China win U16 FIBA ABC; India impress but finish at 10th place

At the recently concluded 2nd U16 FIBA Asia Basketball Championship, in Nha Trang City, Vietnam, India's Youth side finished at an unflattering 10th place out of 16 participants. The final standing was no improvement to our standing at this competition two years ago, where we had finished 10th too.

And yet, the players and coaches who represented the country in Vietnam, and the fans who followed their every move, couldn't help but feel a sense of optimism about India's incredible performance. Impressing opponents and fans alike with their considerably improved play, India, perhaps for the first time on the Asian stage, have given a warning with their performance about the things to come. As this current crop of talented youngsters grow up, and more are added to the system, Indian basketball has definitely taken a step in the right direction.

But first: respect must go to the tournament's eventual champions, China, the most dominating and the only undefeated team at the championship. China continued their dominance in the final of the tournament as they blew past Korea 92-52 for their second consecutive gold medal of this competition on Friday.

China had an air of invincibility about them as they went about their business against a potentially tricky opponent in the final. Zhou Qi of China had a final to remember, scoring a tournament-high 43 points to lead his side to a 40-point victory, 16 of which came in the second quarter which opened the gap between the two sides.

Korea’s best player on the night was Hae Hoon, who pitched in 19 points for his side that had to settle for the silver medal.

The finalists China and Korea have both qualified for the 2nd U17 FIBA World Championship which will be held in Kaunas, Lithuania, in 2012.

Earlier in the day, Japan defeated the Phillipines with a disciplined effort 94-81 to claim the bronze medal. Japan were led on the scoresheet by Dalki Kaneko (25 points), Yusel Sugiura (21), Yudal Baba (17), and Kelta Shinkawa (16).

India's coach Jai Prakash 'JP' Singh did not use a fixed starting lineup for the eight games his side played, giving the most amount of minutes to Ajay Pratap Singh, Loveneet Singh, Rakesh Sangwan, Narender Satyawan, Satnam Singh Bhamara, and Karthickeyan Saminathan.

India were grouped in the Preliminary Stage of the tournament with China, Malaysia, and Chinese Taipei. It was international baptism by fire for most of the Indian players as they were caught in the Chinese roller coaster, losing 27-64 in their first game to the tournament's eventual champs. China were bigger, faster, and more experienced than the Indian side, which featured only one player - seven-foot-one, 15-year-old Punjabi phenon Satnam Singh Bhamara - with any major international experience.

But the tournament only improved for India after that: in their second game against Malaysia, India started hot to thrash their opponents, 93-40. India were led by Karthickeyen Saminathan (18 points). Loveneet Singh accounted for 8 points in the first quarter to lead the Indian charge and went on to score 16 points. Ajay Pratap Singh contributed 17 points, 5 of them coming in the first quarter. And in limited time of just one quarter, Satnam scored 16 points.

In the final group game, India pulled off one of the major upsets of the tournament, clocking a memorable 73-52 victory against Chinese Taipei. India shut down Taipei early in the game, and then rode the three-point prowess of Ajay Pratap Singh (25) and Karthickeyen Saminathan (18) to prevail. India's improving defense was a major cause of this win, something that coach JP Singh noted in his interview with FIBA.com. The win helped India finish at 2nd place in their group.

In the tournament's Second Round, India were slated to face three tough teams: Lebanon, Korea, and Iraq, and despite strong efforts in all three games, India couldn't find a single victory. A loss in a loss in any language, but playing against teams that are used to defeating us by 30 points and then holding them to near-even terms shows the improving stature of the Indian side. After a close game in the first half, Lebanon's offense finally broke free from India's stingy defense and rode their way to a second round vicory, 77-65. Jimmy Salem led the scoring for Lebanon and the game with 22 points with Gerard Hadidian contributing 20 points, his third successive 20-or-more score in the competition. Albert Zeinoun had 21 points. India were led by Loveneet Singh, who had 16.

One of India's high-points of the championship was their loss to eventual runners-up Korea: Satnam Singh Bhamara finally broke free and scored 41 points (second highest individual score in the tournament), keeping India tied with the Asian powerhouses up till the start of the fourth quarter! Korea's Heo Hoon, who sat out the entire first quarter nursing a painful ankle, made an entry midway through the second and went on to lead Korea’s scoring with an all-round 31 points. Level at 47 at the end of the third, Korea opened a 19-10 blitz in the first five minutes of the final quarter. Heo had 14 of his points in the fourth quarter. Kim Gookchan had 18 points.

Satnam continued his inspired run against Iraq, as he once again dominated the post for 32 points. India started off well again, but Iraq came into their stead in the second quarter to take a lead and not give it up again. India stayed close throughout, however, and leveled the scores in the final period after free throws by Kushmeet Singh, but Iraq's Ahmed Razzaq (27) scored a couple of clutch baskets to give his team the eventual 72-64 win. Karrar Hamzah added 21 for Iraq.

Because of these losses, India failed to qualify for the Quarter-Final stage and had to settle for 9-12 place playoffs. They played in the first playoff game against the home side Vietnam in what became India's most dominating offensive and defensive performance of the tournament. Using stifling defense, India held Vietnam to just 19 points after the first three quarter as they cruised to a 107-40 victory. Vietnam were no match for India, who dominated the game from start to finish. Ajay Pratap Singh posted 20 points in the first half before being rested for the rest of the game. JP Singh introduced Satnam Singh Bhamara in the third quarter, where the young Center scored a further 19 points. Loveneet Singh scored 20 points for India, while Rakesh Sangwan added 16.

In their last game of the championship, India were set for a rematch against Chinese Taipei for the 9th place. It turned out to be a heartbreaking game for India, as Lu Kuan-Shiuan’s three-pointer, with less than three seconds left in the game, helped Chinese Taipei fashion a resurgent 61-60 win. India held the edge on the scoreboard for the better part of the first half, but Taipei unleashed a 15-2 run through the start of the third quarter and went on to build a 10-point lead. India seemed to recover from that deficit and kept the score close and were ahead 60-58 with 20 seconds left on the clock, when coach JP Singh took a time-out. Taipei having run out of time-outs pounced on the opportunity to plot their play, and after the usual rotation, Wang I-Feng drew the rival defense towards and sent the ball to Lu. Who had had no trouble in firing the match-winner in. I-Feng had 17 points for Taipei, while India were led once again by Satnam Singh Bhamara, who had 29.

Thus, India finished the tournament with a 3-5 record. We were led individually in scoring by Satnam Singh Bhamara, who averaged 19.3 points per game in the course of the championship. What makes it more amazing is that Satnam was only the starting five for perhaps half of the games played. Ajay Pratap Singh (13.1 ppg) and Loveneet Singh (10.3 ppg) were regular offensive options. Rakesh Sangwan and Karthickeyen Saminathan also pitched in valuable contributions for the Indian side.

Of course, there is the disappointing after-taste of 'what could've been?' with many of the games we played. The losses to Korea and Iraq hurt especially, since we were so close so late into these match-ups, and of course, our final seconds loss to Chinese Taipei, after holding on to a two-point lead, didn't settle easy in the stomach either. But the fact that we are getting this close is a marvel in itself. The fact that we defeated Taipei by 21 points in an earlier game, and that we completely destroyed the likes of Malaysia and Vietnam (teams who are close to equal to us) makes me very optimistic.

