India's Palpreet Singh signs D-League contract and will be eligible to be drafted next month

India's basketball expectations are about to get updated once again. Palpreet Singh (21), the winner of the ACG-NBA Jump - India's first national basketball talent search programme - has now signed a contract with the NBA's D-League. This contract makes him eligible to be drafted in the NBDL on their draft night on October 30, 2016. Palpreet hopes to become the second Indian national to play in the D-League, following in the footsteps of Satnam Singh of the Texas Legends, the first Indian to be drafted into the NBA.

Palpreet Singh is a 6-foot-9 power forward originally from Sri Muktsar Sahib in south western Punjab. His big international breakthrough came with India’s junior squad at the 2012 FIBA U18 Asia Championship in Mongolia. Over the next three years, he played for India’s senior team and secured a backup spot behind our current superstar Punjabi frontcourt of Amjyot Singh and Amrit Pal Singh. He was part of the Indian squad that defeated China at the 2014 FIBA Asia Cup.

Palpreet's potential was spotted by NBA coaches at the ACG-NBA Jump Finals in Greater Noida earlier this year, coaches that included former NBA champion Brian Shaw. With his victory, he won an opportunity to take part in the D-League's National tryouts. Palpreet spent the first half of 2016 working with coaches in India to get his skillset ready for the NBA D-League. In early July, he headed to the USA to continue his training. He began training at the John Lucas Academy in Houston (Texas) and later, took part in the tryouts in New York City in mid-August. He remains on the grind now, still in New York City, where he is practicing with the New York Athletic Club.

The new contract doesn't mean that Palpreet is guaranteed to play in the D-League for the upcoming season; it only guarantees that he'll be among the eighty or so names who will be eligible on draft night.

"This opportunity only comes to a few people, I don’t want to lose it," Palpreet told NBA India over a phone interview recently. "This is a special chance and challenge for me, I want to make the most of it."

"The competition is tough but it is great to know you are competing with the best to play in the best league in the world," he said.

In an interview with the Indian Express' Shahid Judge, NBA India's Senior Director Carlos Barroca, who has followed Palpreet's improvements over the last few years, seemed optimistic of his chances to be drafted.

Off the over 300 hopefuls, the 21-year-old was one of the 80 who were eventually shortlisted to proceed to the draft phase of the selection. Yet within the final list, senior director of NBA India Carlos Barroca asserts the 6-foot-9 athlete has a strong chance of getting selected. “I’d say he’s somewhere in the middle of that 80. Everyone loved him during the trials,” he says.

Years ago, Palpreet Singh and Satnam Singh shared a common room at the Ludhiana Basketball Academy (LBA), Punjab's premier hoops institution where they both trained to become the Indian basketball stars that they are today. Hopefully, the two Punjabis will see their paths cross again across the pond and double the butter chicken order in the D-League for the next season.

Second leg of ACG-NBA Jump basketball talent search held in Ludhiana (Punjab)

Last month, the NBA launched a unique talent hunt programme in India to find the young basketball player with most potential in the country. Joining hands with the ACG Worldwide Group, the NBA introduced the ACG-NBA Jump for players between the ages of 18-22 from around India. Tipping off in the third week of October in New Delhi, the ACG-NBA Jump is scheduled to be held in six Indian cities, pick a shortlist of the finest talents, and then train them to find the best among the best. The winner of this talent search will be given a shot to attend the NBA D-League tryout in the USA next year.

After a successful opening tip in New Delhi last week - which featured India's first NBA pick Satnam Singh as a special guest - the ACG-NBA Jump moved to the city that made Satnam the teenage star that he was: Ludhiana, Punjab. The second leg of the ACG-NBA Jump was held at Ludhiana's famed Guru Nanak Stadium on Saturday, November 21st. Senior Director of Basketball Operations for NBA India Carlos Barroca was among the coaches headlining this event and keeping their eye out for potential star talent from the city and nearby.

The first-of-its-kind ACG-NBA Jump programme will be split into three phases. In the first phase, six regional, one-day elite camps will be held in six cities: Delhi (Oct 26), Ludhiana (Nov 21), Hyderabad (Nov 28), Mumbai (Dec 12), Kolkata (Jan 9), and Chennai (Jan 16). Around 3-5 international coaches from across the globe will conduct the open try out session in all the six cities.The second phase will consist of a national elite training camp where 32 players selected from the six regional camps would assemble for a four-day training period. In the third and final phase, one top player from the national elite training camp would be selected to attend the NBDL Tryout in the USA for the opportunity to earn a spot on a D-League roster. The selected player would continue to undergo training up until the tryout in June 2016. Sony SIX, the official broadcaster of the NBA in India, will create a feature around ACG-NBA Jump, following the programme through its various stages and tracking the winner till his NBA D-league tryout.

