Pete Gaudet – Q&A: The Hoops Scientist

If basketball was a science, then Pete Gaudet would be found in the lab all day: mixing the right chemicals to make the perfect compound, perfecting the timing, jotting down his results and then mixing again to sharpen up his final product, and then meticulously detailing each piece of information and piecing everything together to make his work better and better.

The way Gaudet looks at it, basketball is a science. The American coach, who has been appointed as head of the Indian Sr. National Women’s team, brings with him over 40 years of experience coaching hoops at American High School, College, International, and Professional level. But when asked about why he accepted such a drastic change of scenery to come and coach in India, he answered: “At the end of the day, the basketball is still round, and my workstation is still the gym… Basketball is still basketball.”

And there are few people more versed in the chemicals that comprise the compound game of basketball than Gaudet: Over the course of his career, Gaudet has coached both men and women at the highest levels of American college basketball, including positions at West Point, Duke University, Vanderbilt, and the Ohio State University (OSU). He has extensive technical and international basketball experience to add to his resume.

While at Duke, Gaudet won two NCAA men’s championships as Assistant coach to the legendary Mike Krzyzweski (Coach K). He made seven Final Fours, coached eight All-Americans, three national players of the year, and 12 NBA draft picks, including Grant Hill, Christian Laettner, and Danny Ferry. When Coach K took a leave of absence in early 1995, Gaudet was promoted to interim head coach.

Gaudet and Coach K also worked together with the Army basketball team, and before joining Duke, Gaudet coached Al Arabi, a club team in Kuwait. He has travelled to over 25 countries in conjunction with baseball, conducting clinics in Italy, Nigeria, Italy, Korea, Senegal and Canada.

After Duke (1983 - 1995), Gaudet worked at Vanderbilt and OSU, holding both men’s and women’s assisting coaching positions at Vanderbilt and was a women’s coach with the latter. While in OSU, Gaudet wrote a book called ‘Practical Post Play’, which is an essential guide for post players and coaches.

At OSU, he worked with Tamika Raymond, who was the former coach of the Indian Women’s team, and encouraged Gaudet to take the job after her. Last month, Gaudet was signed alongside two other world-class coaches for Indian Basketball – Kenny Natt (Indian Senior Men’s team) and Zak Penwell (Strength & Conditioning Coach).

Gaudet is currently working at the National Coaching camp at the Indira Gandhi Sports Complex in New Delhi as the team prepares for the 24th FIBA Asia Championship for Women, to be held in Omura and Nagasaki, Japan, from August 21-20, 2011.

A week into his time in India, I got the opportunity to speak with Gaudet about the challenge that lay ahead of him.

Hoopistani: Why did you choose to take this coaching opportunity in India?

Gaudet: I was very intrigued about this job when I first heard about it. I was contacted by [former India Women’s coach] Tamika Raymond about it, whom I used to work with at OSU – she told me that it would be a great experience for me. She told me that the girls love the game, but that they need teaching.

In the past, I had usually avoided the Head Coach position because it doesn’t come with the basketball teaching/developing opportunities. But here, I knew that I would be able to teach the game. In the past, I have worked with players of all levels, and with men and women.

I understood that IMG/Reliance was going to be presenting me with a good challenge here in India. Plus, coming to another country wasn’t a problem for me – I have coached around the world!

Finally, in the past I had mostly worked with college players, with whom you have to balance playing and studying times, as they are still students. With this opportunity, I can work with this team on my own time.

Hoopistani: As you said – you have coached around the world. Tell me a bit about your experiences.

Gaudet: In College, during the regular season, I had to work with the team. But in the off-season I had the option of taking part in specific camps around the world. I’ve enjoyed working with post players a lot, and have been a regular attendee of Pete Newell’s Big Man Camp in Hawaii. Internationally, I have done clinics in Nigeria, Korea, Italy, Qatar, Israel, and Canada, and also travelled to Yugoslavia, Spain, Greece, and Serbia.

In Kuwait, I coached a professional club team for eight months. This is my first time in India.

Hoopistani: What have been some of the highlights of your career so far?

Gaudet: I’ve spent 40 years in basketball as a coach, and the best thing that I’ve experienced have been the relationships that I have established with players and other coaches in this time. It has been great to have mentored so many basketball players.

Aside from that, I treasure the two National Championships that I won with Duke (1991 and 1992).

With Duke, Vanderbilt, and OSU, I have been proud to have been part of teams who have competed at the highest level of NCAA College Basketball, playing against some of the best teams.

Hoopistani: How do you expect your challenge in India to be different from that you faced in the US or in the other parts of the world?

Gaudet: My India challenge is about being here and now, and not about anything I’ve done in the past. Players are players – Just like the players I’ve worked with before, these players in India have a championship in which they are trying to compete. My job will be to prepare a team of advanced players and make sure they keep improving.

More than good basketball plays, I want to have good basketball players. Yes, you can’t have control over the players you have, but my challenge will be to ensure that every day when they leave practice, they realise that they have become better players.

You can have no ego about a change of scenery like this. Whether you are working with the best players in the world or not, basketball is still basketball. At the end of the day, the basketball is still round, and my workstation is still the gym. It’s still 5-on-5. I have worked with professionals and with 10-year-olds, and I have enjoyed both, because teaching basketball is very satisfying – it has got nothing to do with having superstars. Young players have an advantage in that they are more receptive to improve themselves.

Hoopistani: What have you learnt about the Indian team in your short time with them?

Gaudet: The women’s team have been very receptive to the knowledge I have shared with them. They understand that they have to perform at a high level. The most important thing is that they love to play the game of basketball.

Hoopistani: How will you hope to raise the level of the team’s performance?

