Delhi showcases its hoops spirit at the Mahindra NBA Challenge

Next to a dusty yet busy basketball court at the Bal Bharti School (Karol Bagh) in New Delhi, a bunch of young adolescents warm up enthusiastically to the beats of rap music from the PA system nearby. The song playing is perhaps rapper Eminem’s most motivated moment on wax, the inspirational ‘Lose Yourself’ from his move 8 Mile.

“You only get one shot, do now miss a chance to blow, cuz opportunity comes once in a lifetime.”

The fact that hip-hop music and basketball have been forever brothers-in-arms isn’t exactly breaking news; where there is a strong basketball culture, there seems to be a strong musical culture. Earlier this year, when the Sub-Jr. Nationals were taking place in Kangra, even the little mountain town reverberated with hip-hop beats on the loud-speakers. Any student present at the IMG-Reliance School Basketball league in Delhi would swear that not one game passed without a rap-musical break during a timeout.

Basketball is one of most competitive sports in the world, and perhaps, it is this competitive culture, where you face off your opponent not just to participate but to dominate, which helps the synchronicity of aggressive hip-hop with the game.

With the first season of Mahindra’s NBA Challenge taking place in New Delhi this year, a competitive spark and will to perform has been found in the young hoopsters, spreading across the nation’s capital, and beyond, like wildfire.

The Mahindra NBA Challenge, a multi-city, community-based, basketball league, was held in India for its first season last year in Mumbai, Bangalore, and Ludhiana. New Delhi basketball players may have felt a little short-changed with the deal, unable to find a similar outlet for their passion for the game. So for its second season, the NBA gave the masses what it wanted, and in mid-November, the U-18 edition of the league tipped off in New Delhi.

“The response we have been getting in Delhi has been overwhelming,” says Troy Justice, NBA-India’s Director of Basketball Operations, “The players are really passionate, too. We set around an 80-team limit for the registration for this league, and even after all the slots became full, we kept on getting requests for nearly twice as many participants. It is so busy here that every weekend we are playing game after game all day in our various venues (Bal Bharti School and DPS-RK Puram). And people say that basketball isn’t popular in India!”

In the U-18 edition of the league, there have been further divisions into sections of Junior (U18), Youth (16), and for the first time, Sub-Junior (U14). Justice is most excited about the youngest participants, the sub-juniors, who are getting a taste of competitive basketball action early into their development.

“I have had a great experience when working with the sub-juniors,” Justice adds, “Those are some of my favourite games to watch, since these youngsters truly represent the future of Indian basketball.”

The sub-juniors participating have also been happy about this opportunity. “The tournament has been really good so far,” says 13-year-old Taksh Sharma from Mount Carmel School (Dwarka), “I have been playing basketball for one year, and I’m happy that this league has come to Delhi.”

Justice has been impressed by the talent he has been overseeing in Delhi. “I can tell that the players in Delhi have received good coaching,” he says, “There are many here with very high basketball IQ. Many of them, even at a young age, seem refined and experienced.”

One of Justice’s favourite squads is a team from Jammu, whose story is a true inspiration for hoop-heads: The Jammu squad, a group of close friends, travel 12 hours every weekend to New Delhi to take part in the league. And at the end of the day, they take another 12 hours to get back home in time for school on Monday!

As of now, Justice is dividing his time between Delhi and Mumbai every alternate weekend. The U-18 Mahindra NBA Challenge tipped off in Mumbai simultaneously with Delhi. In mid-January, both cities will host the senior, open version of the league.

The Basketball Federation of India (BFI) has also been actively involved in assisting the NBA with the implementation of these leagues. Justice has commended the professional attitude of the referees who have been assisting him, and especially for Indian basketball’s youth brigade, the trio of Shiba Maggon, Divya Singh, and Yuvika Sharma, who have assisted the NBA in various management issues.

A legendary Indian player, coach, and referee, Shiba has stated that being a part of this league has taught her a lot more about basketball “off the court.” “This has been a great learning experience for me,” she says, “The kids in Delhi are very enthusiastic about what has been happening, and I can see improvement in their game every week.”

Shiba has added that this improvement was especially visible amongst the sub-juniors, the youngest in action, as they are truly beginning to understand the spirit of basketball.

Both the Delhi and Mumbai leagues are now entering their final stages. On Thursday, December 16, DPS Vasant Kunj will host the All-Star games for all the different divisions (boys and girls for sub-juniors, youth, and juniors). The best of North Delhi and South Delhi will battle it out on the basketball court. The league will move to the Semi-Finals at DPS Vasant Kunj on Friday, and finally, the Finals, starting on 3 PM at the same venue on Saturday afternoon. A shooting contest will also be held between the games to top off the hoop festivities.

The All-Star Games and Finals for Mumbai will be held over this week, too.

With the success of this first-time event in Delhi, Justice is already looking ahead, hoping to smooth out all the creases for the future. “Right now, our biggest problem was a good problem – that there was too much interest!” he says, “As the NBA grows in India, this programme will grow bigger, too. Although the current infrastructure that we have cannot accommodate any more teams, we are looking to expand in the future and allow more and more players to play basketball.