Reliance Foundation Jr. NBA: First-ever weekend 'Festival of Basketball' tips off in Kochi

The Reliance Foundation and the NBA began tipped off the first-ever Reliance Foundation Jr. NBA Weekend Festival, an extension of the Reliance Foundation Jr. NBA programme, on Saturday, November 14, at the SN Public School in Poothotta, Kochi (Kerala). This was the first-ever such weekend basketball festival for children between the ages of 6-10, held on Children's Day in India!

Over 470 children were invited to this festival and introduced by NBA coaches to five basic basketball skills stations: passing, dribbling, shooting, footwork, and game-play. The camp was led by Carlos Barroca, the Senior Director of Basketball Operations in NBA India, and assisted by coaches Joa Rocha, Jedh, and coaches from the Jr. NBA programme in Kerala.

The festival was free for participants. Boys and girls between the ages of 6-10 years in Kerala will have two more opportunities to take part in similar festivals: on November 21st at YMCA Alapuzha and November 27 at Little Flower High School in Koratty.

Six Indian coaches chosen for Basketball Without Borders programme in South Africa

It's the summer of Africa for the NBA. Many of the league's heavyweights - players, coaches, and the commissioner - are in South Africa for the first-ever exhibition game in the continent, set to be held between 'Team Africa' and 'Team World' tomorrow in Johannesburg. The NBA continues to expand its borders and continues to prove that basketball can truly transcend all languages, cultures, and continents.

And India are tasting some of that potjiekos, too.

The NBA has selected six coaches from India to take part in the 13th Basketball Without Borders (BWB) programme at the American International School of Johannesburg, South Africa from July 29 - August 1. The troop of coaches are being guided by Carlos Barroca, the Senior Director of NBA India.

The coaches Mal Singh from Guru Harkishan Das Public School (Ludhiana), Jeevan Raj from CMS Public School (Kochi), Varun Ahlawat from Delhi Public School, Vasundhara (New Delhi), Anahita Gupta from Modern School for Girls (Kolkata), Digambar Mali from Fr. Agnels School, Vashi (Mumbai) and Udhayakumar from Lady Andal Venkatasubbarao High School (Chennai) have been selected for the programme. Their selection was made on the basis of number of students they engaged, the number of basketball led classes they conducted and their overall involvement with the program.

"The teachers did a great job in India and are here at BWB Africa to continue to learn and enhance their basketball training skills with the best coaches/trainers from around the world," said Barroca, "They will also view the NBA Africa Game - which will be a once in a lifetime experience for them."

While the eyes of most of the world will be on Chris Paul, Luol Deng, the Gasol brothers, and other current and former stars at the NBA Africa Game, the BWB programme will prove that the NBA is invested in not only promoting the very best that the sport has to offer, but also to help develop basketball at the grassroots level. The exchange of international coaching ideas and the vibrant energy in Johannesburg is sure to help these Indian coaches; hopefully, they can pass on that energy, the fundamentals, and the coaching styles that they learn to students back home in India.

1st Reliance Foundation Jr NBA Elite National Camp held in Greater Noida with Sim Bhullar

In 2013, the NBA joined hands with the Reliance Foundation to launch the Reliance Foundation Jr NBA programmes in various Indian cities. In the last two years, the programme reached more than one million youth in 1,000 schools in eight cities around the country. Now, the programme ups the ante: earlier this week, the best performers from the programme over the past year were invited to Greater Noida to receive elite level training and impress NBA-affiliated coaches at the 1st Reliance Foundation JR NBA Elite National Camp.

As a major attraction, the NBA's first Indian-origin player Sim Bhullar - who is in India for a promotional and personal trip this week - inaugurated the camp on May 4th at the Jaypee Greens Integrated Sports Complex in Greater Noida. The camp concluded on May 7th with Bhullar returning for the closing.

The Jr NBA Elite camp consists of skills training, competitions, games, fitness training and team building exercises. It is the culmination of the Reliance Foundation Jr NBA programme that promotes health, fitness and an active lifestyle through basketball.