Gaudet: My background is in defense, and that is what I believe in. I want them to enjoy playing defense, and learn the importance of stopping the opposition players. It is important to find players with the skills and passion for defense.

Basketball is a creative game, and I also believe in giving the players’ the freedom to be creative. But they have to be good enough to handle this freedom.

We may not have the biggest or the strongest team, but we have enough athletic ability to be good defensively and find a way to counter size with quickness.

It’s important to find out what each of the specific players is good that, and then make them enjoy it. Hopefully, I can get all of the players to contribute to the team in some way.

Hoopistani: In Geethu Anna Jose, you have a dominating post player who was also the only Indian to be offered WNBA trials. How do you plan to maximise her talents in your team?

Gaudet: Using Geethu in the post will be one of our weapons. She has the right skill-set to be successful. But in a full game of basketball, post players do not actually get too much time on the ball. For Geethu to be effective and make the most of her time, the other players in the team have to get her the ball. Post players like Geethu can’t reach their full potential without the help of the others.

She will also then be able to free up the other players, to provide them with driving lanes to score and with open three-point shots.

Hoopistani: Looking ahead – do you think the game of basketball has a future in India?

Gaudet: If we can make the most of the commitments made by IMG/Reliance, with the Basketball Federation of India (BFI), we can really hope to see the game improve here. I want to see this sport gain more popularity, see more basketball gyms, and more kids playing the game.

The popularity of the sport can grow through the Indian team’s performance – if this team if able to perform well, maybe they can set up the building blocks of a future for the game in India.

Hoopistani: What are your goals for your term here in India?

Gaudet: I want to raise the standard of the game here and show young people that, if they work hard, they can end up playing at a high level. I want them to approach basketball not just for the game but to achieve great things.

From player to coach, Manisha Dange looks to complete the hoops cycle

Could an early bloomer also be a late bloomer? How many stars dominate at a young age, and as they grow older, find the inspiration to bloom again, into a different kind of star? From a star young player, to an inspirational veteran, and now planting the seeds of a potential coaching career, Maharashtra’s Manisha Dange hopes to do it all.

Three months ago, Manisha Dange and Shireen Limaye were playing on the same court on the same squad: the former a 30-year-old legend of Maharashtra’s women’s basketball; the latter had just turned 16 and was already being touted as the next big thing in women’s basketball in India. Dange, as the team’s captain, and Limaye, as the young, do-it-all sparkplug, led an exciting Maharashtra Women’s team into the Federation Cup at Raipur.

Three months later, the faces are the same, but the roles have changed: it is the Youth (U16) National Basketball Championship in Nagpur, Maharashtra, Dange and Limaye’s home-court, and the Maharashtra team is captained by Limaye, who is the most experienced young star leading a group of girls who are relatively fresh to the big stage. But Dange is here too – staying involved with Maharashtra and her young teammate as the coach of the U16 side.

The transformation to coach for teammate has been seamless for Dange. “I’m only the team’s coach on the court,” Dange says, “Outside it, I’m more a Didi - an older sister – than a coach. The difference of age between me and Shireen or any of the other girls isn’t too much, so they are comfortable with me. I have to be strict but allow the girls to have their fun.”

“Because I’ve been a player myself I can understand the girls and know exactly how it feels to travel for a tournament, feel the pressure, and perform at this stage. During basketball games, working now as a coach, I get to see understand many of my own faults as a player and find a way not just to improve my coaching ability but also my playing ability.”

And as she continues to discover her coaching attributes and rediscover her talents as a player, Dange makes sure to indicate that she has enough gas to keep both her careers going. “I want to continue playing and coaching simultaneously,” she said, “This is just the first step: I want to keep progressing as a coach as time passes and keep playing for as long as possible, too.”

Her star player, Shireen Limaye, doesn’t believe that Dange’s shift from player to coach has been a complicated affair. “She has been and is still a very good player,” Limaye says of Dange, “Even as a team-mate, she is always a coach on court – she has always making sure to train us and give us advice, and we used to practice drills with her as team-mates that I now practice with her as coach. It is an advantage for us to have a coach who is also a good active player.”

This is Dange’s second attempt at leading Maharashtra’s U16 Girls squad at the Youth Nationals – she was also the team’s coach last year when they went for the Nationals in Trichy, Tamil Nadu. This time around, the pressure to perform as hosts and as one of the most talented young teams in the competition is squarely on Dange’s side.

“Our team has a lot of positives,” Dange said, “The biggest of them all, obviously, is Shireen. But this year, we have come prepared physically to be the best and put up a good show as the hosts. Before this tournament, the girls took part in an 18-day fitness camp in Vashi, which helped them improved their speed, agility and overall fitness.”

The current Maharashtra Girls side also has a good size advantage and will hope to exploit it against most of their other opponents.

As a player, Dange has been here and done it all before. Hailing from Thane in Mumbai, she picked up the game when she was only 12 years old, but didn’t make her first major Nationals until the youth/U16 stage, the same stage at which she has made her coaching debut nearly 15 years later. From then on, the game of basketball began opening several new avenues for her: she was picked to play for Railways at the age of 18 – a move she calls the ‘best moment of her basketball career’ – and she represented India in two crucial tournaments in 2007: the FIBA Asia Championships in South Korea and an Invitational Tournament in Kuala Lampur, Malaysia.

Although she won’t be making a comeback to the Indian National team soon, she continues to be a dominating and respected figure in Maharashtra Basketball – besides, it is now the turn for her teammate/star-pupil to shine: Shireen Limaye has become the youngest player to get a call-up for the Indian Senior National Camp in New Delhi, and she will have a shot at making her own debut with India’s Senior National team at the 2011 FIBA Asia Championship in Japan this August.