For now, the participants in the Delhi league will be focused on their last few games: the All Star game, the semis, and the Final. This is their opportunity, their shot at basketball success, the time when the rap music blares and motivates them to dominate.

But more than anything, this is their one shot to just go out and play ball. Delhi and Mumbai have gotten their taste of the NBA Challenge, and the leagues in Bangalore, Ludhiana, and first-timers Chennai won’t be too far behind over this year.

Basketball’s Youth Brigade

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Students return to India from University of Delaware programme to support BFI

From the fireworks of the 4th of July celebrations to the bright lights of New York city, Divya Singh and Yuvika Sharma had enjoyed their share of the American experience. Strange then, is the one concept that Yuvika especially brought back home with her.

Soccer Moms.

A 'Soccer Mom' (see Palin, Sarah) in American culture, is a parent that takes special interest in accompanying their children to sporting events and other activities, particularly to soccer/football games. In America, where the real football (and not the American version) is still a relatively smaller sport, encouraging the parents’ interest in their child’s growth as a footballer has helped a gradual change of national psyche towards the sport, and in turn, helped raise the profile of football/soccer in the country.

In India, Yuvika would like to see Hoop Moms (and Dads, too). After returning with a two years degree from the University of Delaware (UD) in Masters of Education – Sports Management, Yuvika has dived straight into work with the Basketball Federation of India (BFI) in organising and managing basketball events here. One of her dreams is to invite the parents of younger basketball participants to camps, tryouts, or important games, so that parents can soak in the hoop environment and see their kid in action.

“Involving the parents of younger children is a big step,” says Yuvika, “The game of basketball has to be attractive to them – they have to understand that their child can have success and recognition at a national level.”

We live in the culture where the ‘average parent’ is not one to embrace the idea of their child as a professional athlete, particularly if more secure options and available, and particularly if the sport their child is interested in is something other than cricket. But with the potential of growth of basketball in India, times are definitely a-changing – hoops can be more than just a hobby, and the support of a parent from an early age will be a big step forward in assuring that the youngster is encouraged to keep improving their game.

But that is just one of the many ideas that Yuvika and Divya have returned with. UD had received a grant by the US Dept. of State to conduct the International Basketball Initiative (IBI) educational exchange programme with India. Part of this programme included a seminar held in conjunction with the BFI and the NBA, where the two girls were selected to be fully sponsored for their education at the campus in Newark.

Divya, who has formerly been the captain of the Indian Women’s Basketball team, was already a famous name in the country’s basketball circles before she took this opportunity, serving as assistant coach to the UD’s women’s team. Yuvika worked alongside Matthew J. Robinson, the assistant professor of sport management, on the development and implementation of grassroots development strategies for Indian basketball.

Yuvika, who concedes that the training at UD has made her approach a lot more business-minded and professional, has grand plans to bring ‘showbiz’ into the game of basketball in India. “It should be more than a sport, it should be entertainment,” she feels, “We must look into every opportunity to commercialise the games for the audiences here. I have concentrated on PR, marketing, and events promotion of the game. The aim is to sell basketball to the common Indian household, tell people that it’s an affordable game.

She hopes to create a spectator market for the sport, making sure the games and important events are held at suitable time of the day (the afternoon heat is a bigger factor that you think!), involve entertainment events like a dunk contest, and most importantly, give the players the recognition and promotion they deserve.

“Our national level players must become household names, at least in their own town,” she adds, “When people in Chennai talk about S. Robinson, they should know that he’s one of our most lethal shooters, our very own Ray Allen!”

It may sound like a cliché, but after all, the game is about the players, and both Yuvika and Divya understand that. The BFI has taken a few steps towards fulfilling their demands, hiring a physiotherapist for the international teams and adding a player information database on the website. And while Yuvika focused on the management side of things, Divya returned home after working on-court with the basketball players at the UD.

Divya understands that the same techniques and views broached in the US might not apply to the different culture and the “different way of doing things” back home in India. Still, she’s willing to give it a try – Divya got the opportunity to be a trainee under UD’s head coach of the women’s team, the legendary Tina Martin. Now, as she makes her return to India, the 28-year-old has already laid out her plans to coach and improve the tactics of young Indians. “I want to eventually start looking at coaching the young coaches here,” she says, “They must be introduced to new techniques, and there must be uniformity amongst the coaches in the teaching of the basics of basketball to the young players.”

“It was really an eye-opening experience,” Divya added, “We soaked in American culture, we learnt so much about the professional manner to approach things when managing sports, and in our case, basketball.”

Nothing less than a professional manner will do: ever since BFI signed a 30-year-deal with IMG-Reliance (IMGR), hoop-heads in the country have been buzzing with excitement. As per this deal, IMGR will be supporting basketball in India through camps, talent scouting (such as the IMG Academies Scholarship programme), and within a few years, the launch of a professional basketball league. There is no better time than now for basketball to be popularised in the “common Indian household”; no better time than now for our young players to have the best training available so that they can become the future stars of this venture.

Get ready, ‘Hoop Moms’: it’s time to pay some attention to basketball.

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