What steps can be taken for the growth of basketball in India: The experts speak

The popularity of basketball has been steadily rising over the last few years in India. With players like Satnam Singh, Amritpal Singh and Vishesh Bhriguvanshi making waves in the international circuit, Indian basketball looks to achieve new heights in the near future.

But has the sport reached the grassroots yet? What can be done to increase the popularity of basketball in the fringes? Can an Indian player ever play in the NBA? We spoke to experts that included national coaches, players, writers and executives about steps that could be taken to ensure the growth of basketball in the country. This is what they had to say about the subject.

1. Development required on multiple levels

First, we need to start at an early age by teaching the fundamentals of basketball. This should be done at least by the age of 8-10 years old. This could be done in the schools, special instructional camps, and even local leagues.

A professional league would bring greater exposure to the sport and a larger fan base. That, in turn, would motivate young athletes to participate in basketball.

This would also give our best Indian players an opportunity to play against stronger competition.

There needs to be more attention to supplying quality facilities for playing basketball. This would include renovating the current courts as well as building new facilities.

Strength and Conditioning needs to be emphasized upon. In today’s game, the best players are not only developing their basketball skills, but also the ones conditioning their bodies in order to play more a physical game and for a longer duration of time.

On the international level, if the Indian government would loosen the rules allowing top players of Indian descent that do not have a passport to participate in our national teams, we could be much more competitive. I witnessed the majority of the other countries allowing such players to participate on their teams at the Asia Basketball Championship. In addition to that, most of them had “naturalized” players who were primarily from the United States. Right now, this causes a significant disadvantage.

Scott Flemming,Head Coach, Indian Men’s National Basketball Team

2. The contribution and influence of established players will go a long way

A similar program structure should be taught to the coaches across the country which indirectly benefits players to improve the level of basketball country-wide.

I feel that a critical growth for basketball can also be achieved if players who have experienced the sport at multiple levels start caring about introducing new children to the sport. That means researching coaching drills, helping out on weekends at your local court and being an influencer towards young and aspiring athletes who want to improve. The only way for basketball to grow is via the help of national and international players. The first step to helping means that we start caring about the kids and bringing international basketball training to them through us.

There should be an initiative taken by the IMG-Reliance or Basketball Federation of India to start an advanced academy where the elite athletes can get trained by coaches and fitness trainers whenever they want. The same can be done at the junior level to help talented youngsters get better training.

Also, we need a lot of international exposure to compete better in the big championships like Asian Games or FIBA Asia Basketball Championship.

Akanksha Singh,Captain, Indian Women’s National Basketball TeamAkanksha’s official website: http://akankshasingh04.com/

3. Basketball needs an Indian cultural twist

I believe that basketball will grow through strategic partnerships, creative messaging, and a nationwide tour.

One tangible step would be to show it more. There’s a culture that comes with basketball aside from the game on the court, from the fashion to the sneakers, the rhythms and music, the slang, the sweat, and camaraderie. The mix of Indian culture and basketball culture is unique and appealing. If it’s documented and shown more creatively, it would help expand the market for the business of basketball in India.

With Hoops for example, we have videos of 18-year-old kids jumping 38 inches high, spitting out paan on the backboard, and dunking basketballs. That’s fun! That’s indigenous basketball at it’s finest; it’s so uniquely Indian that people can love it and relate to it from a real place.

Basketball is fun because it’s all about expression. If things like that get shown more to young people in India, then they can get involved in the fun components of basketball and be themselves and express themselves.

The method of how to show it is also important. Its not necessarily valuable to put games on TV at primetime, like in the US. In India, the growth of basketball will come through grassroots initiatives.

We should be on a bus or train with Indian players, like Sambhaji, going from court to court in metros and villages – spreading the game through camps and exciting showcase games. We should be showing every kid videos of Michael Jordan and Allen Iverson highlights.

Basketball is a platform that brings young people together in constructive ways – so creating live experiences with engaged youth is attractive for companies looking to integrate their products and services. These young people will all need hydration, shoes, education, phones, soap, medicines, and everything in between. They are the future of the country, and everyone wants to speak to them. Basketball is the perfect language.

Neel Pahlajani,Product Manager, Orgin DigitalHoops India

4. Better performances, more player visibility, and patience are the key

In many ways, a domestic basketball league has to be ‘earned’. Currently, our national men’s team languishes at no. 58 (women fare better at 39). Unless you perform and draw attention to how good you are, people won’t really notice your sport. Case in point: Badminton.

Many of our top stars are highly marketable and it surprises me that these players haven’t been approached for endorsements. Endorsements automatically increase the attractiveness of the sport in the eyes of the viewers, apart from giving much needed additional remuneration to the player. Basketball players are mostly tall, good looking and very down to earth.

Player representation is another untapped area. Until the domestic league comes up, we can at least try and place our best players in foreign leagues in Philippines, Europe, Middle East and Australia, even if they aren’t considered good enough yet for the NBA.

To end on a positive note, recent developments at a pan-India level have been very promising such as the NBA’s interest in popularising the game in India, and the Basketball Federation of India’s (BFI) tie up with IMG-Reliance. There’s a lot of money being pumped into the game, increasing media attention and better infrastructure and training for players. Players, coaches and others involved in the game need to be patient and not give up on basketball. We are on the cusp of major change.

Gopalakrishnan Rajagopalan, Independent Writer (Basketball),Featured Writer for Sportskeeda, Tournament Coverage for BFI