As she has experienced the past and the evolving present of basketball in India, Dange is hopeful for the future that Limaye and other young stars of the country. “The current crop of stars have a good future,” she says, “They are getting a lot of opportunities now, and will soon get a lot more exposure and returns for their hard-work in the game.”

But for now, ‘Coach’ Dange – or Manisha Didi – has only one mission in mind: helping Limaye, Shruti Menon, Ayushi Gupta, and the rest of the young squad live up to their top billing and capture the Youth Championships on home soil. “We have a good team, and because we’re playing at home, we’re the favourites. Once the crowds get bigger, there will be more pressure on the girls to perform – I have to make sure that they blank out the outside noise and just focus on their game.”

And if anyone can help them deal with the pressure it’s their experienced coach – after all, she has been there, done that, and is now back to bloom again.

Indian Basketball star Geethu Anna Jose invited for tryouts with two WNBA teams

Geethu Anna Jose, the legendary Indian Center, has finally been given a shot at her WNBA dream. The superstar who captained Indian Women’s team at the FIBA Women’s Asia Basketball Championship (ABC) in Chennai (2009), has been given the rare honour as she was invited to a tryouts with two WNBA teams in the USA – the Chicago Sky and the Los Angeles Sparks.

Jose (25), who was the leading scorer at the Chennai ABC, become the first Indian player to get the top scorer honour at any ABC. She has represented India in several major tournaments, including the 2006 Commonwealth Games in Australia and the 2010 Asian Games basketball championship in Guangzhou (China).

Jose is currently working for Southern Railway in Chennai, and, representing Indian Railways, has won seven consecutive National Basketball Championship titles. She was also the first Indian women to play professionally in Australia, when she represented the Ringwood Hawks, a lower division team in the Women’s National Basketball League (WNBL), and won the league’s Most Valuable Player award in 2008.

“I have waited a long time for this opportunity – I can’t believe that it’s finally here.” said Jose, “It has been my dream to play at the highest level – the WNBA. It does not matter which team gives me the opportunity there – I just want to compete.”

The six-foot tall Jose has admitted that she will have to adapt to the power forward position when trying out with taller women in the US. She will travel to Chicago and Los Angeles to try out with the Sky and the Sparks – the Sparks have been one of the most successful teams in the WNBA, winning two championships and three conference titles in the last 10 years.

Jose has conveyed her sincere thanks to her employer Southern Railway, Mr. Harish Sharma of the BFI, and Troy Justice, the Director, NBA India Operations, for all their whole hearted support. She also thanked the Hindustan Group of Institutions, who have come forward to sponsor the tour for Jose to USA. “I will try my best to give a good performance in the tryouts,” she added.

The BFI's Harish Sharma said, “This is an incredible opportunity for Geethu Anna Jose. We are delighted for her and everyone who supports basketball in India will hope and pray for her success with the tryouts. She was offered the same opportunity last year, but due to complications she couldn’t make it – we are glad that this time, her dream is one step closer to realisation.”

“This has been one major step for us at BFI at promoting Indian players throughout the world,” Sharma added, “We will be looking to support such opportunities for other basketball players in India as well – the more players that proper outside of India, the more prosperity they will be bringing to the game of basketball in India.”

Anand Jacob Verghese, the CEO of Hindustan Group and Pro Chancellor, Hindustan University expressed his happiness in supporting Geethu. "The Indian cricket team has made all of us proud by winning the World Cup," said Verghese, "Now it is the turn of Geethu: she will be a role model for students. I wish that she gets the ultimate honour: a WNBA selection."

Jose will leave for the USA in about two weeks. She will participate in the Ramu Memorial Basketball Tournament in Mumbai before that.

UPDATE: Along with tryouts scheduled with the WNBA teams Chicago Sky and LA Sparks which were announced over a week ago, Indian Basketball star has now been invited to tryout and practice with a third WNBA (Women’s National Basketball Association) team during her USA trip: the San Antonio Silver Stars. Jose will be in America from April 23 – May 8, during which time she will be the first ever Indian basketball player to get an opportunity to try out for the WNBA.

Indian Women's Basketball: Dream Team

So it's Republic Day over in India, and as we celebrate our constitution, we must also note another important crucial topic - the improving status of the Indian Women's Basketball team. Yes, the Indian Eves have had trouble recently in major international competitions such as the 2010 Asian Games or the 2009 FIBA Asia Championships, they are still a steadily rising force, with confidence and popularity at an all time high.

Just like I did with the Indian Men's team last week, I've decided to come up with a 'Dream Team' of my favourite Indian Women's players. I've based this on the performances of the squad over the past year and of the best players in some major tournaments such as the Senior Nationals.

Indian eves struggle with one major hurdle - the lack of height. Legendary player Geethu Anna Jose is the only one in my squad over 6 feet, and making it a lineup where even the 'big' players are around the 5'8" range. But hey, we have to work with what we have, right? I've tried to provide as much balance in terms of size and experience/youth as possible. And please, don't even start with any regionalism North/South bullshit: this is the INDIA team as I see it, period.

So, once again, if I was coach of the Indian Women's Sr. National Team, this would be my squad:

My Indian Women's Dream Team

Starting Five
PG: Akanksha Singh
SG: Anitha Pau Durai
SF: Prashanti Singh
PF: Sneha Rajguru
C: Geethu Anna Jose (Captain)
Bench
Harjeet Kaur
Raspreet Sidhu
Bharti Netam
Pratima Singh
Jeena PS
Raj Priyadarshini
Kokila

Also would like to give Honorable Mention to stars such as Pushpa M, Smruthi Radhakrishnan, Kavitha, Sangeeta Kaur, and L. Suganya.