This is a talented and deep team with good defensive fundamentals, and the likes of Ajay Pratap Singh and Loveneet Singh will be stars to watch for India in the future. Ajay Pratap Singh finished with the best assists average (4 apg) in the entire tournament! And then there is the case of the unpolished but dominating big man, Satnam Singh Bhamara. Still over a month away from his 16th birthday, this seven-footer had a coming-out party at the tournament in Vietnam. It isn't just the points he scored, it was the frequency with which he scored them, even when he was handed limited minutes. At 19.3 ppg, Satnam was the leading scorer of the entire championship!

A student-athlete at the IMG Academy in Bradenton, Satnam has had a big year, as he made his debut with India's Senior national team in MAZ Qualifiers in India, and later, was part of the squad that performed poorly at the 26th FIBA Asia Championship in Wuhan. His play was very limited in that championship, but amongst his own age group in Vietnam, he was unstoppable. What makes Satnam's improvement so much more amazing is that the youngster seems to continue having a level-head and surprising maturity: In an interview with FIBA, Satnam made it clear that he puts team first. Here are some of his quotes from that interview:

"I only wish I had scored half as many points in any of those games, and we had entered the quarterfinals. Only then my performance can be spoken about."

"I feel a lot more confident now. I am not scared of any situation anymore."

"The way I want to contribute is not only by scoring 40 points, but also stopping 40 points. That way I think my contribution to the team will be more valuable."

Satnam will now return to India, perhaps to take part in an Indian Juniors camp in Delhi, or perhaps to return to the IMG Academy in Florida, USA, straight away. We hope he keeps improving either way, and so do this current Youth team. They could come together again in a year or two when India play in U18 international championship, and we'll see then if this side can learn to find a way of winning more close games.

Congrats again to China, by the way, who are just looking scary good from all angles in basketball right now. China is dominating every Asian-level tournament is taking part in. And the future looks good for them too: it will be a long time before any other basketball playing country in Asia can replace them at the number 1 spot.

India’s U16 Boys’ Basketball team for 2nd FIBA Asia U16 Championship in Vietnam

The Basketball Federation of India (BFI) has announced the 12-member squad of youth players who will represent the country at the 2nd FIBA Asia U16 Championship in Nha Trang City, Vietnam, from October 18-28th, 2011.

India, who qualified for this championship after defeating Nepal and Sri Lanka in qualifiers in New Delhi in August, have been slotted in Group A of the FIBA Asia U16 Championship along with reigning champions China, Malaysia, and Chinese Taipei.

India’s squad will be highlighted by young star players such as Punjab’s Loveneet Singh and Chhattisgarh’s Ajay Pratap Singh. Additionally, Punjab’s 15-year-old 7-foot-2-inch player Satnam Singh Bhamara, who was part of India’s Senior Men’s team at the FIBA Asia Championship in China last month, will also be part of the U16 side. India’s coaching contingent will be led by head coach Jai Prakash Singh.

India’s U16 Boys Basketball Team for 2nd FIBA Asia U16 Championship

Abhishek Rai

Khusmeet Singh Atwal

Karthickeyan Saminathan

Rakesh Singh Sangwan

Loveneet Singh

Sanjeev Kumar

Narender Satyawan

Syed Anam Ali

Akimjeet Singh Sohal

Pankaj Rathee

Ajay Pratap Singh

Satnam Singh Bhamara

Head Coach: Jai Prakash Singh

Coach: JN Nehra

Coach: Divya Singh

Physiotherapist: Nilesh Shah

FIBA Referee: Manoj Kotian

FIBA Referee: Zanim Mohd. Hashim

FIBA Commissioner: Naresh Aneja

India will tip off their campaign against holders China on Tuesday, October 18th. India will face Malaysia and Chinese Taipei on the 19th and 20th of October, respectively. The Second Round of the tournament will begin on Saturday, October 22nd. The Final is scheduled to be held on Friday, October 28th. The Indian Boys’ team is currently ranked 45th in the FIBA World Rankings.

Click here for Complete Preliminary Round Schedule.

India's Men's Basketball team to tip off FIBA ABC - Hope, patience, & prediction

If you follow (or want to follow) basketball in India, there is no better time to start paying attention than now: The Indian Men's team has qualified for the 26th FIBA Asia Basketball Championship (ABC), which will be held in Wuhan, China, from September 15-25. This is the biggest basketball tournament for Indian Basketball, featuring 16 of the continent's finest basketball teams (out of 44 federations).

The prize? The winner of the tournament automatically qualifies for the 2012 Olympic Games basketball tournament in London, while the top three teams will qualify for the 2014 FIBA World Championship, featuring the best basketball teams on the planet.

This would be India's 22nd time taking part in this biennial tournament, and no, we haven't had too much success here in the past. Our best finish was a fourth place in Thailand in 1975. We haven't finished in the top eight since 2003. Most recently, at the 25th FIBA ABC in Tianjin, China, in 2009, we finished at 13th place.

In the 2009 championship, Iran beat China in the final to win the gold medal.

I don't believe in false optimism, but this year, there is at least a glimmer of hope that, no matter the result, our Young Cagers from India will be causing some of their more favoured rivals some headaches on court. The reason, mostly, is coach Kenny Natt, formerly an NBA head coach, and a man on a mission to adhere the same tactics with players on the Indian National side that he did with hall of fame basketball players whom he has worked with in the NBA. Now, be assured, Natt has no magic stick to suddenly improve India's fitness, shooting ability, athleticism, mental strength, and all the other background crap ailing sports in the country: We have to have patience as things will improve slowly. What Natt does bring is a sense of professionalism, experience, and respect to the team. It will be interesting to see how they respond to him in this tough championship.

This, of course, isn't Natt's first date in serious international competition with India: two months ago, he led India to three easy blowout victories over neighbours Sri Lanka and Bangladesh to qualify for the FIBA ABC. Watching those games offered a sense of the shape that India had taken under him, but in Wuhan, you can be rest assured that the competition will be multiple times sterner.

Upon his departure, Natt had said “I expect the Indian team to be competitive every night. We will concentrate on one game at a time. I know that we will be a well prepared squad and I aim that, through our performances, we can earn the respect of our opponents.”

India’s 12-player squad includes 15 year old basketball prodigy, Satnam Singh Bhamara, India’s youngest team member. Satnam, an IMG Reliance Scholar, trains at the IMG Basketball Academy in Florida, USA and made his debut with India’s senior team in the Middle Asia Zone Qualifying Round in July.

India's full squad at this tournament will be: Amrit Pal Singh, Amjyot Singh, Dishant Shah, Hareesh Koroth, Jagdeep Singh Bains, Narender Grewal, Prakash Mishra, Satnam Singh Bhamara, Talwinderjit Singh "TJ" Sahi, Trideep Rai, Vishesh Bhriguvanshi, and Yadwinder Singh.

This squad is slightly different from the one that played in the qualifiers in July: most importantly, India is missing on major veteran presence in starting point guard Sambhaji Kadam and bench swingman Riyazuddin, both who are away because of injury. Kadam will particularly be missed, as he was the best 'pass-first' point guard for the team - but his absence has opened the door for a chance at redemption for Mr. Air India himself, aka TJ Sahi. In a past shaded by that explosive crossover dribble, dunk competition victories, a solid performance against Yi Jianlian of China, and unfortunately, a series of on/off court behaviour issues, Sahi has been one of the most paradoxical stars of the Indian game. Luckily, under Natt's eye, he has become a lot more disciplined, and it seems that he will be leading the squad from the front as the team's starting point guard.

So the starting line-up seems to be of Sahi at PG, Vishesh Bhriguvanshi at SG (young, experienced, do-it-all swingman, and my personal favourite player on the Indian side), Trideep Rai (our designated sharp-shooter) as SF, and the Punjabi big men combo of Yadwinder Singh and Jagdeep Singh Bains in the frontcourt. Both Yadwinder and Jagdeep are high-energy players, but at around 6 foot 6, will be both undersized when going against Asia's other behemoths.

