UnexpectedAt the
Asian Games in Guangzhou (China) last year, the Indian Men’s Basketball team created history, by marking their first ever win in the competition in the tournament’s first, playoff game, against South Asian rivals Afghanistan. Facing a shortage of quality in the backcourt, India’s then coach Bill Harris handed an unexpected start to Kerala born, Tamil Nadu groomed guard Hareesh Koroth. The sharp-shooter, who was a relatively late bloomer as a basketball prospect, reached the zenith of an Indian player’s ambition at age 25 with this start.
But the start alone wasn’t enough: in the first few matches at the Asian Games, Koroth developed into one of India’s most valuable players. He scored 17 points in the win over Afghanistan, and followed it with a team-high 24 in a loss to Qatar. India
went on to lose all their other games in the tough group, but Koroth, who had already achieved so much in so little time, returned brimming with confidence for his future with the Indian squad. A natural shooter and proud defender, he was ready to put in the work to continue as a regular in the team.
That hard work shows – a little less than a year later, the Indian team has a new coach, has a lot of new young faces, and a new challenge to face: the
26th FIBA Asia Championship for Men in Wuhan (China) from mid September – but Koroth, now one of the seniors in the young squad, remains a constant force.
Once a player who started off his career with low expectations surrounding his basketball potential, Koroth now shoulders the burden as one of the experienced leaders of a new-look team heading out to battle again.
UndersizedStanding at 6 feet 1 inch, Koroth is shorter than the average player running and gunning on a basketball court, but he has made up for his lack of height with hard work and tenacity. Starring in India’s national squad is not a simple process: before getting to the highest level of hoops in India, most players have to master the game from a young age, dominating other youngsters of their age level and steadily improving until they can one day have the privilege of representing India at the Senior level.
But this was hardly the script followed by the Koroth: Born in Calicut, Kerala, Koroth first picked up the game at age 10, but the future star was a slow riser. Koroth didn’t play his first national tournament until the Junior (under-18) level, where the little dynamo finally broke out and began to show his impeccable shooting tough. It was then that the floodgates opened for him.
“I didn’t play much at the Youth stage at the highest level,” says Koroth, “But in college, I got selected into Kerela’s senior team.”
After two nationals with Kerala, Koroth moved a little across the state border, joining Indian Overseas Bank (IOB) in Chennai in September 2007, and then, began to represent Tamil Nadu at the national level. “Soon after that, I was invited to India’s senior team,” Koroth recalls, “It all happened very quickly! Back then, I wasn’t thinking too far. I wasn’t thinking about playing for India – I was just thinking about each small step."
Once a state famous for producing international level players on the regular, Koroth is now the only TN-based player in India’s senior squad.
UnstoppableThere is no secret to reveal, no code to decrypt, and no puzzle to solve: Koroth’s incredible rise into becoming one of the most unstoppable players in India has been the product of the simplest basketball cliché:
practice. “It’s not just about working hard in camp or in tournaments,” he says, “I continue working, continue practicing during the off days, during holidays. Whenever I can, I spend several hours daily on the court, perfecting my shot, and time in gym if I can to improve my fitness.”
Koroth adds: “That is also the major difference between us and some of the younger players coming up to prominence in the country now – they practice hard in the camps but laze around during the holidays. You have to keep working hard even when you’re home to stay at the highest level.”
With time, Koroth began to see a sense of maturity and patience seeping into his game. “With the new coach (Kenny Natt), the Indian team has improved a lot, and I have seen improvements in my own game,” he says, “I play a more set, patient form of basketball, where I wait for the play to be created before making my move, instead of just shooting at every chance.”
Koroth’s role as a back-up shooting guard in Natt’s Indian side was first put on display when India played against SAARC rivals Sri Lanka and Bangladesh at the Middle Asia Zone Qualifying Round in New Delhi. Vying for a place in the FIBA Asia Championship, India
took little effort in brushing off their competition, winning their three matches by a margin of nearly 68 points per game. With the competition posing little threat, Natt could afford to give major minutes to the players on the bench. In the balanced offense, only three players averaged double digits in scoring!
