice. Not bad for 99 percent of those who play basketball.

Pauley turned 50 a few years ago and started entering senior events. His free throw shooting prowess won competitions in San Diego, Pasadena, and Palm Desert to name a few.

"I was having some success and was satisfied with my shooting," Pauley said. "I didn't think there was any way I could improve."

That is until he shot on a Noah Select System last August at a Hoops of Hope event in Philadelphia. The Noah system showed Pauley that he had untapped potential and that cutting his shooting gap was very possible.

"Noah opened my eyes," Pauley said. "I was shooting 94 percent before Philly. I think being satisfied with my shooting was the reason I wasn't getting any better. I just hadn't been exposed to how I could get better. Noah showed me how."

Last year, Pauley accepted an offer to help launch the National Basketball Shooters Association (NBSAshooters.com) as a founding member and was recently named Executive Director. At the Hoops of Hope event in Philadelphia, he met other NBSA founders including Ed Palubinskas and Rick Rosser.

Palubinskas shoots over 99 percent in competitions and exhibitions. He is best known for coaching Shaquille O'Neal, and helped the center jump his free throw average from 33 percent to 66 percent during one season. Rosser has made over 1,000 consecutive free throws 12 times and once drilled a remarkable 2,118 free throws in a row.

Hoops of Hope is the world's largest free throw festival and helps raise money for orphaned kids in Africa. Also at the event was Noah representative George Zambie who had the Noah system set up for anybody to try. "I shot 25 free throws on the Noah twice that day," said Pauley, "and it immediately showed me that my arc was flat. My average shot was around 41 degrees."

Pauley added that he thought his shot was flat because of where he lives. "I have a basketball hoop in my backyard," Pauley said. "I live near the coast and there's almost always a breeze. I learned to flatten my arc so the wind wouldn't affect it. That has carried over to the gym and everywhere else."

Pauley soon upped his arc to 44 degrees, and by November had increased his free throw percentage to 97 percent. According to Noah technology, 44 degrees is the perfect arc angle for a shooter of Pauley's height.

"Noah really intrigued me," Pauley said. "I've always been interested in everything about shooting. Before I met George or heard of Noah, I read books and watched videos on shooting.

I studied the best shooters. I studied Steve Nash (Phoenix Suns guard and NBA free throw champion). But for me, nothing improved my shooting as much as Noah. I was sold on it right away."

Pauley followed up with Zambie, and after more meticulous study of Noah, he decided to incorporate the system into his non-profit mentoring program, VIP Mentors, and his basketball coaching.

"I run a mentoring program and often use basketball as part of the process," Pauley said. "Noah has a fun factor which fits with mentoring kids. Also, I'm in the early stages of forming the San Diego Basketball Shooting Academy. For me, getting a Noah system and using it is the best thing I could do as a coach. Noah has tremendous value as a system to help players improve."

In May, Pauley entered his new found stroke in a senior event in Pasadena. The competition featured one of the legends of the game—Fred Newman.

Newman holds five recognized free-throw Guinness world records including highest percentage for 24 hours (98.2 percent) and most free throws made in 24 hours (20,371). He also once made 88 consecutive free throws while blindfolded and 209 three-pointers in a row from the top of the key, also a world record.

The competition was conducted with the NBSA tournament format in which players are seeded and bracketed according to a 25 free throw qualifying round. Newman became the top seed and Pauley the second by making 25 and 24 of their qualifying shots, respectively.

Both made it to the finals where Pauley prevailed by making all 25 of his free throws while Newman faltered with 23 converted.

"Fred is someone I greatly admire as a basketball shooter," said Pauley, who finished the tournament with a cumulative total of 98.5 percent. "He's 74 now and is ailing a bit with an Achilles Heel problem. I told him that the result would likely have been different if he was healthy... or I hadn't discovered the Noah."

As for the future, Pauley will continue to compete and coach shooting. He hopes one day basketball will devote more resources to shooting much like other sports do to different skills.

"Every top golfer has a swing coach", said Pauley. "Baseball teams have pitching and hitting coaches. Football has quarterback coaches and other position coaches who teach techniques that apply to those positions. Last season, only four NBA teams had shooting coaches."

And if Pauley were to become a shooting coach for a professional team?

"The Noah system would definitely play a big part in my coaching. In fact, Noah would be the number one tool in my toolbox," Pauley said. "You can tell a shooter ‘you need to do this' or ‘you need to do that.' But when they see a photo tracing their arcs, whether it's too high or too low, or two short or too long, it has more impact. And to have them shoot over and over with the immediate audio feedback, it really accelerates the learning curve."