This is where the bench comes in: it seems to be the golden age for young big men in India. On the bench, we have 20 year old Amrit Pal Singh (6 foot 10), 19 year old Amjyot Singh (6 foot 9), 19 year old Dishant Shah (6 foot 9), and of course, 15 year old Satnam Singh Bhamara (7 foot 1). What these players have in height, unfortunately, they lack in experience. Only Shah had played senior internationals for India before this year, and while there is a lot of potential in these four big men, none of them are yet mentally strong and physically complete to be starters.

The squad is completed with the hard-working backcourt combo of Prakash Mishra and Hareesh Koroth, and another new-comer into the side, Narender Grewal.

Natt has picked the best available players for this tournament, but beyond the starting five plus Prakash and Koroth, there is a definitive lack of experience which may hurt us.

At the MAZ Qualifiers, India played with impressive aggression on defense which led to easy fast break points, and also displayed some great set offensive plays that helped us get many good open shots. In the blowouts, Natt was also able to experiment with the line-up and balance the minutes out. With tougher teams facing us this time around, I expect a lot more pressure on our starters to out up heroic performances for their country.

Now, on to our opponents: The tournament consists of four groups of four teams each. India, ranked 50th in the FIBA World Rankings, is in Group A at the 2011 FIBA ABC, along with Lebanon (ranked 24th), Malaysia (70), and Korea (31). We will be playing these three teams in order in the Preliminary Round on our first three days of the tournament. Korea is the most historically successful side in our group, having won 2 gold and 11 silvers at the tournament, but Lebanon have had more recent success, as they finished 4th in 2009 over Korea's 7th. Malaysia is a side ranked below us, and although that makes us technically favourites to win, they have known to give us problems in the past.

To qualify from our group and move forward into the Second Round (and thus, hope for a top 12 finish), India need to finish in the top 3 of group A, which means that we need to win at least one of our three games. This seems to be very likely: Malaysia are ranked far below us, and the positive momentum of Natt's team might help us overcome them. Beating either Lebanon or Korea and finishing in the top 2, of course, is a far more ambitious challenge.

The Second Round will consist of two groups of six teams each, and the top three teams in one group will play against the top three teams in the other. If all goes as planned, India will likely play against Iran, Qatar, and Chinese Taipei in this round. These are all better teams than us, but if we can get a miraculous victory somewhere here, we might be able to qualify for the Quarter Finals (and a top 8 finish) - Chinese Taipei is probably the best bet for that miracle, because the two Middle Eastern teams will be too strong for us.

The final round, which will consists of the quarters, semis, and finals, will start on Sep 23rd. If India is knocked out, we will play in Classification games to find our final rank.

I will be hoping for (and predicting) an improvement over last time's rank for India: I think we can definitely move on to the Second Round and thus, at least, ensure a top 12 finish. Even if we don't qualify for the Quarter-Finals after this round, we will have a chance to finish between 9-12th.

So, with hesitant optimism, I await the start of the FIBA Asia Basketball Championship - you can follow the recaps of the game on the Wuhan 2011 website or a more India-focused recap on the Basketball Federation of India's website. As much as possible, I will also be posting updates about India's progress on my Facebook and Twitter page.

Go India!

India U16s qualify for U16 FIBA Asia Championship

93 points per game. That was the average margin of victory for India's U16 Boys basketball team, as they faced U16 teams from Nepal and Sri Lanka on August 2-3, at the Indira Gandhi Stadium in New Delhi. The purpose of this slaughter? The three teams were brought together to fight for a spot at the 2nd U16 FIBA Asia Championship, which will be held at Nha Trang City in Vietnam from October 18-28th. India's qualification was never in question, but the full destructive force by which the young stars went about their business was remarkable, indeed.

Here is a complete dissection.

India prepared the best possible team for this competition: The U16 probables had already been in camp in Delhi, preparing for the qualifiers and for the FIBA Asia event later this year, for one and a half months. What this side truly boasted of was experience: in players such as Chhattisgarh's Ajay Pratap Singh, Punjab's Kushmeet Singh and Love Neet Singh, MP's Syed Anam Ali, and Delhi's Narender, India had players who had been superstars in their own right of their age level. Added to this group were two players who are currently on scholarship at the IMG Academy in the USA: Chhattisgarh's guard Sanjeev Kumar, and the biggest name of them all, Punjab's 7-foot-1, 15-year-old giant, Satnam Singh Bhamara.

So when this group, along with several others, took the court to play our hapless neighbours, the results were expectedly lopsided. India defeated Nepal by 98 points in the first game, running and gunning behind seven players who scored in double digits. Ajay Pratap Singh and Love Neet Singh led the scoring with 19 and 18 points respectively. One of the true eye-popping numbers in this game was the score at the end of three quarters: 100-20. The final score, no less impressive: 134-36.

Leading the players from the sidelines were Delhi-based coaches JP Singh, J Nehra, and former Indian Women's superstar Divya Singh. I overheard something interesting from one of the probables that didn't make the squad about Coach Singh: "He said that 'When you're in my team, I have no feeders, no forwards, and no pivot players. You must be ready to play whatever position I ask you to play'." And true to this, most of the players, except for perhaps the bigs Satnam and Rakesh Sangwan, played as fluidly as they possibly could.

In the final against Sri Lanka on Wednesday, India fielded a big starting lineup, where our small forward, Ajay, was perhaps as tall as our opponent's Center (6'4"). On PF was 6'6" Sangwan, and Satnam held on to the Center position.

This was the kind of game that would have basketball scouts salivating on Satnam's potential. Let me make a note here that this was the first time really that I was watching Satnam play competitively against guys of his own age group. Despite the fact that he has represented Punjab at the U18 and India at the Senior level over the past month, he is still only a 15-year-old, and qualified to play for the U16 level, too. After a relatively easy first game (13 points, 3-4 blocks), Satnam EXPLODED against Sri Lanka. His teammates did a good job in getting him the ball, and he rewarded them with aggressive inside offense. Satnam was near-automatic against the hapless defenders once he got the ball inside. In roughly 26 minutes of action, he scored 28 points (barely missing any shots), brought down 8 rebounds, and got three highlight-reel blocks.

The rest of the team, meanwhile, continued dominating like they did a day before. The smaller players like Narender, Kushmeet, and Love Neet were too fast for Sri Lanka, as they caused dozens of turnovers with their full-court press, and on the other end, scored with ease on tireless fast-breaks. India cruised to an 88 point victory in the final, 122-34.

Entry into the U16 FIBA Asia Championship secure, this team now has a lot more time before October to continue improving. If they can keep this core together and motivated, they may well spring a surprise or two against Asia's powerhouses. And even if they don't yet, their play over these two games, albeit against weak competition, has proved that Indian basketball fans can rest assured: the future of the game is bright, indeed!

Here are the scores from the two games:

India vs. Nepal: India (Ajay Pratap Singh 19, Love Neet Singh 18, Satnam Singh Bhamara 13, Akash Bhasin 11, Kushmeet Singh 10, S. Karthickeyan 10, Rakesh Sangwan 10) bt. Nepal 134-36 (33-9, 31-4, 36-7, 34-16).

India vs. Sri Lanka: India (Satnam Singh Bhamara 28, Kushmeet Singh 26, Love Neet Singh 12, Ajay Pratap Singh 11) bt. Sri Lanka (Kenneth W 12, Praveen Ganlath 10) 122-34 (35-11, 29-8, 35-11, 23-4).