It was Koroth, who emerged as one of India’s main men: despite starting as a substitute, Koroth led the team in minutes played (23 per game) over the three games. He scored, rebounded, and created with ease, and especially showed off his deadly accuracy from the three-point range. India qualified for the FIBA Championships with ease, and now, the real test is about to begin.
“Coach Kenny made a lot of good changes with the side,” says Koroth, “He was able to give a lot of players the chance to play, created a system where we could score fast and score efficiently, and also helped us improve on the defensive end.”
Defense is something that Koroth obviously takes a lot of pride in. Natt’s India plays a help-defense style, so that there is not so much pressure on individuals, but Koroth adds that when the time comes, he relishes a good man-on-man defensive challenge. “I try my hardest to stop the best player on the other team, or at least, hold him below his average,” he says, “It’s important to find a balance between good defense and concentrating on offense.”
Unfinished
The task at hand is clear now: the FIBA ABC in Wuhan begins on September 15th, and India is focused on nothing but their very first game, against Lebanon on opening night.
“The last time we took part in this competition [2009], we finished 13th (out of 16),” says Koroth, “I am aiming higher this time, hoping that we get up to eighth place. Our opponents are Korea, who are a very strong team, Lebanon, who will make us work very hard, Malaysia, who we hope to beat.”
Koroth will most likely be playing the backup shooting-guard position in Natt’s team – he is an able ball handler who shared the point-guard responsibilities with Vishesh Bhriguvanshi at the Asian Games, but this time, the likes of TJ Sahi and Prakash Mishra will be doing the bulk of the ball-handling for India, leaving Koroth free to focus on shooting. Being undersized and smaller than the other guards in the team, though, Koroth is likely to play his primarily defense against the opposing teams’ point guards.
United“We are ready and focused,” Koroth repeats, speaking now not only of himself but
of the 12-man team that stands with him, and the experienced Coach Kenny Natt that leads from the front. “Our coach now knows us, and we know him. We are familiar with each other and understand each other.”
In Natt, Koroth and the players have found an easy figure to respect and follow: For nearly two decades, Natt has had coaching roles in the NBA. He has been an assistant with the Utah Jazz, with the Cleveland Cavaliers, and with the Kings – he was also an interim head coach with the latter. He has worked with hall-of-famers and future hall-of-famers, so the players in the Indian side have little problem in gleaning confidence off of him.
“Things are improving in basketball in India,” says Koroth, “We are confident in our Coach, and now we have a Strength and Conditioning coach, Zak Penwell, who is helping us stay fit and away from injury. We have better facilities, better kits, and better accommodation: we’re ready!”
It isn't just the improved facilities that have helped the team spirit: Koroth's infectious friendly nature has also spread amongst the players and helped in improving team chemistry. "We are all one team," he says, "It's good to be friends amongst each other - we have to stay together against our opponents."
The rise, success, and preparation so far have made for a stellar career for the star,: but there is still unfinished business: and it is at the FIBA ABC where the next chapter in his story will be written.
While India’s Senior Men’s team disappointed with their performance at the FIBA Asia Championship last year, the slight improvement made by India’s Women’s and India’s Youth Boys’ teams have helped move India two spots up in the ‘Combined’ rankings of International Basketball Federation (FIBA) rankings to 47th place in 2011.
These five or six players being the best international talents in the country, it is then expected to see the same stars light it up for their respective state/club teams at India's biggest and most important domestic basketball event - the 62nd Senior National Basketball Championship for Men & Women - which is being held in Chennai right now. And apart from an injury-plagued Koroth, the rest of the players have traveled down south to participate. 
But despite completing this move, Railways, who became a slimmer squad after losing their two India internationals, have delayed releasing the NOC (non-objection certificate) for the two players: this means that, starting from their cancelled opening game Delhi, the Uttarakhand Men's team haven't been able to field Bhrighuvanshi and Yadwinder in their side. 
But Uttarakhand, an older team, could really have used the infusion of youth brought by Bhrighuvanshi and Yadwinder in the tournament's Quarter-Final last night against a more athletic Tamil Nadu side. After holding on to a delicate lead for most of the defensive game, TN had the fresher legs as the game reached it's last minutes and took the lead to win 56-54 to enter the Semi-Finals and eliminate Uttarakhand. 