On the opening day of the camp, Bhullar, the 7-foot-5 Center who held a 10-day contract with the Sacramento Kings this season, helped train the top 140 youth players from across India in attendance. According to a report by Ekalavyas, sharing their expertise with the participating youth were men’s national team guard Vishesh Bhriguvanshi, former international players Sambhaji Kadam, Mohit Bhandari, Shiba Maggon, Divya Singh, Sunita Suren, former youth national coach Paramdeep Singh, coach Francisco Garcia, strength and conditioning coach Tommy Heffelfinger, Senior Director Basketball Operations, NBA Troy Justice, Assistant Vice President (AVP) Basketball Operations of NBA China, Greg Stolt, and Senior Director, Basketball Operations of India, Carlos Barroca.

“I am very excited to travel to India to see firsthand how basketball’s popularity has grown and to meet young basketball players across the country,” said Bhullar. “Hopefully sharing my story will help inspire young Indians to pursue their dreams on and off the court, just as I have.”

You can check out fantastic pictures of this camp taken by Adarsh Rao of Ekalavyas here.

Slumdog Champion: Basketball is transforming the life of a girl from Karnataka's slums

In the last episode of our Hoodarshan podcast, our guest - NBA India's Carlos Barroca - told us that one of his favourite things about coaching basketball in India is how the game has become a complete equalizer. "Rich or poor, basketball for all," Barroca said. Those of us who have seen some of India's top players emerge from dire financial backgrounds over the years already know this to be true. And now, the story of 14-year-old Nasreen Makandar from the Vijaypura slums in the Bengaluru district of Karnataka, is another example of how basketball can change the life of young talents in the country.

Makandar - the daughter of a former truck driver and a beggar - used her basketball talents to qualify for Karnataka's under-16 team. That team went on to win the gold medal at a national-level school tournament recently held by the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports at the Sports Authority of India stadium in Gandhinagar, Gujarat. Karnataka had defeated Punjab in the final to secure the win. Now, the Karnataka State Basketball Association (KSBBA) have extended their support to help Makandar get through her education and basketball career.

The Times of India story by Sangamesh Menasinakai last week recalled Makandar's unbelievable story:

Her father Khajamiya was a truck driver but quit his job 16 years ago after three heart attacks. Her mother Khajabi begs on the streets of Vijayapura and gets about Rs 300 and some food items like jowar rotti and rice. They have nine children, including seven girls. Nasreen, a class 9 student of the Anjuman High School, said she would watch sports and games at the Darbar High School ground. "My sisters Gousiya and Heena are division-level winners in basketball and they encouraged me a lot," she said. She's the first girl from Vijayapura district to win a gold medal at the national-level tournament. She would like to take the UPSC examination. "I would like to become an IPS officer," she added.
She added that a government scholarship has helped her buy textbooks and uniforms.

The story evoked a positive reaction from K Govindraj, the secretary of the KSBBA and one of the contesting presidents of the Basketball Federation of India (BFI), who offered - again via The Times of India - support to Makandar and her family.

"We are for promoting basketball and fostering talent This tournament was not part of the Basketball Federation of India schedule. But the girl has performed well and deserves to be encouraged. We will take care of her education and sports career," Govindraj told TOI, while exhorting Nasreen's parents to get in touch with him.

Hopefully, Govindraj is able to deliver on his words (the media records will certainly hold him to it!). Despite her basketball talents, Makandar has shown admirable ambitions to succeed in academics, too, and in the long run, we hope that whatever direction she chooses brings stability to her and her family. Another reason to love basketball, truly a game that can bring joy to anyone, regardless of their background or social conditions!

Hoopdarshan Episode 4: Grassroots NBA Basketball in India with Carlos Barroca

On Episode 4 of the Indian Basketball podcast Hoopdarshan, hosts Kaushik Lakshman and Karan Madhok welcome Carlos Barroca, the Senior Director of Basketball Operations for NBA India. Barroca, who has spent the past eight months in India traveling the nation and passing on basketball knowledge and tactics in behalf of the NBA, talks about his optimism towards grassroots basketball in India, the upcoming visit by Indian-descent NBA player Sim Bhullar, his adventures with Indian languages, and more.

