To reach its third straight Sweet 16, the No. 3 Purdue men’s basketball team routed powerhouse No. 6 Villanova, the 2016 and 2018 national champions, by 26 points.
The two programs have something in common on their practice courts, however. They are part of a seven-team cohort of schools that use Keemotion’s AI-powered video tracking solution to identify and play back specified clips in real-time. The other five programs are Kansas, Kansas State, Marquette, Minnesota, and Yale, all of whom lost in the first two rounds of this year’s NCAA tournament.
Purdue approached Keemotion about installing the three-camera system at its home arena a few years ago. Coach Matt Painter wanted to integrate the tool with other technologies and has been “one of the more proactive programs,” said Keemotion CEO Milton Lee.
“It’s probably something embedded in Painter’s culture that they want to be cutting edge and be able to capitalize on all of the technologies out there,” Lee added. “I think it’s important to them, as a program, to let the recruits who are coming know ‘We’re going to give you the best chance to succeed here.’”
In all, Keemotion works with more than 30 college programs spanning NCAA Divisions I, II, and III, as well as the NAIA. The Belgium-born, and now Brooklyn-based, company also works with NBA teams (such as the Golden State Warriors and Washington Wizards) as well as NHL teams.
Keemotion uses a series of Intel technologies. The footage from each camera is stitched together for one panoramic view of the court. Keemotion is also a product of Intel’s AI Builders program, although Intel has not invested in the company. The company has also collaborated with ShotTracker on several projects to provide performance analytics.
Before joining Keemotion, Lee spent five years with the NBA’s Nets as director of basketball operations, overseeing the organization’s technology and analytics. When introduced to Keemotion, he saw an immediate use case for streamlining the video review process and easing the burden of monotonous tasks on a coaching staff. Smaller schools are also constrained by limited manpower, so the system helps with productivity, too, Lee explained.
“Analytics helps them analyze the game and break things down,” Lee said. “The technology allows them to speed everything up and become more efficient.”
Yale coach James Jones has said Keemotion provides him with “a competitive advantage” by allowing him to teach in the moment.
“The coach would be able to analyze performance-related data with the video,” Lee explained. “They can get a better understanding of what’s going on in real time and then teach it in the simplest form, which is through video. You can tell a player all the things you want, but oftentimes until they see it on video, they don’t know exactly what you’re talking about.”
Though the NCAA does not yet permit technology to be used on the bench (except during a trial with ShotTracker during the 2018 Hall of Fame Classic), that position could change in the near future. Also possible is that Keemotion could offer a subscription service to allow multiple teams to benefit from the a system installed at a tournament venue.