Hoopdarshan Episode 93: Teenage phenom Harsimran Kaur on the NCAA future and WNBA dreams

One of the brightest young stars in Indian basketball, 17-year-old Harsimran 'Hunny' Kaur, joins Episode 93 of Hoopdarshan. The teenager from Kapurthala, Punjab spoke to hosts Kaushik Lakshman and Karan Madhok about joining University of San Diego of the NCAA D1, dreams to become the first Indian in the WNBA, and how she finally defeated her father - a former national player - on the court.

Kaur, at 6-foot-3, is one of the best young players in India. Along with breakout performances at the NBA Academy India women's programmes, she has also taken part in training camps at the NBA Global Academy in Australia, the BWB Global camp in Chicago during NBA All Star, the NCAA Next Generation event, India's senior team at the South Asian Games, and the national U18 team at the FIBA 3x3 U18 Asia Cup.



Hoopdarshan is the truest 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.

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Basketball Without Borders Asia Camp in Tokyo begins today with four Indian players

64 best young basketball prospects - boys and girls - from around Asia and Oceania will attend the 2019 Basketball Without Borders Asia Camp, set to be held in Tokyo, Japan, from August 14-17. Organised together by FIBA and the NBA, the camp will feature several current/former NBA/WNBA players and coaches.

Four Indian players have been invited to this edition of the camp: Siya Deodhar (Nagpur), Amaan Sandhu (Mohali), Harsimran Kaur (Jalandhar) and Arvinder Singh (Barnala). This is the second invited for Deodhar and Sandhu for the BWB Asia Camp, after last year's event that was held in home grounds in Greater Noida's NBA Academy India.

NBA/WNBA players/coaches leading this camp will include: Sam Cassell, Kevon Looney (Golden State Warriors), Robin Lopez (Milwaukee Bucks) Yuta Tabuse (formerly of the Phoenix Suns; Japan), Ashley Battle, Allison Feaster, Yolanda Moore, Pat Delany (Orlando Magic), Bryan Gates (Minnesota Timberwolves), Antonio Lang (Cleveland Cavaliers) and Wes Unseld Jr. (Denver Nuggets). Patrick Hunt (President of the World Association of Basketball Coaches; Australia) will be the camp director and Jeff Tanaka (Chicago Bulls) will serve as the camp’s athletic trainer.

Last year's India's Sanjana Ramesh won the girls' MVP honours at the 2018 BWB Asia Camp in India.

Four Indian girls selected for the NCAA Next Generation camp in the USA

'March Madness', the annual NCAA college basketball tournament in the USA, is here. And this year, a few young Indians will get closely involved in that wonderful festival of hoops.

For the second year, the NCAA, the NBA, and USA Basketball are joining hands for NCAA Next Generation, described as an "unprecedented opportunities for potential future student-athletes and celebrate the future of college basketball." Last year, the Next Generation programme brought top high-school age prospects to witness the NCAA's tournament first-hand while also take part in on-court/off-court programming.

Returning for the second year, this camp will feature a Women's Next Generation event, too, featuring high-school age players from USA and those picked from NBA Academies around the world. This is where the Indian participants come in: four Indian girls who shone at this year's Women's camp at the NBA India Academy will be heading for five-day extensive training in the United States. The camp will be held in Tampa, Florida, from April 3-7. This trip will include the opportunity to attend the NCAA Women's Final Four in Tampa to watch the best collegiate players in the USA in action.

Participants from other international women's academies including Africa, Australia, China, Mexico, and Europe will also take part. The camp will be led by NBA Academy Women's programme's technical directors Jennifer Azzi and Blair Hardeik and culminate with exhibition games between the participants.

India's invitees to the camp are: Ann Mary Zachariah (Kerala), Grishma Niranjan (Karnataka), Harsimran Kaur (Punjab), and Siya Deodhar (Maharashtra). Out of this group, Niranjan was the MVP of this year's Women's camp at the NBA India Academy. This will be Niranjan's second recent trip to the USA, after she took part in the Basketball Without Borders global camp in Charlotte during the NBA All Star Weekend.

An in-depth preview of the camp, including profile/interviews of the participating Indian players, was written by Amit Sampat for The Times of India and can be accessed here.

"Next Generation is a valuable initiative to work with our stakeholder groups to unify the game," said NCAA Vice President of Women’s Basketball Lynn Holzman. "Including women’s programming for the first time in the upcoming Women’s Final Four is an exciting opportunity, and we look forward to meeting and working with these women’s players from all over the world."