Barroca is from Portugal and has spent considerable amount of time in Mozambique. With 35 years of basketball experience, he spearheads the NBA's basketball development initiatives in India, which include training local coaches and players, executing grassroots programmes and working with key basketball stakeholders across India to grow the sport. In the past, he has played several different roles involved with basketball, mostly in Portugal. During the 2000-2001 season, Barroca served as the head coach of the Portuguese Basketball Federation and the national U-20 squad, and has joined the NBA’s Basketball without Borders programme as a guest coach since 2006. Following his time on the sidelines, Barroca was appointed as National Director of High School Sports Programme and selected as a member of the Supreme Council for Sports as well as the Olympic Committee of Portugal. Barroca also served as a consultant for Adecco, a Swiss HR company, S.A., where he promoted team building and motivation in corporate HR.



Hoopdarshan aims to be the true voice of Indian basketball, and since we're such hopeless fans of the game, it will become the voice of everything basketball related we love, from the NBA to international hoops, too. On every episode of Hoopdarshan, we will be inviting a special guest to interview or chat to about a variety of topics. With expert insight from some of the brightest and most-involved people in the world of Indian basketball, we hope to bring this conversation to a many more interested fans, players, and followers of the game.

Make sure to follow Hoopdarshan on Soundcloud or search for 'Hoopdarshan' on the iTunes Store! Auto-sync Hoopdarshan to your preferred podcast app NOW!

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Vivek Ranadive and Vlade Divac represent Sacramento Kings / UNICEF visit to LTMC Medical College in Mumbai

Sacramento Kings' owner - Mumbai-born businessman Vivek Ranadive - is currently in India for his first official trip back to the homeland since he became the first Indian to purchase the majority share of an NBA franchise. Ranadive is being accompanied by NBA Commissioner Adam Silver, former Kings' legend Vlade Divac, and a host of staff with the team. While most of the trip has been related to the business and sporting growth of NBA and basketball in India, the Kings family - along with NBA India - found time to help make a difference to the underprivileged in Mumbai.

Ranadive, Divac, the Senior Director of Basketball Operations for NBA India Carlos Barroca, and more visited the Nutrition Rehabilitation Ward at the department of Pediatrics, LTMC Medical College Sion Hospital in Mumbai on December 3 in a visit organized in partnership with UNICEF. The Kings are a partner of UNICEF Kid Power – a new programme where as American kids hit their daily activity goals it triggers a donation of RUTF (Ready To Use Therapeutic Food) to severely malnourished children around the world. The group donated RUTF to malnourished children at the hospital.

Kings' President Chris Granger, US Fund for UNICEF staffer Matt Meyersohn, and Kings Senior Director of Communications Laura Braden were also a part of the visit.

NBA/Reliance Foundation complete Train the Trainers workshop in Kochi

The NBA and the Reliance Foundation successful concluded the two-day 'Train the Trainers' workshop in Kochi (Kerala), as part of their expanded Reliance Foundation Jr. NBA programme. The workshop featured 200 physical education instructors representing 165 schools from across the state to implement a turnkey NBA curriculum In Kerala.

Apart from Kochi, similar programmes are also slated to be held in Chennai, Kolkata, New Delhi, Mumbai, Ludhiana, and Jalandhar.

The clinic was led by the Portuguese Carlos Barroca, the new Senior Director of Basketball Operations for NBA India, who has recently replaced the predecessor Troy Justice in India. Barroca was joined in Kochi with Canadian basketball coach Jaison Frolkna.

The Reliance Foundation Jr. NBA programme enters it's second year in India with expansion into eight cities. In Kerala, The first year of the programme has operated in 100 schools where 80,000 kids have participated in the districts of Ernakulam, Kottayam, Alapuzha, Thrissur, and Pathanamthitta. This year, the programme has added 75 more schools from the state.

All the trainers at the camp received ‘Reliance Foundation Jr. NBA Basketball in a Bag,’ which contained resources for them to grow the game in their communities as well as their schools. The bag included an 100 page India-specific coaching guide with curriculum for in-school and after-school programmes, nets, whistles, cones, air pumps and a Jr. NBA poster. 15 basketballs were given to each school in the region and five basketballs to the affiliates to run their programmes, too.

The Reliance Foundation Jr. NBA programme will promote health, fitness and an active lifestyle through basketball, and teach the values of the game such as teamwork, sacrifice, discipline, dedication and sportsmanship. The programme will feature a combination of in-school and after-school activities along with basketball competitions.