In front of an electric crowd in Wuhan, hosts China rose to the top of FIBA Asia after a silver medal two years ago by edging out the tough Jordan side 70-69 in a classic final of the championship on Sunday. Led by tournament MVP Yi Jianlian, China claimed the gold medal and booked their place in the 2012 Olympic Games basketball tournament in London.
For China, Yi accounted for 11 of his team-high 25 points in the third quarter. Yi also had 16 points in the final. Yi continues to confound me, as he is such a dominant force back home but a super-flop in the NBA. Supposed to be China's next big thing after Yao, Yi has bounced around 3 NBA teams in the past four years, and has put up just 8.5 ppg in the course of his career, where he has never been able to earn major NBA minutes. He had his worst year with the Wizards last season, playing only 17.7 minutes a game and putting up just 5.6 ppg. He comes back home and completely DOMINATES Asia, averaging 16.6 ppg and 10.8 rpg as MVP of the championship. 
All Tournament Team:
We almost got our one win unexpectedly, against Lebanon. After trailing by 13 at the end of halftime, India went on an epic third quarter run, perhaps the finest quarter of basketball played by the Indian men's team in recent history, as they outscored the superpower Lebanon 32-14 behind a barrage of three and two pointers by Hareesh Koroth and TJ Sahi.
The game swung back and forth like a pendulum: India fell back once again at halftime in this match-up trailing to their opponents by 16 points at the break. But once again, India showed their third-quarter resolve, outscoring Malaysia 24-12 in the period and bringing the game close again. The fourth quarter see-sawed between both the sides, and with the game tied in the final minutes, lower-ranked Malaysia made a final run to edge out a close win.
Trideep Rai’s 11 points was the only double digit score for India. Despite the disappointment, coach Natt looked at the positives after the game and commented: "We have a long way in terms of going anywhere in Asian competitions. But I think we are making a start with this young team."
This tournament also gave the chance to several young Indian players to gain valuable experience, and the likes of Amjyot Singh and Amrit Pal Singh stepped up to make their contributions to the squad. Amjyot is the one player who really excites me for the future: playing limited minutes of the bench, Amjyot led India in rebounding (7.3 rpg) and had several important hustle points. Amjyot also averaged 1.8 blocks per game, good enough for second-place in the tournament, only to Iran's Hamed Haddadi, who plays for the Memphis Grizzlies!
The biggest disappointment was Vishesh Bhriguvanshi, our former captain and a personal favourite of mine. Playing major minutes, and usually, a major offensive force, Vishesh had 17 points TOTAL in the tournament, averaging just 4.3 points per game shooting an awful 16 perfect from the field. Ugh!
Then one day, my mama bought me a basketball 
Where am I going with this? Well, a few months ago, the NBA brought over Brandon Jennings to India, another 6 foot tall (or short, by NBA standards) point guard who preached the good word that we didn't need to be tall to be an effective basketball player. It's an easy message to be bought by the Indian hoops loving public, because seven-footers (or six-foot-nines, or six-foot-sixes) are a difficult commodity to find. It was the same in China, of course, a country made popular in basketball by Yao Ming, but in reality, most of their aspiring stars, like ours are much shorter and dream of moulding their game in the Iverson/Rose/Nash/Paul etc blueprint. 
India is in desperate need of a point guard, or two. Our national team's performances at the FIBA Asia Championship (ABC) in China over the past week proved this point even further. India played four games, lost them all (even the ones we should've won). Our only 'win' was a Qatar forfeit, and we returned with a 14th place finish. It was a disappointing performance, and one that I will get into in more detail when the tournament finishes. 
India did have, in my opinion, someone I felt who was close to the 'ideal' PG to fill in Sambhaji's exalted shoes: Arjun 'Golu' Singh. Arjun Singh is one of the best floor generals I have seen, and who has shown the ability to switch between perfect provider and perfect scorer with ease. But Golu has had a troubled year since his huge performance at the Federation Cup back in February: he suffered an injury that kept him out of the early days at the National camp in Delhi; then, when he was healthy enough to participate, he was found guilty of a minor illegal substance misuse issue; and then he got hurt again. He's still only 21 and may still make that comeback, but we wonder if he will ever live up to the potential that India needs of him.