Over to you: if you were Indian Women's Coach, what would be your 12-man squad?

2010 FIBA World Championship for Women to be held at Czech Republic

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The cities of Ostrava and Bono in the Czech Republic have been picked by FIBA to host the 2010 FIBA World Championship for Women, which will be held from September 23-October 3. Asia will be represented in this tournament by China, South Korea, and Japan, the teams who finished top three in last year's FIBA Asia Championship for Women, which was held in Chennai.

This will be the 16th edition of this tournament - the previous winners Australia and the women's Olympic champions the USA will also be competing amongst the 16 teams, along with hosts Czech Republic.

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Milestones in Indian Basketball

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So, I was going through the April 2010 edition of All Sports Magazine (Volume 4, Number 1), which was doing their 3rd anniversary special issue, and the cover feature was 101 Milestones in Indian Sports. The story was about a 101 events that represented the "good, bad, and ugly" development in Indian Sports.

Now here's the travesty... Amongst these 101, the events (justifiably) mentioned were from the following variety of sports: Cricket, Field Hockey, Football, Shooting, Chess, Billiards, Badminton, Tennis, Track & Field, Wrestling, Mountaineering, Swimming, Golf, Volleyball, Snooker, Cycling, Weightlifting, Boxing, Table-Tennis, and Formula One Racing.

Look at that list again, and if you're a basketball fan, shake your head in dissapointment. There hasn't been a basketball milestone (good or bad) in our sporting history memorable enough to be mentioned in this vast list? Unfortunately, I can't even argue against their decision to omit Indian hoops, because tragic as it may sound, the reality is that there have been no singular events in basketball here to top the other milestones mentioned by the magazine.

So, instead, I've decided to make my own, very short list of Milestones in Indian Basketball. Feel free to add any major events that I may have missed.

The rules of Basketball were first devised in 1891 by the Canadian physician Dr. James Naismith. India were actually one of the earliest countries to adopt the game and start playing it in 1930.

1930: Basketball first played in India.
1934: The first Indian National Championship for men is held in New Delhi.
1936: The Indian National Team (The Young Cagers) become a member of FIBA.
1950: The Basketball Federation of India (BFI) is formed.
1975: The Men's National team finished fourth in the FIBA Asia Championship in Bangkok, the highest finish for India in the men's division.
1980: The Men's National team participated in the Moscow Olympics but finished last in the tournament.
1981: The FIBA Asia Championship was held in Calcutta, India finished fifth.
2007: The JDBasketball School begins to promote and teach basketball around India.
2008: NBA legend Robert Parish comes to India, ushering a flurry of activity of the NBA's interest in the country.
2009: NBA inaugurates basketball courts in India and launches the NBA-India website.
2009: The FIBA Asia Championship for Women was held in Chennai, India finished 6th.
2010: The Mahindra-NBA Challenge begins in Mumbai.

Early on, with basketball growing at such a quick pace in India, the game produced several notable talents. Many basketball stars in India have since been awarded the Arjuna Award (to recognize the contribution of a player and his outstanding achievement in sports) and the Dhyan Chand Award (for Life Time Achievement in Sports and Games has been instituted from the year 2002 to honour those sportspersons who have contributed to sports by their performance and continue to contribute to promotion of sports even after their retirement from active sporting career).

Arjuna Award

SARABJIT SINGH (Services) - 1961
KHUSHI RAM (Services) - 1967
GURDIAL SINGH (Services) - 1968
HARI DUTT (Services) - 1969
ABBAS MOONTASIR (Maharashtra & Railways) - 1970
MANMOHAN SINGH (Punjab & Services) - 1971
SURINDER K. KATARIA (Rajasthan & Railways) - 1973
ANIL PUNJ (Punjab) - 1974
HANUMAN SINGH (Rajasthan & Railways) - 1975
VIJAYRAGHVAN (Tamil Nadu & Bihar) - 1977
OM PRAKASH (Sr.) (Services) - 1979
AJMER SINGH (Rajasthan & Railways) - 1981
RADHEY SHYAM (Services) - 1982
SUMAN SHARMA (Punjab) - 1983
SAJJAN SINGH CHEEMA (Punjab) - 1999
PARMINDER SINGH (Sr.) (Punjab) - 2001

Dhyan Chand Award

APARNA GHOSH (West Bengal & Railways) - 2001
RAM KUMAR (Railways) - 2002

Unfortunately, our domestic successes and interest has never translated into international recognition. From the late 60s and early 80s, there were many talented ball players that featured in the Indian hoops scene.

There is only one woman on the Arjuna awards list - Suman Sharma in 1983. With our women's team showing drastic improvements in recent years, there is no doubt that many more female players will be given this distinction in the future.

The newly-launched Mastan League, India's first fully professional basketball league, which is currently taking place at the Mastan YMCA in Mumbai, has the promise to usher bigger events for Indian basketball. I wonder if it will also be remembered as a major milestone in the future...

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Leading by example: Indian Women’s Basketball Captain Prashanti Singh

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The success of any organization depends on several different qualities of the individuals who comprise of it and on the outside influences working towards it, but invariably, its true character shows through its leader. A country’s achievements are represented largely by its President or Prime Minister, an army by its general, a multinational company by its CEO, and a sports team by its captain.

If you have been following the recent improvements of the Indian National Women’s Basketball team, you would’ve noticed something beyond just the successful results: you would notice a new-found confidence, youthful energy, an ambition to keep improving, and a savvy awareness amongst the athletes.

