Veteran Australian Coach Damian Cotter visited India's Men's Basketball Camp in Indore

Damian Cotter - veteran Australian coach at the national and professional stage - was in India last week to visit the Indian Men's Basketball Team's national camp in Indore (Madhya Pradesh). Team India has been in camp at Indore's National Basketball Academy in the run up to the 21st Super Kung Sheung Cup to be held in Hong Kong later this month. Cotter visited the camp from December 1-4 to work with Indian players and coaches through four training sessions, focusing on both offensive and defensive drills.

The visit was arranged by Pursuit India with the help of Danny Kordahi of No. 1 Draft Pick Basketball Academy, a leading Australia based training academy.

Currently a Basketball Consultant, Damian Cotter is a former Sydney Kings (National Basketball League - NBL Australia) coach and Australian National Women’s assistant coach. With more than 17 years of experience as a basketball coach, Cotter is highly regarded in the professional coaching arena and has a passion for teaching basketball to all ages.

"I was not only impressed with the players’ talent but more importantly their work ethic and capacity to learn," Cotter said after the training camp in Indore. "You can see that they have been well coached and I look forward to watching the team results from afar. I am very grateful to BFI [Basketball Federation of India] and Pursuit for the opportunity to work with quality players and coaches, as I see potential for India to achieve success internationally at a high level."

"Cotter’s visit was very useful," said S. Bhasker, who is currently the Head Coach for Team India, "Most teams today employ the ‘horns offence’ and Cotter ran the team through a series of ‘shell drills’ that emphasizes maintaining proper defensive positions in order to counter this offence."

“Basketball has evolved drastically in terms of the way it is played. So visits from foreign coaches help us a lot. The entire team benefits and it is also a chance for individual players to showcase their talents in the hope of landing playing opportunities abroad,” said centre Amritpal Singh.

Vishnu Ravi Shankar, the Business Head of Pursuit, who coordinated the visit added, “Being the first such initiative of its kind, we are excited that Coach Cotter’s sessions were well received by the players and coaches alike. We thank the Basketball Federation of India for their smooth approval process. Even the local organisers were very kind and provided us good accommodation close to the venue. We definitely hope to facilitate more such camps in the future for the benefit of India Basketball and its players."

It is interesting to note that, ever since the summer of 2015, India has not had a steady Head Coach. For several years in a row, the national team employed various foreign Head Coaches for short stints, culminating with the memorably successful run of Scott Flemming. But Flemming resigned from the Indian team in May 2015, and the team's head coaching duties have been shared between various local coaches over the past 18 months. The split between the BFI last summer is a major reason that the federation hasn't gone out and hired another (expensive) foreign coach; perhaps Cotter's visit will rekindle the mutual interest between foreign coaches and India, or at least continue the conversation of bringing in their experience to share with coaches and players of the national team.

Three Madhya Pradesh basketball officials booked by police for fraud

This is not the first time you're hearing news like this in Indian Basketball, and it certainly won't be the last.

If you are an astute follower of this blog and Indian basketball, you will recall that, in August 2014, the Madhya Pradesh Basketball Association (MSBA) began dealing with an internal power struggle, as two separate groups of the association elected two different presidents, one group led by Kailash Vijayvargiya and the other by Avinash Anand. One group refused to recognise the other, the second group accused the first of misuse of funds.

(This break-up will sound familiar, of course, because a similar division of associations happened at the national level with the Basketball Federation of India less than six months later.)

Now, a little more than two years later, Madhya Pradesh basketball is back in the news for the wrong reasons. Various sources reported that three members of the Vijayvargiya group - Secretary Kulwinder Singh Gill, president BJM Sharma and treasurer Ritu Sharma - have been booked by the police in Indore on Monday, December 5, for criminal breach of trust, fraud and forgery embezzlement in allegedly diverting association funds into private bank accounts. Police said cases have been registered under Sections 406, 417, 420, 467,468, 471 and 120B of the Indian Penal Code. The complaint of fraud was filed by the MPBA's other group - who go by the Corporation Basketball Trust - secretary Avinash Anand, and office-bearers Laxmikant Patel and Bhupendra Bandi late on Sunday night. According to Indore's Tukoganj police station in-charge Dilip Singh Choudhari (via The Times of India), the group accused the trio of diverting funds received by the association for personal use. Choudhari said the complainants had approached the crime branch twice before: once in 2012 and then again a couple of months ago, before the case was shifted to Tukoganj.