India Youth Boys to face Nepal & Sri Lanka in Delhi

The Indian Youth (U16) Boys basketball squad will face youth teams from Nepal and Sri Lanka at the KD Jadhav Indoor Hall of the Indira Gandhi Stadium in New Delhi from August 1-3, 2011. These games will decide on the team which will qualify for the 2nd FIBA Asia Championship for Youth Boys at Nha Trang City in Vietnam, from October 18-28th.

The 12-member squad to participate in this team was announced on Friday, July 29, 2011:

Akash Bhasin (Chhattisgarh)

Ajay Pratap Singh (Chhattisgarh)

Sanjeev Kumar (IMG Academy / Chattisgarh)

Narender (Delhi)

Akimjeet Singh Sohal (Delhi)

Pradeep Kumar (Delhi)

Rakesh Sangwan (Haryana)

Syed Anam Ali (Madhya Pradesh)

Kushmeet Singh (Punjab)

Love Neet Singh (Punjab)

Satnam Singh Bhamara (IMG Academy / Punjab)

S. Karthickeyan (Tamil Nadu)

Coach: JP Singh

Coach: J Nehra

Assistant Coach: Divya Singh

Physiotherapist Neelesh Shah

Amongst the young stars highlighting this squad are the likes of Satnam Singh Bhamara, the 7-foot-1 Center who has already represented India's Senior squad. Chhattisgarh's electrifying superstar Ajay Pratap Singh will be a major force in this team, as he is one of the most talented and confident young players in Indian basketball today. Three players from the Delhi team which won the Youth Nationals in Nagpur earlier this year - Narender, Akimjeet Singh Sohal, and Pradeep Kumar - will also star in this side.

India is going to the FIBA Asia Championship - Natt's team takes shape

We must start, as Kenny Natt would probably prefer it, with the defense.

As you may have already heard, the Indian Senior Men's Basketball team had a better than great week at the office, er, court. India hosted four other SAARC teams (Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan) and competed in the Middle Asia Zone Qualifiers for the 26th FIBA Asia Basketball Championship. The Qualifiers were held at the Thyagraj Stadium in New Delhi from July 13-15th; the FIBA ABC will be held in Wuhan (China) from September 15-25.

Yes, India were supposed to have an easy time against the SAARC rivals, but this easy? Former NBA Head Coach Kenny Natt, who was hired less than two months ago, saw the Young Cagers play in their first competitive international action under him, and the results were glorious. India won the qualifiers and booked their ticket for China, beating Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, and then Sri Lanka again in the Final.

But back to the aforementioned defense. In those three games, India played its most inspired and organised defensive basketball I had ever seen. In the three games, India's hapless opponents made 37 field goals and committed 65 turnovers. India were ruthless, and they were ruthless from the beginning till the end. The turnovers led to quick offense and fast-break points on the other end.

These were your Final scores:

Pool A Game: India 99, Sri Lanka 42

Semi Final: India 120, Bangladesh 26

Final: India 89, Sri Lanka 35

India won each game by an average margin of nearly 68 points per game, and they managed it with only three players averaging in double digits! The defense was marvelous, with India holding their opposition to just 35 points per contest.

The next thing I must mention is balance: with the opposition giving less than an inspired challenge, Natt was able to play all of its 12 players on the roster regularly. Nobody played less than 10 minutes a game, and no one played more than 23. India played amazingly unselfish basketball, and looked like a real team. Whenever an extra pass could be made, it was. Wing players like Vishesh Bhriguvanshi, Hareesh Koroth, Trideep Rai, and Prakash Mishra got a large number of open looks from the three point line because of the great passing and spacing, and the players did well to convert their open looks.

Despite averaging over 100 points a game, India's leading scorer, Vishesh, only put up 15 a game individually. Jagdeep Singh, who was one of the most explosive players on the court, made it a point to fire up the crowd and indimidate the opponents by a wide array of dunks, and averaged 12.33 points a game.

The only other player to crack a double digit average was a surprise package - 20-year-old big man Amrit Pal Singh has really come into his own under Natt. Amrit Pal was amazingly efficient, playing just 12 minutes a game but averaging 13.33 ppg to become India's second highest scorer. His presence in the post will a boon for the Indian team in the future, and his combination of size, strength, and speed, will send shivers down opponents' backs if he continues to improve the way he has.

I was also impressed by India's backcourt bench players, Koroth and Mishra, both of whom played the most amount of minutes in the qualifiers. They were both very influential in both creating the offense for others and of course, scoring themselves.

Natt's squad had great balance to it in terms of youth and experience. Two players thought to have been left behind by Indian Basketball's youth wave - Sambhaji Kadam and Riyazuddin - made great comebacks to the national side. Kadam was India's starting point guard, led the team in assists, and had a Jason Kidd-esque veteran role as the team's mature leader. Riyaz came off the bench to give valuable minutes as a glue-guy.

And then there's the youth: Punjab's young, big men Amjyot Singh (19) and Satnam Singh Bhamara (15) took important strides as their made their India debut. Both youngsters showed nervousness at times but also showed flashes of their incredible potential.

Oh, yes, you read that last paragraph right. Satnam Singh Bhamara, 15. That same 15-year-old, seven-foot-one, son of a Punjabi farmer, who is currently at a basketball scholarship at the IMG Academy in Florida (USA), and in his holidays, made a debut with the Indian national team and led them in rebounds (yes, he did). Bhamara is still nervous, still makes silly mistakes, still has slow reactions. But hell, he's FIFTEEN. Bhamara has a long way to go, but this tournament was a crucial first step in his development as a star for India.

Natt, a former NBA coach, had little knowledge or experience with Asian competition, but he did a great job in keeping India disciplined, no matter how ridiculously lopsided the advantage seemed.

So that was India - mostly good news and positivity. Unfortunately, I can't say the same for our opposition. And that is what concerns me, and that is what clearly concerned Natt, who will of course be playing against much upgraded competition in Wuhan. India has been grouped alongside Lebanon, Korea, and Malaysia. There will be no more 94 point wins and Natt will have little room to experiment with the bench. The FIBA Asia Championships will be a different animal, of course, and against certain competition, India may well be at the receiving end of the kind of punishment they have handed the SAARC competition.

"We're still a young group of guys, and we will still be getting better as a defensive team after each game," Natt told reporters after his first game as coach, "I'm really looking down the road, looking to get better defensively for the future."

And just as it had begun, we must also end with the defense. India will rarely get easier challenges than they did this week, but to toughen up against the big boys, it will be defense that will dictate the team's future.

India Men’s Squad for Middle Asia Zone Qualifying Round in New Delhi

The 12-man roster for the Indian Senior Men’s squad that will take part in the Middle Asia Zone Qualifying Round matches against SAARC teams in New Delhi from July 13-15th has been released by the Basketball Federation of India (BFI) and India coach Kenny Natt. India will play their first competitive international game under Natt against Sri Lanka on Wednesday evening at Delhi’s Thyagraj Stadium.

Indian Team for Middle Asia Zone Qualifying Round

Sambhaji Kadam

Amjyot Singh

Hareesh Koroth

Prakash Mishra

Satnam Singh Bhamara

Vishesh Bhriguvanshi

Amrit Pal Singh

Eudrick Pereira

Trideep Rai

Riyazuddin

Yadwinder Singh

Jagdeep Singh Bains

Head Coach: Kenny Natt

Assistant Coach: Rajendar Singh

Assistant Coach: Pawan Kumar

Trainer: Zak Penwell

India, Sri Lanka, Bhutan, Bangladesh, and Nepal will be competing in these qualifiers to determine which team qualifies for one spot at the 26th FIBA Asia Championship for Men, which will be held in Wuhan (China) from September 15-25.