It is then perhaps no surprise that all these qualities are exhibited by the team’s leader: the young but experienced Prashanti Singh. Prashanti, 25, has been growing with the national team for around eight years, and now as captain, she oozes of infectious confidence and ambition that has spread amongst the other girls in the squad to help form a formidable young unit.

In a recent discussion, the star shooting guard told me how, despite the dearth of career development and professional opportunities for female basketball players in India, the girls have continued to improve their level for their love of the game. The team’s steady rise has showed on the biggest stage over the past five years – the FIBA Asia Women’s Championship. The girls finished 10th in 2005, 7th in 2007, and 6th at the championship held at Chennai in November 2009.

True, the results have been nothing to write home about, but at least the team is headed in the right direction. One of the highlights of Prashanti’s career was playing in the Asian Indoor Games in Vietnam, where she captained her squad into the tournament’s final only to lose to Thailand by one point and settle for the silver medal.

The current team is the youngest team that Prashanti has played on, and she says that the change in attitude has been very encouraging. “When I first came in, the team only had a few youngsters – now, just like the men’s squad, the majority of the team is of younger girls, who with the help of a few experienced older players, have been given a chance to grow as a team together.”

“We’re performing much better than the boys are!” she boasts – the Indian Women’s team ranks 43rd in the World FIBA rankings, as opposed to the Men, who are 49th. But don’t just follow the rankings – there has been a change in attitude, commitment, and a new-school system of leadership and management that has combined to move the team in a positive direction.

Unfortunately, there are still hurdles for the women’s game in the country. “The system is biased against women,” says Prashanti, who is a Class-III employee working and playing for the MTNL in New Delhi. “The services are slower to help women improve in their careers as compared to the men. Even after my achievements my position at work hasn’t improved. There are only three national level women teams – Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Limited (MTNL), Railways (combined), and Kerala Electricity Board. We have fewer options and less bargaining chips than the men do.”

Because of this, the current team has a lot more girls that are students than those who are in government service, and many of these youngsters are looking for private sponsorship. “We need more teams in India,” she adds, “College students are now more aware of their careers, why would they join a service for a job that isn’t ideal? We need a solution soon, because the good young players won’t settle for these jobs anymore.

“Despite all this, we’re still playing well; and its all for the love of the game. The good news is that we are moving away from the old system of favouritism for the older players – the new girls are looking to develop their game further holistically. Everything is becoming commercialized and they are very aware of how basketball is growing in India and around the world. They are learning things off the court too. Many of them are interested in moving on to leagues in other countries.”

The recent major breakthrough for Indian women in basketball was the success of Geethu Anna Jose. Geethu is India’s biggest basketball star and one of the best players in all of Asia. The talented Keralite played two fruitful seasons with the Ringwood Hawks, a Division II team in Australia in 2007 and 2008. Prashanti notes how Geethu’s game improved under better training and league experience abroad, and she is ready to make that jump, too.

“My aim is to play for a good league abroad,” says Prashanti, “Anywhere where I can hone and improve my skills.”

Talks of a domestic basketball league in India, akin to the NBA or the IPL, have been in the air in recent months, and Prashanti minces no words in sharing her opinions. “We will not improve much by playing in short sporadic tournaments [like the current system]. What we need is a domestic league so that we can get a season of regular games, regular basketball experience of basketball at a competitive level, and thus improve our game.”

Experience is one of the team’s biggest weaknesses: “We start each game with great energy, but begin to struggle whenever the opponents switch tactics to counter us. We need to play more so we can get experienced to deal with different systems and situations. With a league we will learn more about our own potential.”

Another recent weakness of the team was size – for a few years, the squad didn’t have depth beyond Geethu at the Center position. The problem in size also coexisted with over-reliance on the team’s experienced superstars. Prashanti believes that these problems are now improving – for example, the youngster Harjeet expertly filled in for Geethu’s absence for a few recent games. A lot more tall young players are being scouted for the national squad, too.

“We’re improving on several levels,” says Prashanti, “As captain, I have seen great team chemistry between the girls. The youngsters are also gaining confidence and the team doesn’t always have to depend on the seniors. Although we are still relatively small, we are good enough now so that our success doesn’t start and end with our shooters as it used to.”

Prashanti’s responsibilities as captain have also spilled off the court. She has had to be aware of the management and promotional side of the squad, and understands the importance of popularizing the sport of basketball amongst Indian fans. “It will take time for us to improve – we have to be patient,” says Prashanti, “We should play against some Asian countries with which we can compete, and then we can move on step by step to try and match the level of China or South Korea. Given time, we can have world-class players in India, too.”

“If you take the example of cricket: the game only started to gain widespread fame when we won the World Cup in 1983 – and now, 27 years later, with IPL we are at the top of the world. Cricket is a game played by a dozen countries and basketball by over 200 – I’m sure that Indian fans will soon grow fond of basketball, too.”

She added, “People in India are aware of sports a lot more than before – we just have to teach the game to them in whatever language that they understand.”

Prashanti, who is known by the nickname ‘Boskey’, began her love affair with basketball in her early teens. She made her debut with the senior team at the age of 18. She is from the acclaimed ‘Basketball family of Varanasi’, as she is one of four Singh sisters to have represented the Indian national team. Her older sister Divya Singh has also been India’s former captain and has carved her own space in the world of basketball. Divya has moved on to studying about basketball management in the US, leaving Prashanti to take the helm of this ever-improving squad. Younger sisters Akanksha and Pratima are also her teammates.

“I used to follow my sisters to the Varanasi courts, and once I started playing the game, I just couldn’t stop,” says Prashanti, “I was given a break early in a tournament, and ever since, basketball has been my life. I had to find a way to get on the court and play everyday. Our family discussions are always about basketball!”