According to Anand, the trio - led by Gill - has been accused of siphoning off more than Rupees 40 lakh received as government grant to the association in 2010 towards hosting a national championship in the state.

Anand is quoted further by The Hindustan Times:

"Gill first illegally closed the association’s bank account with State Bank of India and opened a new account with Arihant Cooperative Bank. He then issued two cheques in favour of his mother, one for 5 lakh and the other for 3 lakh. A car insurance and LIC premium was also paid from this account, among other things. Later, this bank account was closed and a fresh account was opened with Bank of Baroda, again without due permission from the association."

A couple of months ago, Madhya Pradesh boys' team retained the Sub-Junior National Championship trophy in Hyderabad. But as it is often with Indian basketball, a big shot is followed by a turnover. Hopefully, the new administration keeps the same U14 sub-junior players in mind over themselves - the future of the state and the country - before repeating the mistakes of the past.

NBA Jam 2014 to be held across a remarkable 16 Indian cities!

NBA Jam - the hugely popular college basketball and youth festival - will return to India in its biggest iteration yet for 2014. This year, NBA Jam is going to be held across a remarkable 16 Indian cities, truly spanning the length and breath of India and involving a greater number of young Indian basketball fanatics than ever before.

Held between August 18 - December 4 this year, NBA Jam is set to be held in 16 cities in India: Chennai, Guwahati, Cochin, Lucknow, Jaipur, Nagpur, Bengaluru, Kolkata, Chandigarh, Ahmedabad, Bhubaneshwar, New Delhi, Mumbai, Indore, Hyderabad, and Pune. For the first time, Indian ballers from beyond just the Tier 1 cities will be connected. Nationally, the hoops festival will involve more than 650 colleges and 3200 teams. Apart from 3x3 basketball in each city, the NBA Jam will also feature music and entertainment competitions like graffiti, DJ-spin off, B-boy dancing, and more.

This year's NBA Jam is a huge step up from last year's event, which involved just four cities and relatively far fewer teams. The 2013 edition of NBA Jam concluded in Mumbai by the end of last September, as national champions were crowned from squads that won their city-level championships going off against each other. Three former NBA legends - Robert Horry, Peja Stojakovic, and Ron Harper - attended the finale in Mumbai last year.

This year's NBA Jam is being sponsored by Jabong, who will also invite some of the lucky participants to earn internships with the company. Like last year, the crucial events and the finals of the tournament will be broadcast on Sony SIX.

To sign up your college/university team, head to Jabong.com and pick the city where you will be participating from. In addition to the news and schedule of your chosen city, the full schedule of all the NBA Jam events across the next three months in India is also listed on the website.

BFI-IMG Reliance School/College League National Finals to tip off in New Delhi

For the past four to five months, the Basketball Federation of India (BFI) alongside their sponsors IMG-Reliance have organized inner-city school and college basketball leagues for both male and female teams in record eight cities around India: New Delhi, Mumbai, Hyderabad, Bangalore, Indore, Ludhiana, Chennai, and Kolkata. Now, with all the various leagues concluded, comes the final step.

The men/women winners from each city in both school/college leagues have descended into New Delhi for the first-ever BFI-IMG Reliance School/College League National Finals. A total of 32 teams will be competing for Men's National College Champion, Women's National College Champion, Men's National School Champion, and Women's National School Champion. The tournament is being held at the Thyagaraj Stadium in the city from April 30 - May 4.

"This tournament will provide new and promising talents from the grassroots level, which will develop and promote the sport, which is the endeavour of the BFI IMG-Reliance collaboration," said Roopam Sharma, the CEO of the BFI, "Competition at this stage will give much-needed boost to budding players who can catch the eye of the selectors and can use this as a platform to make their mark at the national level for their respective states."

Winners of each category will receive Rs. 1 lakh while the second and third placed teams will take home Rs. 75,000 and Rs. 50,000 each.

Sharma announced that next year, the school and college tournament hopes to expand to 24 Indian cities. Additionally, she added, a professional basketball league, in line with the IPL or football's ISL, will also be unveiled in India next year.