See the schedule of the qualifying matches here.

The team above has taken shape more or less like I had expected it to. We seem to have a good balance of experienced leaders, players in their prime, and fresh youngsters who will be getting their first chance to represent India at the international stage. No captain has been announced yet.

I'm going to guess that Natt's starting lineup will include Sambhaji as the point guard, Vishesh as shooting guard, sharp-shooting Trideep Rai as the small forward, and the Punjabi big men duo of Yadwinder and Jagdeep as our post players. The pleasant surprise at the National camp for the past month has been the resurgence and maturity of Sambhaji: India had been facing a mini-point guard crisis, since Arjun Singh has been nursing an injury and TJ Sahi had to leave camp duo to personal reasons. Sambhaji, one of the country's best ball-handlers and passers, has regained his form and will add veteran leadership to the starting five. Hareesh Koroth will be backing him up off the bench.

Of course, it's great to see the 15-year-old 7-footer Satnam Singh in this list as he gets ready to make his debut for India. Behind the two starting big men and Amrit Pal Singh, Satnam and Amjyot Singh will be the pups of the big men group: but both the two Punjabis are massive players with massive potential. They may not get to play too much, but watch out for them when they do step out on court.

We'll find out tomorrow what starting five and tactics that Natt unleashes against Sri Lanka.

Yao Ming lifted basketball in China, gave hope to the game in India

There is a major reason that we have hope in the rise of basketball in India today. A reason why we feel that, one day, the game can grow in India, one day we can produce our own NBA superstar, and one day, we can challenge the world's best hoop-playing nations at the biggest stage.

And that reason is China.

Of course, we have our own way of doing things, our own history in the game, and our own legends of the game, but it has been China's sudden rise that has allowed Indian basketball to hope that one day we can too turn our basketball potential into actuality. Over the past 12-13 years, basketball has seen a meteoric rise in our northern, (sometimes unfriendly) neighbours. It has risen above all to become one of the most popular sports in the country, along with football and table-tennis. In a little over a decade, the Chinese basketball team has gone from strong performances in Asian championships to making a mark amongst the world's best country's, including the US, Spain, Argentina, Serbia, etc. In that same time span, the Chinese Basketball League (CBA) has become a lucrative venture, even attracting former NBA stars Bonzi Wells, Stephon Marbury, and Steve Francis to star in the league. From the grassroots development of the game to the popular fan-frenzy for the Kobe Bryants and the Allen Iversons... China has gone from becoming a sleeping giant in the game to the NBA's largest market outside the US.

And there is a major reason why basketball is so popular in China today. A reason why Stephon Marbury played in the CBA. A reason why China ranks 10th in the FIBA rankings. Why more and more Chinese youngsters want to grow up and become basketball stars. Why Iverson jerseys flew off the shelves across the country over the past decade.

And that reason is Yao Ming.

Two days ago, news leaked that Yao Ming had told the Houston Rockets, the only team for whom he had ever donned an NBA jersey, that he was planning to retire. The announcement brought a sudden, depressing, yet not wholly unexpected end to a short, brilliant, and much-maligned career. China's biggest sporting icon, the man who had opened more possibilities than ever for basketball in the world's most populous country, and thus given hope for a future in basketball for us in India, the second-most populous country, was calling it a day.

By most standards, Yao Ming did not have a super-spectacular career on the court, yet as Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! NBA argues, it is his global impact on the game of basketball that should be enough to make him a Basketball Hall of Famer. The 7-foot-6 giant was the first pick of the NBA draft in 2002 by the Houston Rockets, a choice that immediately brought the NBA to China and had more Chinese fans wearing Steve Francis Rockets jerseys than American ones. That was bound to happen, right - Yao was the icon, but it was his teammate Francis whose game and size fans could relate to more. After Francis left Houston, it was Tracy McGrady. And all this because of Yao.

From 2002-2011 Yao spent just nine seasons in the NBA, averaging 19 points and 9.2 rebounds per game over his career. After a quiet first season, he soon became a force to be reckoned with. He arrived into the NBA just as Shaquille O'Neal sipped on the champagne of his third straight NBA championship with the Lakers. I still remember how Yao was supposed to be the guy to one day match Shaq. The behemoth clash never really lived up to its fullest potential. By the time Yao got into his prime (2006), Shaq was already done with his. The best thing that ever happened of the Shaq-Yao media-hyped-rivalry was a mixtape rap song released by Shaq called 'How to Rob the NBA League', where O'Neal hilariously bragged: "I got three rings, fool; Yao Ming, who?"

Yao didn't have the rings, but he did have a popularity to match Shaq. With or without injury, Yao was voted eight times as an NBA All Star, mostly thanks to his devoted fan-following in China. It is bitter irony then that, within one month, NBA fans have had to bid farewell to both these memorable giants.

Yao never played a full NBA season after his second one. His injury troubles began in 2005-06. From 2005-2008 three seasons, Yao only managed to average 53 games during the regular season. This injury-riddled time also coincided with his peak, as he averaged 22.4 ppg and 10.1 rpg during this time. This fact makes the Yao tragedy perhaps even more tragic - it was in his worst years where he was at his best.

Yao recovered valiantly to play 77 games in 2008-09, but then sat out all of the 2009-10 season, and only managed to notch five games in his attempted comeback in 2010-11. Through this time, his most gifted teammate, Tracy McGrady, also suffered from various ailments, and the talented duo could never have the success together that they deserved to enjoy.,

His injury list during this period has been long and horrifying, from developing osteomyelitis in the big toe on his left foot, breaking his right knee, getting a stress fracture in his left foot, and a broken bone in his left foot. It was the stress fracture on his left ankle that was finally aggravated again last season and took him out of the game for good.

Even Yao Ming's giant legs weren't strong enough to carry the weight burdened on to him. The weight of expectation from all of China, the expectation of carrying both the Rockets and the Chinese National team, and carrying them as often as he could. His knees had been overworked, his feet had run up-and-down the court way too many times. Big men are notoriously infamous for having career-riddling injuries - Yao was amongst the biggest of them all, and even though injuries shortened his career, he was still able to make the most of his time on the court.

New Delhi, India, thousands of miles away from Yao's hometown of Shanghai, and thousands more from Yao's adopted hometown of Houston. I'm watching the teenager supposed to shoulder India's basketball aspirations, the 15-year-old, seven-foot-one gentle giant, Satnam Singh Bhamara, who has already drawn unfair comparisons to Yao Ming solely due to the similarity in the country's from which they both hail, the potential of where India stands now in world basketball as compared to where China stood 15 or so years ago, and of course, their size. Bhamara is playing for Junior Nationals Championships for Punjab, dominating the competition with a sleek combination of size, strength, speed, and dexterity. His potential, like Yao's potential, is scary good.

Yao's story, for the sake of Satnam and others, should be a lesson learnt, a parable for how to be responsible superstar carrying the homes of ones countrymen, and how to be careful as a big man and make sure to elongate a potentially great career the way Yao unfortunately couldn't. Satnam may just be the first, but from henceforth, every talented seven-footer from India will be compared to Yao, until the first one makes the breakthrough into global basketball for India the way Yao did for his country. For this, he will never ever be forgotten.