As I've learnt from personal experience, few things in basketball are as difficult to master as great handle on the ball, but the younger you start, the more you master it. When you master it, you can look up and see the court, run back and forth, easily spotting the open man, deciding the right time to pass, or whether to pass at all. You will do what the Jason Kidds, Steve Nashs, Chris Pauls, John Stocktons, and Magic Johnsons of the world do best. And you will do this without needing to look down at the basketball, which will be doing the dribbling itself; it will become another part of your body, a weirdly-shaped limb that you can control to a certain extent.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
But the start alone wasn’t enough: in the first few matches at the Asian Games, Koroth developed into one of India’s most valuable players. He scored 17 points in the win over Afghanistan, and followed it with a team-high 24 in a loss to Qatar. India went on to lose all their other games in the tough group, but Koroth, who had already achieved so much in so little time, returned brimming with confidence for his future with the Indian squad. A natural shooter and proud defender, he was ready to put in the work to continue as a regular in the team.
With time, Koroth began to see a sense of maturity and patience seeping into his game. “With the new coach (Kenny Natt), the Indian team has improved a lot, and I have seen improvements in my own game,” he says, “I play a more set, patient form of basketball, where I wait for the play to be created before making my move, instead of just shooting at every chance.”
The task at hand is clear now: the FIBA ABC in Wuhan begins on September 15th, and India is focused on nothing but their very first game, against Lebanon on opening night.
The Indian contingent will also consist of a coach, a trainer, and two FIBA referees for the tournament.
The squad will leave for China early next week, where they will participate in a practice tournament against China and Chinese Taipei club sides, before the 26th ABC begins on September 15th.
The FIBA Asia Championship for Men will be held in Wuhan, China, from September 15-25, 2011. India have been placed in Group A along with Lebanon, Malaysia, and Korea.
The good news is that, in bringing back the same squad into camp that defeated Sri Lanka and Bangladesh by a margin of nearly 68 points a game, Coach Natt has ensured a sense of continuity at the camp. I've marked an (*) against the name of the six new players who have been invited as probables for the next month or so. The most exciting of these names, of course, is Talwinderjit Singh, or TJ Sahi, who is also known as the man who dunked over a Mumbai taxi! In a recent interview with The Mint, Natt conceded that the point guard situation was in limbo: Sambhaji Kadam, India's ageless wonder, had a good run in the MAZ qualifiers, but there are questions about his age/sustainability at the highest level. This is where Sahi could come in and contribute automatically.
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. 
These were your Final scores:
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. 
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. 
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. 
Pool A: India, Sri Lanka
The qualifiers will be held in a league-cum-knockout basis. Two teams from each pool will qualify for the Semi-Finals. Here is the schedule of the games:
The 26th FIBA Asia Championship, also the qualifying event for the 2012 London Olympics, will be held from Sept 15-25.
A month ago, Natt was announced as the new Head Coach of the Indian Sr. Men’s National Basketball squad, the Young Cagers, as they’re nicknamed. He was chosen along with experienced collegiate coach Pete Gaudet (Women’s National team) and Zak Penwell (Strength and Conditioning) as the men who have been passed on the baton to instruct and lead Indian basketball into the future.
“This is a great opportunity for me to do something I love – help develop young basketball talent,” says Natt, “I have a passion for teaching young, up-and-coming players.”
Natt spent the three seasons (2004-2007) as an assistant coach to Mike Brown at the Cleveland Cavaliers, helping the Cavaliers reach the 2007 NBA Finals. Led by a young LeBron James, this defensive-minded team was swept by the San Antonio Spurs in the Finals.
Natt has noticed that the Indian side have shown signs of the defensive principals taught by their former coach, Bill Harris. He is hoping that with more time in his hands, he will be able to bring more organisation and discipline into the team. “It’s important that the players are happy and confident,” he says, “If they’re confident, they’ll compete harder against some of the Asian powerhouses.”