The national team is blessed to have players with a background and love for the game like Prashanti. The girls will be heading to their next major challenge in the form of the 16th Asian Games (XVI ASIAD) that will be held in Guangzhou, China, from November 12-27, 2010.

With a leader like Prashanti, one thing is for sure: the team will be motivated to do their best at any level. Geethu, the team’s most talented player, has warm words for her captain: “She is a very dedicated player, a very hard worker, and a very supportive captain - her only target is to WIN WIN and WIN! She just can’t stand to lose.”

“I have had great luck in the game,” says Prashanti, “On whatever level I have played basketball, I have kept on winning, with or without anyone else’s support.”

It will be the confidence of this young team, and the confidence of its motivated captain, that will help lead the Indian girls to chart greater heights in the basketball world.

This article was first published as the cover story of the April (fifth) edition of the Sports Keeda e-magazine. Click here to download the magazine

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BFI: It wasn't me

Following basketball star Geethu Anna Jose's "ban" from being able to in a professional league in Australia (as reported on TimesNow.tv), I wrote an article on my blog protesting against Geethu's plight, called How to suppress your superstars - 101. This article was also published on SportsKeeda.com.

The TimesNow.tv article mentioned this: "... the Indian Olympic Association has denied permission since Geethu is also the captain of the Indian women's Basketball team. According to the explanation given by the IOA, the Basketball Federation of India is supposed to organise a National camp during the same time."



It didn't take long for a response to my article: the Basketball Federation of India (BFI) made a press release just three days later refuting the blame for denying Geethu from playing in Australia.

The release, posted by former women's national team captain Divya Singh reads something like this:

Basketball federation of India refutes the blame of denying their National player for playing in Australia.
One of the recently published articles stated that Geethu Anna Jose, an outstanding and highly reputed International Basketball Player of the country was denied the opportunity to train and play in the Big V Women’s program in Australia from 15th February to mid August, 2010 by the Ringwood Basketball Association, Victoria, Australia by the Basketball Federation of India.
BFI clarifies that Jose sent her E-mail to the Federation at 8:42 PM on 25th January, 2010. The 26th January, 2010 being a National Holiday the office was closed. Her permission to participate in the above program in Australia was given on 27th January, 2010 addressed to Head Women’s Coach Ringwood Basketball Association Inc, Australia by Email and a copy of the letter was also forwarded to Geethu by Email.

“We never deny any player, until unless it comes to our commitment towards the nation” says, Harish Sharma, Genl secy BFI.
In few months Geethu, a member of the Indian team, will be representing at the reputed Asian Games. Basketball Federation of India is planning the National Coaching Camp and Foreign Exposure for the Men & Women teams in order to prepare Indian teams for the Asian Games this year where it is mandatory for the selected players to participate in the Coaching Camps & Foreign Exposure prior to their respective International participation and the Asian Games.
In such cases, BFI always considers National interest, and it is expected of every player selected, to attend the National Coaching Camps for the preparation of International events. Basketball is a team game and the whole team needs to practice together for the work-outs on offensive as well as defensive strategies & team coordination.

I applaud the BFI if they really did give permission to Geethu to join the team in Australia. But if the BFI isn't stopping her, then why is she still here?

I wholeheartedly agree that national interest should stand above all, but it shouldn't come in the way of player progress if possible. Geethu had been quoted saying that her league season in Australia would end three months before the Asian Games, giving her ample time to practice with the team. In situations like these, doesn't she deserve to go and improve her skills abroad?

I was finally able to contact Geethu and get her side of the story.

This is what Geethu said about the issue: "... About the Australian league: What really happened was, finally [the BFI] gave me the permission to go, but also they said i have to be back for this Asian games camp going to be held at next month."

What she means is this: the BFI did allow Geethu to go, but expected her back much too early, and for her to return in a month would mean that she misses a large part of her professional season with the Ringwood Hawks in Australia.

Geethu was, after all, the top scorer in all of Asia (!!) during the FIBA Women's Asian Basketball Championships in Chennai in November. Pardon me for thinking that she deserves a lot more respect and recognition for her efforts.

These questions remain to be answered for the conflict to be fully resolved. But this is just a start of such conflicts - if we are hoping that Indian players improve their quality of play, then they will eventually be wooed by better basketball leagues in other countries - Australia, Europe, and hopefully in my lifetime, the NBA. Will this be a reoccuring situation every time our players want to head out of India?

Indian federations / associations need to learn from incidents such as those of Geethu and, of course, from the problems faced by our only Olympic individual gold medalist Abhinav Bindra, who was involved in a tussle with the NRAI.

Based on the opinion of most of the players and coaches I have spoken to, the BFI's General Secretary Harish Sharma seems to be determined in helping promote basketball in India the right way. He should be thanked for his swift response to this issue, but I feel that there is a long way to go before we have a smooth system of dealing with these complicated issues.

How to suppress your superstars - 101

If you have been keeping up with Indian basketball, then you would no doubt be familiar with the name Geethu Anna Jose. The 24-year-old captain of the Indian Women's National team is the most talented basketball player in the country and one of the best in all of Asia.

And if you have really been following recent basketball news in India, you would have heard about the recent atrocity committed by the Indian Olympic Association (IOC), who barred Geethu from playing in a professional league in Australia.

From TimesNow.TV:

In yet another incident that has shamed Indian sports, top basketball player Geethu Anna Jose has being barred from playing in a professional League in Australia. Geethu has been invited by Ringwood Hawks a professional basketball club based in Australia to represent their side in the league.

