Utah 4A State Championship Team believes free throw shooting wins games. Coach says, "Working with Noah developed confidence"
Overwhelmed with emotion after helping his team win the Utah 4A state championship, Highland High School's Steven Divver gave perhaps the quote of the year.
"We've all been playing together since we could walk—in the backyard growing up, then on AAU teams," Divver said. "We didn't even hang out with girls until our junior year because we were playing basketball every weekend. And now to finish together on top is just amazing."
Oh the sacrifices of a winner.
Divver and his teammates have indeed come a long way. The 48-42 victory against Bountiful was Coach Keith West's third title in 12 years. He previously led Highland to state championships in 2002 and 2006.
"This one was just as sweet as the others," West said.
West credits his team's foul shooting as a key to its title run. The Rams (22-3) made 14 of 20 free throws in the final game and were 20 of 24 in the semifinals against Lehi. Highland needed all 20 free throws in the 54-52 victory.
"We made nine free throws in the fourth quarter against Lehi," West said. "That was a game that could have gone either way. They shot the lights out. If we don't go 20 of 24 from the line, we don't win the game."
West said his program stresses good free throw shooting and every player knows that before he leaves the gym after practice, he must make 50 from the line.
"That's our commitment and that's been our commitment for the past 8 years," West said. "We had teams lose games because we didn't make free throws. Now the belief is until we start making free throws, we won't win any games."
That's why West got very excited when he first heard about Noah and its ability to drastically improve an individual's and a team's free throw and overall shooting percentage.
"It was last March when I first heard from Noah," West said. "When I saw the free demonstration, I said ‘Oh my God.' I was sold on it immediately. I saw the value and what it could do for our program."
West got on the phone and convinced others like boosters that Noah had to be part of the school.
"The thought of having Noah was like a total program adjustment," West said.
After the Noah Select System arrived, West made sure he always had it set up for anyone to use the 30 minutes after school let out and before practice started. He also usually allowed three players to use it after each practice.
His assistant, Gary Trost, a former Brigham Young University center who averaged 10.4 points and 5.3 rebounds over his career, helps West teach shooting. According to West, Trost, who stands 6-foot-10, has always taught players to shoot with arc but now he had the tool to effectively assess each player's optimal degree of arc.
"Gary liked how each shot in a session was important if a player wanted to get a good score," West said. "The players focused on every shot because they understood that even one shot would mess up their chance to get to the Master level." One player, Steven Divver, improved so much that West stopped calling him a "defensive specialist." Divver converted 15 of 32 three-pointers and 21 of 33 free throws. Divver made eight of his 15 threes in the final five games and during a late three-game stretch, he made 11 of 15 free throws.
"At the end of the year, Steven was hitting three-pointers and making his free throws," West said. "People were asking me, ‘where did this come from?' I would tell them, ‘from working on Noah and developing confidence.'"
Another player who benefitted was 6-1 senior guard Sam Orchard, who was already a good shooter, having recorded an 80 percent clip from the line in his junior year. Orchard loved the Noah and it showed on the court. Orchard shot better than 87 percent on free throws for most of his senior season and finished 158 of 194 for 81 percent. He also made 28 three-pointers.
"Sam gets to the line a lot and just being able to make a few more free throws really added to his scoring average," West said. Orchard scored a team-high 16.2 points per game.
But the player who made the most progress with Noah was 6-4 forward Nate Fakahafua, who was a career sub-50 percent free throw shooter. With Noah, Fakahafua improved to 62 percent while making 77 of 124 attempts. In the four playoff games, Fakahafua converted 17 of 23 free throws.
As a team, Highland saw its average bump from 65 percent at the beginning of the season to over 75 percent during league play.
"My big thing is 50 free throws every day," West said. "If you've put in the work, then there's no pressure when you step up to the line. You know you've done the work. Now there's just muscle memory. If you miss, it's not because you haven't done the work. You can walk away knowing you did your best.
"Noah is very specific. It tells you what you've done and what you need to do to get better. It tells you if you've put in the work. If you follow a Noah regimen, you will not only improve your shooting, but also gain the confidence needed to succeed."
Coach West said he isn't worried that spreading the word about Noah might help his opponents.
"I'm really excited about what Noah can do for basketball," West said. "I've had a rival call me and express interest in Noah. Their whole game is shooting. I would hate for them to get one, but they really should."