I'm going to finish with this: My most vivid memory of Yao Ming took place off the court. It was the 2008 Beijing Olympics. The opening ceremony of sport's grandest stage was the grandest opening ceremony of them all, marking China's "coming out party" economically and culturally into the West and the rest of the world. It was an occasion where China got to showcase the best it had to offer in its history, its tradition, it's economy, and ultimately its sport.

And there was a man carrying Chinese flag on this opening ceremony, the man who led the Chinese contingent, who was chosen ahead of all the others, towering over, giving the athletes and the rest of his countrymen the confidence and the belief that they could stand tall with the rest of the superpowers in the world.

That man was Yao Ming.

Indian Youth Probables (Boys & Girls) called for coaching camp in New Delhi

32 Boys and 31 Girls of the Indian Youth (under-16) division have been called up for a coaching camp to be held at the KD Jadhav Indoor Hall in New Delhi from June 15th – July 29th. A selection committee of the Basketball Federation of India (BFI) have selected these probables based on their performance at the 28th Youth National Basketball Championship for Boys & Girls in Nagpur from May 26th-June 2, 2011.

The camp in Delhi will determine India’s Youth National teams for FIBA Asia U16 Championships later in the year. The Indian U16 Boys side will get an opportunity to qualify for the 2nd FIBA Asia U16 Championship for Boys in Nha Trang City (Vietnam) from October 18-28, 2011. The Indian U16 Girls side will participate in the 2nd FIBA Asia U16 Championship for Girls in Urumqui (China) from October 5-12, 2011.

In addition to the players selected from the Youth Nationals, the eight Indian youngsters currently getting training at the IMG-Academy in Bradenton, Florida (USA) have also been invited to the camp in New Delhi.

Youth Probables

Boys

Om Jaiswal (Chhattisgarh)
Akash Bhasin (Chhattisgarh)
P. Murli (Chhattisgarh)
Ajay Pratap Singh (Chhattisgarh)
Dinesh Mishra (IMG Academy / Chhattisgarh)
Sanjeev Kumar (IMG Academy / Chhattisgarh)
Lawkesh Sharma (Chhattisgarh)
Narender (Delhi)
Akimjeet Singh Sohal (Delhi)
Pradeep Kumar (Delhi)
Panjak Rathee (Delhi)
Gaurav Ohlyan (Delhi)
Rohan Pethani (Gujarat)
Rajesh Sangwan (Haryana)
Himanshu Sharma (Haryana)
Vivek Sandhu (Haryana)
Shubham Mishra (Madhya Pradesh)
Syed Anam Ali (Madhya Pradesh)
Gopal Singh Rathee (Madhya Pradesh)
Ashiv Jain (IMG Academy / Madhya Pradesh)
Jagtap Rohan Ramesh (Maharashtra)
Shaikh Ibrahim Riyaz (Maharashtra)
Malik Saleem Mohd. Ibrahim (Maharashtra)
Kushmeet Singh (Punjab)
Loveneet Singh (Punjab)
Satnam Singh Bhamara (IMG Academy / Punjab)
Akashdeep Hazra (Punjab)
Navjot Singh (Rajasthan)
S. Karthickeyan (Tamil Nadu)
Himanshu Singh (Uttar Pradesh)
Abhishek Rai (Uttar Pradesh)
Sagar Joshi (West Bengal)

Girls

Sangeeta Das (Chhattisgarh)
Anjana Daisy Ekka (Chhattisgarh)
Poonam Chaturvedi (Chhattisgarh)
Pooja Ambishta (IMG Academy / Chhattisgarh)
A. Kavita (IMG Academy / Chhattisgarh)
Sangeetha Kaur (Chhattisgarh)
Sharanjeet Kaur (Chhattisgarh)
Soumya Babbar (IMG Academy / Delhi)
Rimpy Hooda (Haryana)
Anju Bhalotlia (Haryana)
Bharti Sihag (Haryana)
Komal Yadav (Haryana)
Praneetha S (Karnataka)
Karishma Rajan (Karnataka)
Prami P. Lal (Kerala)
Elizabeth Hilarious (Kerala)
Anathy Vimal (Kerala)
Poojamol KS (Kerala)
Ashwathy S. Thampi (Kerala)
Monika Gurjar (Madhya Pradesh)
Sruthi Menon (Maharashtra)
Ishwari Pingle (Maharashtra)
Krithika Divadkar (Maharashtra)
Shireen Limaye (Maharashtra)
Nirmal Kaur (Punjab)
Kulwinder Kaur (Punjab)
K. Devi Rajalaksmi (Tamil Nadu)
R. Sharmila (Tamil Nadu)
Shruti (Uttar Pradesh)
Barkha Sonkar (IMG Academy / Uttar Pradesh)
Madhu Kumari (West Bengal)

Definitely some interesting young players on the list - several of them have been in the fray for a while now, and a few made their mark at the Nagpur Youth Nationals recently.

First off, these are the kids who are at the IMG Academy in the USA, and will definitely be playing at the highest level because of their training and competition level - Boys: Satnam Singh Bhamara, Sanjeev Kumar, Dinesh Mishra, and Ashiv Jain. Girls: Barkha Sonkar, Pooja Ambishta, Soumya Babbar, and A. Kavita. These eight kids have been studying and playing there for almost a year now. The standout name amongst them is obviously of 7 foot 1 youngster Satnam Singh Bhamara, who, with his combination of size, skill, and youth, has become the Big Indian Basketball Hope.

Amongst the girls, the other star youngster is Maharashtra's Shireen Limaye, who is also the youngest player to be called up for India's Sr. Women's camp. Highly experienced at her age, Shireen will be one of the superstars of India's U16 Girls' squad.

Other players who had impressive outings at the Nagpur Youth Nationals are Kerala's Poojamal, who scored 40 points to go with 13 rebounds to lead her team to a gold medal win in the Girls' final, Chhattisgarh's Anjana Ekka, Maharashtra's Sruthi Menon, and Haryana's Rimpy Hooda.

One of the most interesting names in the girls' probables is of Poonam Chaturvedi, who at 6 foot 6 inches, is India's tallest female basketball player, and is still almost a month short of her 16th birthday. Originally from UP, Chaturvedi played for Chhattisgarh at the Youth Nationals, and despite her inexperience, was a major force in helping her team bag the silver medal.

In the Boys' list, there are several players from the gold winners Delhi, including Akimjeet Singh Sohal, Narendar, and Pradeep Kumar. Runners-up MP are represented by 3 players, including Syed Anam Ali and sharpshooter Shubham Mishra. Punjab's high-scoring 'Singh duo' of Loveneet and Kushmeet will also be attending. Other impressive performers were Akash Bhasin (Chhattisgarh), Saleem Ibrahim (Maharashtra), and Rakesh Sangwan (Haryana).

Kenny Natt to Coach Indian Basketball

India welcomes three world-class coaches for its national teams

This article was first published on SLAMOnline.com on May 18th, 2011

If there’s one thing that you can say with complete surety about Indian culture is that we treat our guests with honor. As a child, when my family had visitors staying over and I refused to give up my bedroom for the guests, my mother would take me to a corner and repeat the old Indian proverb: “Mehmaan Bhagwan Saman Hai” – The Guest is like God.

Yes, guests in India are showered with presents, treated like royalty, and are force-fed meals until their stomachs churn (we consider this a good thing). Anyone who has ever been welcomed into an Indian household knows that, when it comes to food, ‘I’m full’ means ‘I could eat two more rotis, please,’ and a firm ‘No’ means, ‘Yes, I wouldn’t mind that last piece of Butter Chicken.’ From simple households to State Diplomats, the over-welcoming philosophy of the Indian people (mostly) remains.