The club wants Geethu to join the team as early as the February 15 and stay back till the league ends in August.
However, the Indian Olympic Association has denied permission since Geethu is also the captain of the Indian women's Basketball team. According to the explanation given by the IOA, the Basketball Federation of India is supposed to organise a National camp during the same time.
But, Geethu believes that having participated in the Australian league before, another stint there will prepare her better for the Asian Games rather than attending a national camp.
She said, "I am so unhappy that my country is not allowing me to participate in the Australian League. I have written to the Basketball Federation but they have not given me any permission. I am still hoping that they will change their mind. I am sure that I will be able to play for the Australian League between February and August, come back to India, prepare for 3 months and play the Asian Games."

She is absolutely right! The hopes of all those involved in promoting basketball in India lie on building on the successes of talented, marketable individuals. Geethu is exactly that. She was the top scorer for the FIBA Women's Asian Basketball Championships in Chennai in November. She has already played three seasons with the lower league Ringwood Hawks (the only Indian to ever play pro in Australia), bagging a league MVP award in 2008. She was even selected to play for the Dandenong Rangers, which is a top-division WNBL team in Australia, but "personal reasons" kept her from ever suiting up for them.

Geethu's big break came during the 2006 Commonwealth Games in Melbourne, where she turned heads in an otherwise-lowly Indian squad, putting up an impressive and eye-catching performance. The Indian Women finished sixth.

The young girl (did I mention she's just 24!) has serious skills: if it is marketable stars are what we claim we need, then we don't need to look any further than this talented Kerelan. Letting Geethu have success and acclaim abroad, and then welcoming her back with support by the media, the IOC, and the BFI support will help put a face to the sport in India, just like Saina Nehwal did for Badminton, Sania Mirza did for Tennis, and PT Usha did for Track & Field.

Obviously, playing at a higher, more competitive level will only benefit Geethu as a growing player. She still has potential to be better, and as she said in her statement above, she will have three months after the season in Australia to return home and prepare for the November Asian Games in China.



Earlier, in an interview for The Hindu, Geethu even went as far as saying, "I’ve started modelling too in a small way... Earlier, the game was glamorous, now we have to be glamorous to attract the crowd and sponsors."

It is a pity that India's most talented basketball player had to say these words, but when the system works in such a nonsensical way, can we really question her?

To the Olympic Associations around the world, if you're watching, then learn: this is how to suppress a superstar talent.

Also published on SportsKeeda.com

Divya Singh: Good Girl Gone Basketball

A ‘good Indian girl’ isn’t supposed to be this way. A ‘good Indian girl’ is supposed to listen to her parents, stay publicly inhibited and grounded, and in these slowly changing times in modern India, is allowed to study diligently to achieve an attractive degree.



Because from Day One, a ‘good Indian girl’ is nurtured for eventual her matrimonial advertisement in the supplement copy of the Wednesday newspaper. She is taught how to cook the right Indian meals to keep her future husband happy, she is expected to build a home, churn out descendents (preferably boys) at regular intervals, and sacrifice her own ambitions to satisfy the expectations of both her and her husband’s family.

It is because a woman in India rarely exists for herself: she lives for her parents, and her siblings, and her prying aunties, and her husband, and her children, and so on and on… That’s why the story of a female athlete in India, or a female architect, a writer, a filmmaker, or anyone from a male-centric traditional background, who instead decided to live her life the way she wanted to, will never be an ordinary story.

Divya Singh, the former captain of the Indian women’s national basketball team, is one such story. At 27, Divya has already turned the stifling ‘good Indian girl’ stereotypes on its head, and instead trailblazed a career for herself in what she loved most: basketball.

Like former men’s captain Trideep Rai, who I interviewed for an article last month, Divya is also from my hometown Varanasi, which has had a reputation of being uniquely illustrious in churning out national-level basketball talents. Her early inspiration to get into the game as an adolescent was her older sister Priyanka, who received notable basketball success herself when she got a chance to play for her state team. “I used to watch my sister play, and hang around her, just dribbling,” Divya says, “That is how it all began.”

In two years, Divya’s casual dribbling drills morphed into serious interest in the game, and at 14, she got her first call-up to the Varanasi District Junior Team. Two years later, she was called up to play for the seniors. She was in her senior year at high school when she got her call-up to represent her state Uttar Pradesh (UP) in the senior nationals.



Although naturally gifted, her journey in basketball wasn’t without its share of hurdles. First and foremost, it was from her own father, a bank manager who was against his daughter’s interest in athletics. “He still feels like I should’ve tried to find a job in something related to administration,” Divya said, “He didn’t understand that I could have a future in sports.” Her mother, Divya admits, fully supported her dreams, and despite the differing worldviews in her family, Divya continued to develop her game towards stardom.

Divya received her first call-up to the Indian national team in 2000. For seven years thereafter, the young Banarasi was a force in women’s basketball in the country. The highlights of her international career included a silver medal in the 20th Asian Basketball Confederation Championship in 2005, gold in the First Phuket International Invitational Basketball Championship in Thailand in 2006, leading the Indian team as captain in the 2006 Commonwealth Games in Melbourne (Australia), and finishing at 5th place (India’s highest finish in decades) at the FIBA Asia Championship for Women at Incheon (South Korea) in 2007.

Meanwhile, she continued a stellar career domestically too. After representing UP for a few years, she moved on to play for Delhi from 2002-2007, with whom she won gold in the Senior National Basketball Championships at Hyderabad in 2003 and three silver medals from 2005-2007. While she played for Delhi, she “worked” for the Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Ltd (MTNL) as a Telecom Office Assistant. I emphasize on “worked” because, as I had written in my article on Trideep, a lot of successful Indian basketball professionals are signed on to represent a government service with a mock job placement and title, whereas in reality they are expected to focus mostly on basketball. Divya agrees that her placement has been no different.

