Rhyme Report

Published on May 20th, 2022 | by Saqib Malik

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“Huupe – The Smart Basketball Hoop That Can Tell Whether you Swished a Shot”

It is no secret that technology continues to expand its reach into seemingly every aspect of our lives these days, perhaps nowhere more noticeably than in the way we engage with sports. Professional teams routinely consult probability algorithms to aid in in-game decisions. Analytics are employed as a matter of course to evaluate and improve player performance. Computers and computer-driven video feedback are first-line tools to help coaches fine-tune game plans. This is all common practice now at the highest levels of sports.

However, many of these tools that the professionals use have remained out of reach for the common athlete. The most common way playground and driveway players who previously wanted to improve their games was to rely on watching professionals at home and mimicking them to the best of their ability. With the arrival of Huupe, however, everyone from beginners to professional athletes can get immediate feedback on their game, and, use that feedback to improve and continuously track performance.

Huupe is the result of years of work and iteration by two founders – Paul Anton and Lyth Saeed, two long-time friends and avid basketball players themselves. Huupe came about as a refinement on previous ideas the two had of finding a way to give “regular” players immediate and valuable feedback on their game. While the device itself couldn’t be simpler, the Huupe team tore through multiple iterations of both software and hardware, to achieve this simplicity. In the founders own words, “we broke a lot of sh*t and worked really hard to make this product everything we ever dreamed of as kids.”

Here’s how it works. Huppe looks like a standard, backyard, regulation-height basketball net, except the backboard is replaced by a backboard-sized, weatherproof TV screen that registers various aspects of the player’s game. Interacting with the smart backboard, players can select which aspect of their game they’d like to track, like free throws or 3-pointers, engage in classic and original contests, or play competitively with other Huupe users from around the world via video-conferencing.

Additionally, the Huupe leverages computer vision and machine learning to track a plethora of important advanced statistics. One of the most exciting statistics that the Huupe can track is whether a shot was swished or not, which Huupe calls, the “Swish/No Swish” stat. This means that the Huupe is not only able to track how many shots a player makes in a given session, but it can also determine when a made shot is a “swish” – when a shot is made not touching the rim at all, but going straight through the net.  The holy grail of basketball shots is the swish and is the truest marker of how accurate a shooter is from any range. By using the Huupe to track swishes, players can leverage the smart backboard to become the most accurate shooter possible.

Additionally, the Huupe is able to capture other advanced statistics such as trajectory, wingspan, and position on the court via a shot chart. It offers instructional videos as well as highlight videos and games that players can watch on the backboard while they’re on the cout. Finally, if the player so desires, they can ask a Huupe recommended coach for advice on a specific skill – like the swish. In a standard backyard setup, the player is the only arbiter of performance, but with Huupe there’s continual feedback helping players improve all aspects of their game – helping players hit swish after swish after swish.

Huupe does what technology is supposed to do. It connects people from all over the world, democratized highly sought after training for all levels, improves people’s skills and helps people stay in shape. The Huupe player who goes into the driveway to shoot hoops now shoots with a cyber companion to go as far as the player wants. Anton and Saeed set out to bring “professional grade” training and information to everyday athletes and allow players to form communities where they can compete and stay in touch with each other. They’ve done this for basketball. Who knows whether there might be other sports, such as tennis, soccer, baseball, or even hockey, which would be open to the same kind of interactive, and highly enjoyable, computer tracking and training.

We look forward to following Huupe and seeing what the company brings in the future.  To learn more, you can visit Huupe’s website and follow their Instagram.


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About the Author

Saqib Malik is the Director of Prestige Perfections, world-class service providers in the fields of marketing, business development, reputation and crisis management.


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