NBA Rising Stars Invitational. The dream, the gap and the future NBA News in Indian Basketball

The dream, the gap and the future of Indian Basketball

TimesofIndia.com in SINGAPORE. By the time The Velammal International School took to the floor on Tuesday morning, the first impressions of: NBA: The Rising Stars Invitational has been formed.The South Korean teams look good physically. Australians bring size and pace. Japanese teams operate with confidence in a system that has produced players like Rui Hachimura and Yuki Kawamura. Around the OCBC Arena, the differences in basketball cultures are impossible to miss.Among them all stood the lone representatives of India. A school from Chennai.For one week, some of the brightest young talents from all over Asia gathered under one roof. Some come with systems behind them. Some carry on decades of basketball tradition.Velammal came with something else. Expectation. Not necessarily from the tournament. But from a country still looking for its first breakthrough moment in basketball.The trip to Singapore started a few months ago. Velammal emerged champions in the regional clusters before overcoming some of the strongest school teams in the country.The performances eventually caught the attention of the Basketball Federation of India, which recommended the Chennai school for the tournament.“We came here to win,” Kushal Singh told Timesofindia.com ahead of the team’s first game.“Every team is here to win. But we want to give everyone a tough fight. We want them to know that we can also hook. Indian basketball is not slow. We can compete and we can challenge strong teams.”“We hope to make history here.”

Kushal Singh

A dream that survives familiar advice

Before Singapore and the NBA, Kushal: are used to hearing the questions that follow most Indian athletes who dare to choose a sport outside of cricket. Why basketball? Why not study? What about the future?People advised him to become a doctor, engineer or lawyer. Basketball, they feel, is not something to bet a life on. His parents thought otherwise.“People told them, ‘Let him study. You’re not serious about his future,'” Kushal said. “But my parents always told me, ‘Just go and play. We’ll take care of everything. They kept pushing me forward.’The former NBA Academy India recruit has never hidden his ambitions. “My ultimate dream is to be the first Indian to represent the NBA.”Asked in which round he would like to be drafted, Kushal smiled. “Any round. I just want to be drafted.”Next to him is point guard Fyodor Prem Athithan, whose basketball roots run even deeper. His mother Malavizhi is a former basketball player and his father, Prem, is a footballer at the university level. The game always revolves around the soft-spoken boy.

Her dream, however, was different from Kushal’s.“My ambition is to play for India and help India win an Olympic medal.”

A coach who stays in the game

For Shamsher Basha, the man who leads this group, basketball is a journey that spans over two decades.He learned the game watching seniors in Cheyyar before moving to Chennai and developed under coach TNR Chandran. Inspired by some of the Tamil NaduThe most successful coaches, he finally moved to teach himself.Sixteen years later, he continues to work with young players.Over the years, many of his students have gone on to represent India and Tamil Nadu. Others found opportunities abroad and in colleges.However, Basha believes that the real challenge facing Indian basketball starts much earlier.“The biggest difference is the fundamentals,” he told Timesofidia.com. “In countries like Japan, the basics taught in schools are very strong. In India, the fundamentals are still not very strong. “Infrastructure remains a challenge. The same goes for nutrition. But perhaps the biggest battle is changing perceptions.“People in India don’t value sports enough,” Basha said, adding “In countries like Japan and China, parents are very interested in sports. In our country, many people think that sports are a waste of time. Because of that mentality, coaches face a lot of struggles.”

Shamsher Basha, Kushal Singh and Fyodor Prem Athithan

A look at the next level

Back at the OCBC Arena Hall 3, for almost two quarters against Indonesia’s Jubilee High School, Velammal looked comfortable.The scoreboard moved back and forth. They led in the opening stages of the half and looked capable of matching the pace.Kushal attacked relentlessly and hit his three-pointers at will. Fyodor, the point guard, ahead of Isiah Thomas contributed 15 points and four assists. He moves quickly up the court, reads lanes well and makes accurate interceptions while dictating the tempo.

Kushal’s attack

Then the game changed.As the flow increases, the margins are visible.“In the first quarter, we scored very well and took the lead. We also took the lead in the second quarter,” said Basha afterwards.“In the third quarter, we lacked stamina. Because of that, they took advantage of fast breaks and attacks. They scored easily, including three-pointers and free throws. Our boys were very tired,” he added.The absence of Justice Ilesanmi Kayode, Gabriel Atem and Kuru due to visa issues only made matters more difficult.“If those players had come, we would have won this tournament for sure,” said Basha. Unfortunately, they cannot get their visas.”The scoreline eventually read 95-61.

Team Photo after the match

However, for Basha, only sharing the court with teams from Indonesia, Australia, South Korea and Japan represents a moment when his players are struggling to find their home.“We never expected to be able to play in this tournament, so being selected ourselves makes us very happy,” he said.“Students have an excellent opportunity. We can meet people from Korea and Japan, make friends and even watch NBA players. Sitting at home, we would never have these experiences.”Basha believes that more tournaments like this will help bridge the gap that Indian basketball continues to face.“If more tournaments like this are organized, Indian basketball will definitely improve. Playing against foreign players and traveling outside India gives us valuable experience,” he said.The players also left the first game with something more important than disappointment. Perspective.“We know that other countries are better at basketball, so we got a better competitive opponent,” Kushal said.“Back in India, we are number one, so we can compete with any team there. Now that we have seen this level of competition, we understand as a team what we need to work on, what we are good at and what we are not so good at.“We can improve and come back next time to give these teams better competition. These teams are good at basketball, so we know where we stand as individuals. We just have to come back better.”For Fyodor, the lessons came in different ways.“It was a really good experience,” he said. “They put full-court pressure. Back in India, there’s no full-court press, just the zone defense. Here, there’s full-court pressure, so next time we can manage it better and make the right moves.”

The dream remains

On the opening day of the tournament, Rui Hachimura spoke about the desire to encourage more players from Asia to reach the NBA.“I think about whole Asia,” said the Los Angeles Lakers forward.For Indian basketball, that road is still long.But inside the OCBC Arena this week, that distance is easier to understand.A teenager dreams of helping India win an Olympic medal; another dream to hear his name called on draft night. Others’ dreams may be more or less the same.And for a school from Chennai representing India on a bigger stage, still looking for its place in basketball, that dream remains reason enough to keep going.