NBA-India’s Troy Justice holds camp for coaches and players in Kerala

Troy Justice, the Director of Basketball Operations of NBA-India, held a three-day basket ball clinic concluded at the Central Stadium at Thiruvanathpuram which concluded on Wednesday, June 8th. The clinic brought together 100 coaches and 40 players from around Kerala.

“The clinic was organised by Kerala Basketball Association (KBA) with the help of Kerala State Sports Council (KSSC). Troy came to Thiruvanathpuram with his aim or the aim of NBA in India which is to spread basketball at the grassroots level which would encourage more kids to play the game,” said P J Sunny, chairman of the selection committee.

The camp was held from June 6th - June 8th. Justice has indicated three priorities for the growth of Indian basketball: To ensure the growth of the game throughout the country, to provide a focus on the grassroots programme to encourage more kids to play the game, and then to train and develop quality coaches and players.

"The coaches were very engaged and had a strong desire to learn the technical aspects of the game," said Justice, "We covered a lot of advanced training with them in just a 3-day period. It was a very effective clinic and I felt very good about it."

He added: "We had high level players that were going through the drills and practices with us - So the clinic was very practical and hands/on, and involved some of the top players in the state."

Justice was assisted by Eban Hyams, a professional player playing in the Australian Basketball league. Hyams has represented Coastal Georgia Club, Sydney Kings, Singapore Slingers and also played for Galil Elyon Club in the ULEB Cup in the European circuit. He had his basketball schooling in America as well as Australia.

The three-day camp was also attended by few coaches from outside Kerala, including two international referees. One of these referees was Ramesh Kumar from Thanjavur, Tamil Nadu, who runs a Rural Basketball Trust. The camp also got the support from the players of KSEB, Kerala Police and the U-18 Girl’s team.

The last day went off with continuity offence, out of bounce moves, zone defense and offences. Players and Coaches had the chance to share their views and suggestions with Troy during the concluding session. Participants were given away certificates by Justice