Bangalore's 2013-14 BFI-IMG Reliance School Basketball League tips off

After getting a successful kick-start in various cities around the league, the modified and expanded version of the 2014-14 BFI-IMG Reliance School Basketball League tipped off in Bangalore on December 18th. Bangalore is the latest stop of the ongoing league, which is being held in eight Indian cities, including Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkata, Hyderabad, Ludhiana, Indore, and Chennai.

Like every other city, Bangalore is fielding 20 total school teams in the league - 10 each in the boys' and girls' sections respectively.

Participating Teams

Boys

Group A: Vidyaniketan School, New Horizon Public School, National Public School (Rajaji Nagar), Sri Kumaran's Children's Home, Kendriya Vidyalaya.
Group B: Bishop Cotton's School, Delhi Public School (South), Mallaya Adithi International School, St. Joseph’s Indian High School, Shantiniketan High School.

Girls

Group A: Bishop Cotton's School, Kendriya Vidyalaya, Mary Immaculate High School, Stella Maris High School, PPEC Indira Nagar.
Group B: Sri Kumaran's Children's Home, Mallaya Adithi International School, National Public School (Rajaji Nagar), Nirmala Rani High School, Carmel Convent High School.

According to the BFI, one of the main goals of the School League is to start the first pan-India League, as opposed to the current system of competition - tournaments. BFI and IMG Reliance have put aside money for each participating School for refurbishments of their home courts. With the help of the State Basketball Association, BFI and IMG Reliance will be hoping that this initiative will incentivize schools to invest in basketball.

BFI IMG-Reliance School Basketball League to be held in 8 cities this season!

In 2010 the Basketball Federation of India (BFI) and IMG-Reliance - who signed a sponsorship deal with the federation - launched the School Basketball League in a few Indian cities, to bring organized basketball tournaments to some of the country's top school-level talents. Now, three years later, the league returns with it's largest iteration yet. Starting this month, the 2013-14 BFI IMG-Reliance School Basketball League will return with it's biggest iteration ever, going to a record eight Indian cities between October and December, 2013.

The 2013-14 edition of the BFI-IMG Reliance School League will include 2 new cities – Indore and Hyderabad – from last year’s returning 6 cities. The eight host cities are: New Delhi, Mumbai, Indore, Ludhiana, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Bangalore, and Chennai. The school winners from all the states will participate in the National Champions Cup to be held in April/May, 2014 in New Delhi.

The leagues will comprise of 20 teams per city (10 boys & 10 girls). A total of 1,920 kids and 160 teams will be participating across the country. Each team will play a total of 8 games over a period of 2 months and a total of 640 games will be played during the group stage, which will be followed with a knockout tournament to crown a City Champion. Games will be held at rotating locations in different schools & colleges to provide any institution the opportunity to host the league.

One of the main goals of the School League is to start the first pan-India League, as opposed to the current system of competition - tournaments. In a league, there is an emphasis on continuous and regular participation, resulting in practices focused on building individual and team skills. The length and space between games allows coaches and players to look back on the game, identify weaknesses and focus on making adjustments on the next game, building smarter and more skilled basketball players and coaches.

As part of the 2013-14 School League, BFI and IMG Reliance have put aside money for each participating School for minor refurbishments of their home courts. These refurbishments include new nets, rims, paintings, basketballs, etc. With the help of the State Basketball Association, BFI and IMG Reliance hopes this initiative will give more incentives to schools in India to invest in basketball.

While announcing the new season of the leagues, Roopam Sharma, the CEO of the BFI said, “The Basketball Federation of India partnership with IMG-Reliance is working towards improving Basketball from the grass root level in the country. I would like to thank the participating State Basketball Associations for their effort and co-operation in hosting the 2013-14 BFI IMG-Reliance School league which will showcase competitive games by young talented players. The School League will provide a medium for the players to compete regularly and an incentive for them to develop their game.”

30th Youth (U16) National Basketball Championships tip off in Kolkata

25 boys’ and 24 girls’ teams from different states from all across India have descended in Kolkata (West Bengal) to take part in India’s 30th Youth National Basketball Championship for Boys and Girls. Organized by the Basketball Federation of India (BFI) in association with the West Bengal Basketball Association (WBBA), the tournament is being held from April 30th to May 7th at the Netaji Indoor Stadium in Kolkata.

The championship will feature the best under-16 up-and-coming players from across India. Their performances will determine the best of the lot to be chosen for India national camps to build the roster for India’s U16 teams for FIBA Asia U16 Championships in both boys’ and girls’ divisions later this year.