And this is one of the major reasons why, despite all the teething troubles that have hampered the game of basketball in the past (rampant corruption at the state level, backward infrastructure, little cohesive organization, etc.) the game continues has continued to develop at a good pace. India has welcomed the world of basketball with open arms – from IMG Worldwide to the NBA – and in return, the world of basketball has invested wisely to the growth of the game in India. The welcoming attitude has worked well in our favor, as everything from infrastructure to personnel is now showing promise of progress.

April in particular was especially big for the game in India. Geethu Anna Jose, the former captain of the Indian Women’s team, became the first Indian to get a tryout with the WNBA – she wasn’t accepted, but she left a good impression with the Chicago Sky, the L.A. Sparks, and the San Antonio Silver Stars. Meanwhile, Bucks’ point guard Brandon Jennings made a trip over to our shores, becoming the 16th NBA/WNBA player/legend to visit India over the past three years.

But the biggest piece of news was leaked out this week, as the Basketball Federation of India (BFI) announced that it hired three world-class coaches to lead the Indian Basketball Teams and further the BFI’s grassroots growth of the game in India.

Kenny Natt, who was interim head coach of the Sacramento Kings after the firing of Reggie Theus during the ‘08-09 season, has been brought on board to coach the Indian Senior National Men’s Basketball team. Natt was an assistant coach under Jerry Sloan with the Utah Jazz from 1995-2004, and was part of the team that twice reached the NBA Finals in 1997 and 1998. He then became an assistant coach with the Cleveland Cavaliers from 2004-2007, including the season when the LeBron James-led Cavs reached the NBA Finals.

Natt’s first job will be to work with Indian Men’s team at a camp in Delhi in preparation for the FIBA Asia Basketball Championship set to be held in Wuhan (China) in September. Natt will be taking over the reins of the Men’s team after Coach Bill Harris, formerly head coach of NCAA DIII side Wheaton College, who led the Indian team to the 2010 Asian Games in Guangzhou (China).

The Indian Senior Women’s National team will be headed by Pete Gaudet, a famous name amongst college instructors. Gaudet has been involved with college hoops for over 40 years, coaching both men’s and women’s basketball in the process, including holding positions at West Point, Duke, Vanderbilt and Ohio State. While at Duke (as mostly an assistant to Mike Krzyzewski), Gaudet won two NCAA Championships and made seven Final Fours, coaching eight All-Americans, three national players of the year, and 12 NBA draft picks.

Like Natt, Gaudet will also be preparing the Women’s side for the FIBA Asia Basketball Championship – the Women’s edition of this competition will be held in Omaru and Nagasaki in Japan at the end of August. Before Gaudet, the Indian Women’s side was coached by WNBA player Tamika Raymond at the 2010 Asian Games.

Lastly, the BFI brought in Zak Penwell as a Strength and Conditioning coach for the national sides in India, the first time that such an appointment has been made for the national level players in the country. In the past, the Indian national teams had been thoroughly exposed by several Asian opponents who were stronger, faster and more durable – even if the skill and talent level was closed, India lagged behind when it came to their physical fitness and performed poorly.

The last bit of news has been especially encouraging for top-level Indian players like Jose, who admitted that she struggled amongst the stronger American players during her WNBA tryouts. And now, with experienced NBA and college coaches being the guiding forces behind some of India’s brightest stars, expectations are high for the country to follow in China’s footsteps and play up to its potential – more than a sixth of the world’s population is over in India, and it is about time that the country ends its historic underperformance in most other sports excluding cricket.

Meanwhile, the other pieces to complete basketball’s jigsaw puzzle are shaping up nicely: Jose may not have qualified for the WNBA, but a tryout in itself was a major step forward. Youngsters have been encouraged by her success and are now confident that they can follow her footsteps to the world’s best leagues.

The biggest contribution comes by the hand of IMG-Worldwide, who in their partnership with India’s Reliance Industries is hell bent to change the face of the game – IMG-Reliance have been behind every major development for the BFI since 2010.

The NBA continues to put a lot of its time and effort in developing grassroots popularity of the game here: Dwight Howard, Pau Gasol, Brandon Jennings and George Gervin, to name a few, have carried the message of hoops to this cricket-crazy country over the last year. The NBA has held inner-city recreational leagues in five major cities around the country, and this year, introduced a Junior Skills Challenge to get the kids started early.

And then of course, there are the players themselves. More than ever, young players are taking basketball seriously as a career option and present stars are hopeful that they will one day participate in India’s own National Basketball League. The biggest (in size and potential) hope comes in the size-22 sneakers of Satnam Singh Bhamara, the 15-year-old, 7-2 inch giant with a rare combination of size and skill who is currently a student-athlete at the world-renowned IMG Academy in Bradenton, FL and is, as we called him on SLAMonline, the ‘Big Indian Basketball Hope.’

So yes, we’re ready to welcome the world of Basketball in India, bring it into our households, treat it with the respect that only a guest deserves, and make sure that we feed it until it’s full and then feed it a little more.

Is the world ready to welcome us?

Giant Expectations: Satnam Singh Bhamara

It almost seems like Satnam Singh Bhamara is asking to be doubted.

When you’re a teenager from India, 15 years and one month old, already grown to the size of a 7-1 monster, the first reaction is wonder and awe, the second is doubt. People wonder what could go wrong; they wonder what the catch is. When you’re blessed with a unique inside-outside skill set, nimble feet, soft hands and a developing shooting touch, people instead wonder what your weaknesses are. When you begin training at the IMG Basketball academy, which has featured the likes of Kobe, Vince Carter, Chauncey Billups, Joakim Noah and Kevin Martin, the doubters say that it sounds too good to be true.

When you’re the son of a poor farmer in India, a boy from a village separated a long dirt road away from the rest of civilization, who picked up his first basketball less than five years ago, you’re asking for the questionable looks. When you’re the biggest basketball hope (literally and figuratively) for India — a country desperate to make a mark in the basketball world — you’re likely to receive a cynical shrug of the shoulders. “India isn’t there yet,” they say. “The kid isn’t there.”

Not yet. But he might be. If you haven’t yet heard about him, it’s time to converge your respective focuses (or foci) on Satnam Singh Bhamara, the 15-year-old, 7-1 Indian giant, currently on a scholarship at the IMG Academy in Bradenton, FL and attending the Pendleton High School. He is currently in the first year of a potentially four-year scholarship until he graduates from high school.

India has been slowly growing as a basketball market, and Bhamara’s potential might be a zenith of a variety of different efforts taking place to grow the game back home.

Rewind to a year ago: The 14-year-old Bhamara was already a formidable 6-11. Back then, during India’s National Basketball Championship, a yearly tournament pitting the best state teams of India against each other, Bhamara was a wide-eyed spectator, too young to participate, watching as a man-child in a man’s world.

A year later, I meet him at the same championship in New Delhi. This time, he’s back as a famous young man in the country’s basketball circles, garnering attention from other players, media and fans. He’s a spectator again, but only because he has a limited time back in India before he flies back to school in the States. A prominent Indian referee sees him and remembers: “Satnam used to help us set up the scorers’ tables last year. We had nicknamed him Chhotu (Little One). Look at him now!”

“You can still call me Chhotu!” Bhamara jokingly interjects.

But there is nothing ‘little’ about Bhamara, not in height, nor in hype. The first time I met him was back in July 2010, when Bhamara was among 50 other under-14s who were chosen by the Basketball Federation of India (BFI) to appear for IMG scholarship tryouts. IMG, a US-based international sports and media management company, have been investing heavily into sports in India. A year ago, they formed an alliance with Reliance Industries, India’s largest and richest private sector company, and the powerhouse duo of IMG-Reliance signed various sponsorship deals with Indian sports federation. Most notably, IMG-Reliance signed a 30-year agreement with the BFI to assist, finance and promote the growth of basketball in India.

