Featured Player: Casey Dean - Nocona High School

78% Free Throw Shooting

Noah System at Home is a Competitive Advantage

NOCONA, Texas — Time had expired as Nocona High School senior Casey Dean rubbed his hands together and eagerly waited for the referee to bounce him the basketball. He stood on the free-throw line with his team down by a point.

"I knew I was going to make both of them," said Casey, who shot 78 percent from the line for the Indians during the 2007-08 season.

Flash back several months earlier when Randy Dean, Casey's father, saw an ad for the Noah system on a Web site. Intrigued, Randy spoke with Noah's Rick Turk, who eventually made the trip to North Texas to show the system at a Nocona church.

"I was amazed Rick came to our little town," Randy said. "He didn't know if I was going to buy it or not. But he came."

Randy was so impressed by Noah that he purchased it and set up the system in his barn. The Dean family and several friends also poured concrete over the barn's dirt ground to give Casey his own practice area.

"The thing is, my son loves the game," Randy said. "As a father, I try to do everything I can to help him pursue his dreams. He spent a lot of time in the high school gym. He even had a key. But I don't think it helped him get to the next level."

Casey fell in love with the system right away. And instead of the high school gym, he spent two hours a day in the barn, using Noah to perfect his shooting touch in preparation of his senior season.

"I could feel and see my improvement," Casey said. "I think Noah helped me most with my consistency and my confidence. In my junior year, if I started the game 0 for 3 or 0 for 4, I would quit shooting. But now, I know I will make a few in a row so I never stop shooting."

Armed with better consistency and obviously confidence, Casey averaged 12.5 points in less than 20 minutes per game. He helped lead Nocona High to its first Texas Class AA playoff berth in 11 years.

The sharpshooter had 25 points in a regular-season game and shot 10 for 10 from the free-throw line in the first round of the playoffs.

"Basketball means so much to me," Casey said. "I just wanted my senior year to be special and it was. I'll never forget it, especially making the playoffs. My only regret is my dad didn't buy Noah when I was in the sixth grade."

Casey wants to play college basketball. He's looking at a couple of Texas schools. He's currently No. 2 in his class academically and would like to study premed.

Now what happened during that game when he stood on the free-throw line all alone with the home fans on the edge of their seats?

"I swished them both," Casey said.