From Court to Code: How Wesley Horne Is Reinventing Basketball Training with AI

After the NBA lockout, Wesley Horne turned a local coaching opportunity into a national movement by launching TruRep—a revolutionary AI-powered basketball training platform. From training Charleston kids in broken systems to creating a patented wearable that delivers real-time biomechanics feedback, Wesley's journey is a masterclass in vision, grit, and innovation. In this Wantrepreneur to Entrepreneur Spotlight, we explore how TruRep is leveling the playing field for athletes at every level—using everyday tech to fix a youth basketball system that’s failed millions, and giving players everywhere a real shot at greatness.

Hi, Wesley Horne! Thanks for joining us today. Tell us about your business. Who do you serve, how do you serve them, and what's the impact that your business and work makes?

TruRep helps players become great basketball shooters training on their own.

We serve athletes at every level, from kids ->college -> pros.

We do it with smartwatch AI that tracks wrist mechanics and gives instant feedback on every shot.

Millions of young athletes desperately need TruRep because the current youth basketball system is broken. AAU prioritizes games and profit over development, leaving players without real feedback, qualified coaching, or access to affordable training. TruRep is the only patented, scalable platform that gives every player, regardless of resources, real-time biomechanics feedback, repeatable skill development, and a proven path to improvement. We’re not just filling a gap; we’re fixing a failed system.

Tell us about the moment you finally felt like you went from wantrepreneur to entrepreneur.

After the NBA lockout in 2012, I started Dynamic Sports Team and TruRep in Charleston SC with one client.

By 2014, Dynamic Sports Team had grown to 850 clients, and I had built the first TruRep MVP prototype, moving it into proof-of-concept. At this point I knew that I was a full on entrepreneur.

Describe the moment or period in your life/career that motivated you to make the entrepreneurial leap.

The NBA lockout was a big motivator. Coach Bobby Crimmons at College of Charleston asked me to help some of the elementary and middle schools in the downtown Charleston area. I started coaching kids 5th-8th grade and their fundamentals were so bad that I started training individual players and groups- six days a week for almost 2 years straight. During this time, I learned where poor shooting fundamentals were being developed and ingrained in players. At this moment, my vision for TruRep couldn’t have been clearer. I was determined to build and see TruRep to fruition at that point.

Describe a tool, service, or software that has been a game-changer for your business. How does it contribute to your success?

A game changer for TruRep has been the Apple Watch.

It gave us a powerful, accessible platform to run our AI in real time.

Instead of forcing players into expensive hardware, we turned a device already on millions of wrists into a biomechanics coach.

That accessibility is what lets TruRep scale from one gym in Charleston to athletes worldwide.

We know that success is very often a non-linear path. Tell us about a failure, pivot point, or lesson that changed your course or direction and helped to get you where you are today.

Back in 2013, I was working with orthotics groups on robotic cast-like moldings. The problem was obvious, they restricted movement and didn’t give athletes a real feel when holding or shooting a ball. I realized that would never truly help a player improve. So I pivoted and created my own 3D-printed wearable athletes could actually train with in real-time. This was before Apple or Google even had a smartwatch, but it set my course. That pivot is what led to TruRep today — delivering proactive, real-time feedback through wearable biomechanics.

What unconventional strategy did you employ that significantly impacted your business?

An unconventional strategy was putting TruRep on the non-shooting wrist.

Most coaches focus on the shooting hand, but I knew from my experience as a NBA shooting instructor, the biggest problem is the guide hand and thumb flick.

By tracking the non-shooting wrist, TruRep fixes the hidden flaw that ruins most players’ shots.

That shift set us apart and gave us a clear competitive edge.

What’s something you wish you knew sooner that you’d give as advice for aspiring or newer entrepreneurs?

Time management is everything. Stretch every dollar, because development and expansion will eat cash fast.

Focus on the most impactful ways you can use your talents for the company, you’re the visionary and you know your talents better than any advisor.

Be very aware and cautious for money hungry wolves along your path. They are everywhere! 

Ex: People trying to tell you what steps you need to take to succeed with 0 experience of their own. 

Advisors or VC’s that criticize everything you do who have never started or owned their own business. 

Employees or hires, in positions where you have no experience (like front end, backend or full stack developers, web designers etc)

Build dashboards early so you can see where progress stalls and fix retention and LTV issues to improve momentum.

Fail forward quickly. Don’t dwell on the past. Stay disciplined, minimize distractions, and keep creating solutions.

And above all, remember you’re a steward of your business, not the savior of it. You will pass this down to the next generation, so prepare them as you grow. Always seek the Lord’s will, stay motivated, and keep pushing.

Want to dive deeper into Wesley's work? Check out the links below!

• Visit TruRep's website: trurepapp.com
  
• Connect with Wesley Horne on LinkedIn: Wesley Horne
• Follow TruRep on Instagram: @trurep_ai