One of their first steps was to choose eight Indian youngsters among the 50 best for scholarship at the IMG Academy. From the moment he walked into the tryouts in New Delhi, Bhamara was a shoo-in.

His fascinating story begins in a little village in India’s north-western state of Punjab: Ballo Ke Village, District Barnala, population 463. The son of a 7-foot farmer, Bhamara spent his early childhood helping out his father on the farm and growing up to 5-9 when he was just 10 years old. It was then that one of his father’s friends recommended that he take the tall youngster to Ludhiana, a nearby town and a major basketball hub of the country. Somewhere lost in translation, Bhamara thought that he was going to play volleyball. He didn’t know a thing about the game when he first stepped on court.

Four years and nearly 15 inches later, he had grown into one of the finest young players in the country. After blazing his way through the Punjab inter-school and junior leagues, Bhamara began to collect his international credentials. He represented India in the FIBA Asia U16 Championships at Malaysia in November 2009. Back home, he took Punjab to the gold medal of the National Youth Championships at Trichy (Tamil Nadu, in South India) in June. He was recommended by the BFI to be part of a three-player contingent of Indian youngsters sent to Singapore for NBA’s Basketball Without Borders (Asia) camp.

It was no surprise then that he was picked by IMG’s Basketball Director Andy Borman and coach Dan Barto for the scholarship. Bhamara was at the perfect age and with the perfect potential skill set, ready to be molded into a basketball monster. To play at the highest level, Bhamara cannot count successes in small Indian championships or Asian tournaments; he had to train with and compete against the best.

But more than a basketball adventure for the youngster, it has been a strange change of lifestyle, too. Bhamara and the rest of the Indian youngsters made their first trip to North America, going to school in a whole new academic system, learning hoops in a way never been taught to them before, focusing more than ever on weight training and fitness, taking extra classes to learn English (seven of the eight, including Bhamara, were virtually alien to the language), getting used to live in a residential school far away from home, and getting used to not eating their Moms’ home-cooked Indian meals.

Four months later, Bhamara makes his first visit back home — he was always built with the body shape of an ideal center, blessed with both height and muscle — but he came back looking even fitter and leaner than ever, thanks to the intense training and exercise regimen that he had gone through with his coaches at IMG. He was given a superstar’s welcome in his little village, when hundreds showed up to catch a glimpse of him coming back home.

And then he was back at the National Championship as a minor celebrity, back at the same event he had been errand-boy a year ago.

“I have changed and improved a lot over the past four months,” says Satnam, “but I want to improve even more. I want be an example for other Indian players so they can come forward and see what is necessary to be a complete player. They need to know the importance of building strength to help improve their game.”

Indian athletes, particularly the basketball players, have faced one major criticism in the past: They may have the shooting and running skills, but their athletic ability and strength leaves much more to be desired. More than basketball, the coaches at IMG have focused their early interest in making sure that Bhamara gets into shape to hang with the toughest. Bhamara has followed suit, becoming a gym rat, working on everything from exercises to help improve his forward and lateral speed, jumping ability, shoulder exercises, and lifting weights to get into tougher shape.

But his basketball training hasn’t been left behind. Bhamara notes how his current regime involves focusing on movement — a lot of movement — so that his size can be complemented with speed to make a momentum nightmare for opponents. Bhamara, who is part of IMG’s youth team, doesn’t hesitate to talk about how his improving inside game and movement has helped his team get some big results.

“My game is basketball,” he says. “The media in America has asked me why I don’t play other games, but I’m only interested in basketball. This is the game that has given me everything I have, taken me from a village to a good education in America. I love playing this game and owe everything to it. That’s why I keep working hard to improve.”

Satnam says that there are two players he looks ‘up’ to, even though both of them are shorter than him. One of them is Punjab State and Indian Senior team star Jagdeep Singh. The other, curiously, is Kobe Bryant.

You can credit (or blame) the over-Lakerisation that NBA audiences in India have been subjected to in the past. Over the last decade, most games NBA games broadcasted in India have involved either the Lakers, Celtics, Spurs and whichever franchise LeBron James shares his talents with. I ask him, Why, despite the difference in size and gameplay, does he idolize the Black Mamba? He answers, “Kobe plays like he has no problems on court; he works hard, but he dominates smoothly, with ease. That is the kind of mentality I want to have.”

And this is exactly the kind of mentality that India, and all those holding a stake for the development of basketball in India, are hoping that Bhamara develops. In an interview with an Indian newspaper a few weeks ago, Harish Sharma, the Secretary-General of the BFI, said, “He is a great prospect. I am sure he will do what Yao Ming did for China. Indian basketball will change in case one of our boys makes it to the NBA.”

And although one talented, tall, teenager alone cannot change the basketball culture in India, the NBA will be hoping that with an idol to look up to, young Indians, just like young Chinese a decade ago, will start believing in basketball. The game is never going to challenge India’s premier game, cricket, but for basketball to score even a minor percentage of the market in a 1.2 billion population will be a heavy number.

Troy Justice, who has been the director of basketball operations of the NBA in India, has been working with Indian talent for several years now, and has kept a keen eye on Bhamara’s ascension. “He is blessed with three things that, combined, have made him into a very special prospect globally — a young age, his height, and his skill set,” said Justice. “He has natural basketball instincts, a strong work ethic, and has become a focused student of the game. I have enjoyed working with him and look forward to seeing his growth as a person and player over the next few years.

“I think he has tremendous potential and a bright future in basketball.”

But Bhamara is adamant that his focus is on the present before anything else. “I’m not thinking too far ahead right now,” he says, “I’m in IMG’s youth team, so I want to play well enough to play for the juniors. After that, I will think about qualifying for the Senior team, and after that, I can think further.”

“If I get a chance to, of course I want to play in the NBA.” Bhamara adds, “If I can make it there, I will be able to do more for other Indians dreaming of making it to the NBA. But I will have no problem if it doesn’t work out. I will come back to India to play for Punjab and contribute to the Indian national basketball system.”

“Right now, I’m only concerned with improving my own game. After five years, we’ll see what happens. Right now, my priority is working on my strength — I know I’ll be playing tougher competition and have two or three players guarding me, and I have to get stronger to face that.”

Bhamara is still too young, and perhaps, still too unaware, to fully understand the implications of his rise as a basketball star. Just like China, who have gone hysterical about hoops over the past decade, India will eventually become a serious basketball market. It is a question of who and when — Yao may have been the biggest star, but he wasn’t the first Chinese to make it to the League (that honor goes to Wang Zhizhi). Bhamara’s potential improvement will determine if he can even make it to that level, much less survive once he gets there.

Right now, he’s just a 15-year-old, except that he’s blessed with a little more size, a little more talent, and a little better training support than the rest of us. He carries a load of expectations a little heavier than the rest of us, too.

So go ahead and doubt him all you want: not good enough, too much hype, too weak, too slow, too soft, too foreign. I doubt if Satnam Singh Bhamara will hear any of it: Right now, he’s just a kid addicted to hoops. And all he wants to do is get better.

Right now, he’s just a 15-year-old, except that he’s blessed with a little more size, a little more talent, and a little better training support than the rest of us. He carries a load of expectations a little heavier than the rest of us, too.

So go ahead and doubt him all you want.

This article was first published on SLAMOnline.com on January 13th, 2011.