Divya’s success led the way to her three younger sisters following her path. Prashanti, Akanksha, and Pratima Singh have all represented the Indian national team, making Varanasi Singh family a unique foursome that began to dominate women’s basketball in India. It was to help her sister’s that Divya indulged in her first stint in coaching. She has been coach of St. Stephen’s College (Delhi) and Jesus and Mary College (JMC) Delhi, as well as Manager-Coach for Delhi University.

“My sister used to play in these teams,” she said, “I coached a few tournaments whenever I had the free time to try and help them out.” This early exposure for the youngster was to shape her interest in basketball coaching in the future.



After years of success in her career, she had reached a standstill: Divya stopped and asked herself, “Now what?” 27 is a mighty young age to be having a crisis of purpose; but as Trideep (26) had mentioned earlier, after a certain point, basketball in India leaves their players disillusioned with nothing to offer any more. “I played for the national team and had success in the national tournaments,” Divya says, “But players like us soon realize that there is nowhere else to go from here.” Divya was offered contract with a club in Chile, but the deal broke early, and she didn’t wish to pursue it any further.

It was later in 2007 that another unique opportunity came knocking Divya’s way: from one of the seminars conducted from the NBA’s Basketball Without Borders (BWB) programme, Divya and fellow player Yuvika Sharma were selected by the University of Delaware’s Sports Management Department for its Higher Education Administration Graduate Programme. The programme is a collaboration between the University of Delaware and the Basketball Federation of India (BFI), and Divya, who is getting a Master’s in Educational Leadership and Sports Management there, will return to help the BFI at the end of her course in mid-2010.

“I’m learning stuff like international sports marketing and sports finance here,” she says, “I have plans to come back to India and work for the BFI, helping to promote basketball in India through the right kind of marketing and campaigning.” Aside from her degree, Divya also serves as the assistant coach to the head coach Tina Martin for the University’s senior team, which is in the D1 and is having a good season.

Unfortunately for Divya, she can’t actually play for Martin’s squad, because D1 rules imply that no player who has been paid as a professional can represent a D1 squad. It is not all disappointment for her, since working under the tutelage of Martin has helped Divya hone her own basketball knowledge, which she later wants to share with youth back in India.

“The level of players here is extremely high compared to back home,” Divya adds, “Players are physically tougher, and a lot more skillful. They train in a systematic manner, and have excellent facilities which are at least six or seven times than the facilities that we have back in our camps in India.”



Divya’s playing career seems to have been halted abruptly, a fact that she is resentful about, but realizes that with her knowledge now she could go back and help many more youngsters in India develop their basketball talent. “I didn’t want to leave sports. I love playing the game, but now I feel the right thing to do is to go back and help BFI in making basketball bigger in India.”

One of her dream projects is to be part of the system that ushers in a basketball league in India, similar to the popular Indian Premier League (IPL) for cricket. “In India, sport fans generally focus more on international games than domestic leagues – we need to help and chance that attitude,” she says, “The IPL has been very successful and we need to do something like that for basketball. Such a league will increase the competition level, provide regular games and exposure for players, and will be attractive to the fans.”

“Fans wake up at 4 in the morning to watch NBA games, and nobody knows about our own national championships.”

The league system, unlike the current service-tournament system in India, may not provide lifetime job security, but Divya believes that for the overall growth of the games as well as talent in India, it is better.

“I don’t like cricket very much,” Divya admits, “But I admire the way that it is managed. It’s possible for basketball to grow in India. There is a court in most of the schools in India, and kids play the game regularly at a young age. Their talent needs to be channelized in the right way.”

Her exposure in Delaware has shown Divya what facilities are lacking back home, like proper weight rooms, weight-trainers, dieticians, or scouts to cultivate young talent the right way. “Some of our players have had the natural talent and would’ve been able to make it into American leagues if they were nurtured properly from a young age.”

And it is with these dreams that Divya plans to return to India. “I am undecided on whether I will return to a playing career,” she says, “But I love the game, and I’ve found my calling with administrative work for the BFI in helping promote it the right way, whether through the media or through more camps across Indian schools.”

I don’t know if Divya’s step into administrative duties for the country’s basketball body was a planned career move, but they mark a strange compromise between her own dreams and her father’s. “When my sisters and I began playing the game, it was a passion, not a career,” she says, “We went against our father’s wishes and followed our hearts. That kind of passion needs to be brought back into youngsters playing basketball here.”

For Divya, it was always more than a career… Until it became one! Her story is exemplary to other young girls with dreams that conflict with their family, society, or the potential matrimonial ad. And it is girls like her who follow their dreams and positively redefine the 'good Indian girl'.

Indian Railways take over National Basketball Championships

The 60th National Basketball Championships concluded in Ludhiana earlier this week, and Indian Railways won gold in both the Men's and Women's divisions:

It was a double delight for Indian Railways as they successfully defended their title in the men's and women's section, defeating hosts Punjab and Delhi respectively in the finals of the 60th National Basketball Championship at Guru Nanak Stadium here today.

In an exciting contest, Railways men defeated Punjab 75-74 by a whisker to retain the men's trophy, while women's team brushed aside last year's losing finalist Delhi 84-62 to emerge victorious.

Railways have incredibly doubled their double feat - the men and women divisions were both won by the team in last year's national championship in Surat, too.

The women's team this year was led with 28 points by Geethu Anna Jose, who is the captain of the Indian Women's team and was also one of the team's few star performers in country's otherwise dismal showing at the FIBA Asia Women Championship at Chennai in September.