Interview with Troy Justice

Troy Justice

Troy Justice, the Director of NBA-India operations was in Chennai to attend the felicitation of Geethu Anna Jose. The function was held to felicitate Geethu on her trip to the WNBA try outs in USA. Troy Justice was the chief guest of the function. After gracing the function with his presence, he stepped out of the hall to hit the court for a practice session with Geethu. He also gave some training tips for the players who were training at the Hindustan University basketball courts. After the practice session, he sat with me for an interview session. I hope he hasn’t got pissed off with me for the interview session, as he was swatting mosquitoes all through the interview. And after some few questions, we decided to take a walk, and there he was, still answering my questions, but the only thing missing were those mosquitoes which were disturbing him from answering my questions.

Now, here’s the transcript of the interview session I had with Troy Justice, none other than the main man behind the smooth operations of NBA in India for the past one and half years, since NBA rolled out its operations in India.

About your visit to Chennai?

It’s my fifth visit to Chennai. I came here for the first time in 1991, when I brought along a basketball team to play with some teams like IOB, ONGC etc. And my last visit was for the inauguration of the synthetic basketball courts, here at the Hindustan University.

How do you rank Chennai with other cities in terms of basketball?

Chennai is the basketball hot-spot. It’s one of the leaders in the basketball circle. Lots of basketball is played here, more national players are coming up from this city. There is a rich tradition of basketball through out the country, but still Chennai is the leader.

What are the NBA’s plans in India?

We have three different strategies, when it comes to NBA’s activities in India. First, we are focusing on the growth of basketball. We want to spread out the game, hear more basketballs bouncing, and see more kids wearing the jerseys and playing the game. Second, we will be providing opportunities and platform that doesn’t exist now, like the NBA Mahindra challenge and the Train the Trainers programs. And third, we focus on talent spotting. Now we have helped Geethu to get invited for the try outs. We have also spotted Satnam Singh and helping him with his professional career. We have also spotted a player from the Mahindra NBA challenge and made him play the nationals.

What are forthcoming activities in Chennai, that are in the NBA’s calender?

We will be organizing the Junior NBA WNBA skills challenge by next week in Chennai. And the Mahindra NBA challenge is being planned to be organized around August and September.

What’s the focus of NBA now? It’s the grassroots or the professional level?

We are focusing more on grass roots and we are working on a long term plan. Thats where, we are really putting our time and energy. In 5-10 years, basketball can really expand.

IMG Reliance is working on a Pro league. Does NBA also have a similar objective?

All of us are here to grow basketball. It’s good for the growth of the game. I don’t see it as a competition. It’s a joint effort being done in collaboration with BFI. We focus more on Grassroots initiatives like training the coaches, providing the platform for kids in the age group 10 – 12 years to play the game.

Do you see a potential for a Professional league in India?

India has got a strong base for a professional basketball league. It will be a great thing and will help basketball to grow. With a population of 1.3 billion people, there’s more chance of seeing the league shape up in the years to come.

NBA being a commercial entity, can you tell us what are the things that are done in the areas of merchandising?

We have launched the NBA merchandise recently. The NBA jerseys are made available at all Adidas showrooms. But it’s still not available in all the places, and available only in major markets.

How did you pick Geethu and helped her in the selection process for WNBA try outs?

I watched her matches last year. She is a gifted athlete and a hard worker. She’s got everything we look for in a WNBA player. SO we decided to arrange some try outs for her and we approached the teams. That how it happened.

Thanks Troy for your time, in answering the questions and also for arranging try outs for Geethu. Hope to see basketball expand in India, for all the time and effort you put in. Kudos!