"We are excited to partner with NBA, the world’s premier basketball league, in transforming India’s basketball landscape," said Nita Ambani, the Reliance Foundation Chairperson, "India has a rich reservoir of sporting talents and schools are the fountainhead where those talents can be identified and nurtured. Through this historic association, Reliance Foundation looks forward to bringing the NBA’s world-class expertise and curriculum and taking Indian basketball to greater standards of excellence."

The programme will be supported by international NBA coaches include Syndney Haydel (USA), Jala Richard (Portugal), and Joao Rocha (USA). Local trainer Shibu Robert and eight assistant coaches from Kerala have also been recruited for the programme. They will be visiting 125 schools to support the trained physical education instructors who will be conducting daily basketball-led physical education classes for grades 4-10 in their schools.

In addition to the in-school portion, three centers have identified as elite training centers; selected student from these 125 schools will receive advance training at the elite centers from the international coaches every Saturday during the duration of the programme.

Carlos Barroca takes over basketball operations in NBA India, replacing Troy Justice

Over the past 35 years, Carlos Barroca carved up a legendary career as a leader in the game of basketball back in his home nation of Portugal. Now, he gets the opportunity to bring in that experience and leadership qualities to carve up a new legend in India.

The NBA recently announced that Barroca will be taking over as the Senior Director of Basketball Operations for NBA India. A former basketball coach, general manager, television analyst, and ambassador, Barroca will replace Troy Justice, the much-beloved American coach and basketball ambassador who had enjoyed several successful years closely aiding the growth of hoops in India.

Barroca will spearhead the NBA's basketball development initiatives in India, which include training local coaches and players, executing grassroots programmes and working with key basketball stakeholders across India to grow the sport. His 35 years of experience has given him several different roles involved with basketball, mostly in Portugal. During the 2000-2001 season, Barroca served as the head coach of the Portuguese Basketball Federation and the national U-20 squad, and has joined the NBA’s Basketball without Borders programme as a guest coach since 2006. Following his time on the sidelines, Barroca was appointed as National Director of High School Sports Programme and selected as a member of the Supreme Council for Sports as well as the Olympic Committee of Portugal. Barroca also served as a consultant for Adecco, a Swiss HR company, S.A., where he promoted team building and motivation in corporate HR.

Barroca joins the NBA India team at a crucial time: in India, the league is currently involved in various grassroots initiatives to grow the NBA brand as well as the brand of basketball, such as the Reliance Foundation Jr. NBA programme, NBA Jam, and more. The rise of the NBA in India will not be isolated from India's overall improving basketball fortunes, and Barroca will have to keep an eye on the Basketball Federation of India (BFI), the performances of the India's national squads, and the promise of a potential professional basketball league in the future. Meanwhile, India and the NBA have been drawing closer together abroad, too: an NBA team now has an Indian owner (Vivek Ranadive of the Sacramento Kings) who will be visiting India along with the NBA's new commissioner Adam Silver this December. Plus, the same team also made Canadian national Sim Bhullar into the first-ever player of Indian descent to be signed by the NBA.

With so much on their plate, it is an exciting new beginning both for Barroca and for NBA India. But every new beginning signifies an end too; and in this case, it marks the end of a fruitful tenure by Troy Justice as NBA India's basketball operations' senior directory. Justice will join the NBA's Basketball Operations department in New York at the end of September, working closely with each member of the Basketball Operations staff in the regional offices to support their efforts to grow the game of basketball at both the elite and grassroots level. He will also focus on expanding the NBA’s global youth basketball programming through the Jr. NBA/WNBA programme.

In India, Justice will leave behind some big shoes for Barroca to fill. India can be a challenging place for many outsiders, but Justice took to the country's many idiosyncrasies with ease, and soon, became as popular draw across the country's grassroots basketball circles. From Kerala to Mumbai to Punjab and more, Justice traveled the length and breath of India over the past half a dozen years preaching the gospel of hoops. His personal approach to coaching, his acceptance of everything Indian, and of course, his deep knowledge of the game, all made him a fan favourite among both players and coaches in the country.

A personal thank you from my end to Justice for being just the right fit for basketball and for the NBA in India. He got his start in Indian basketball around the same time I did, and I will always remember our initial correspondences and meetings as we worked to help the game rise from the ground up. Of course, I will always remember our little trip to Aman's in Ludhiana for the best butter chicken in Ludhiana, but that's another story for another day.

Good luck to Justice for his endeavours ahead, and a warm welcome to Barroca, who will hopefully continue to expand on the path of his predecessor.