All eyes will be on the girls’ squad from Kerala, who have won the Youth Nationals for the past three years, including last year’s tournament in Indore. Madhya Pradesh boys’ also won last year’s championships and will be looking to defend their title this time around.

Here is the full list and groupings of participating teams in this year’s tournament.

Boys

Level 1

• Group A: Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Kerala.
• Group B: Delhi, Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Odisha.

Level 2

• Group C: Maharashtra, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir.
• Group D: Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Jharkhand, West Bengal.
• Group E: Karnataka, Chandigarh, Manipur, Tripura.
• Group F: Uttarakhand, Bihar, Mizoram, Puducherry.

Girls

Level 1

• Group A: Kerala, Chhattisgarh, Maharashtra, Delhi, Karnataka.
• Group B: Madhya Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Rajasthan, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh.

Level 2

• Group C: West Bengal, Jammu and Kashmir, Jharkhand.
• Group D: Haryana, Gujarat, Manipur.
• Group E: Himachal Pradesh, Chandigarh, Orissa, Uttarakhand.
• Group F: Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Puducherry, Tripura.

The championship will be held in league-cum-knockout basis. The finals are scheduled for May 7th. Prize money will be awarded to top three teams in both boys and girls divisions as winners take home Rs 75,000, runners-up Rs 50,000 and Rs 25,000 for third place.

Check out the complete schedule and stay connected with the results from the tournament via the BFI website.

3-peat champs Kerala (Girls); Hosts MP (Boys) win 29th Youth Nationals in Indore

On the last day of the 29th Youth National Basketball Championship for Boys & Girls, both the hosts Boys and Girls teams were in action. Madhya Pradesh Boys defeated Delhi in a rematch of the 2011 Finals, while the Madhya Pradesh Girls lost to Kerala, who made it a three-peat by winning the Youth Nationals three times in a row.

Check out the full recap of the games, the final scores, and final standings from the tournament.

Click here to read full feature.

Troy Justice & Zak Penwell to lead BFI's "Train the Trainers" programme in Indore

During the course of the 29th Youth (U16) National Basketball Championship for Boys & Girls in Indore (Madhya Pradesh), the Basketball Federation of India (BFI) will organise a 'Train the Trainers' clinic for coaches who are taking part in the tournament as well as other local coaches in attendance on Friday, October 12. The clinic will be led by Troy Justice, the Senior Director of Basketball Operations of NBA India, and Zak Penwell, National Strength & Conditioning Coach for the BFI.

The clinic will be held from 9:30 AM - 12:30 PM on Friday at the Indoor Basketball Court of the Emerald Heights International School in Indore. This is an open event and all coaches are welcome to attend.

Roopam Sharma, the CEO of BFI, said, “This programme continues our Train the Trainer programme which is essential to the growth of basketball across India. Holding these clinics in conjunction with the National Championships will allow coaches from each state to increase their knowledge, as well as ensure that we conduct clinics across each geographical region of India. The BFI, with the help of the Sports Authority of India (SAI), has procured International Coaches for the purposes of, not only training our National Teams, but also educating the masses to develop the game at all levels.

"I am grateful to both Zak Penwell and Troy Justice for taking the time to come to Indore and conduct this event. I hope all the participants will obtain an immense knowledge and a deeper understanding from this event."

Troy Justice is the Director of Basketball Operations, National Basketball Association (NBA) India. He provides expertise to the NBA India regarding basketball development, operations, administration, personnel and trends.

Zak Penwell is currently the National Strength & Conditioning Coach for the Basketball Federation of India. He is responsible for all aspects of physical development for the Senior and Junior Men's and Women's National Basketball Teams.

The 29th Youth National Championships are being held in Indore from October 6-13, 2012.

29th Youth National Basketball Championship tips off in Indore

24 boys' and 24 girls' teams from across India will be taking part in the 29th Youth National Basketball Championship for Boys & Girls, set to be held in the city of Indore, Madhya Pradesh, from October 6-13, 2012. The tournament, organised by the Basketball Federation of India (BFI), is for under-16 players, and will be held at the Emerald Heights International School in Indore.

The tournament is being organised by the BFI in collaboration with the Madhya Pradesh Basketball Association.

Last year’s championship was held in Nagpur, Maharashtra where the Delhi (Boys) and Kerala (Girls) won. 2012 hosts Madhya Pradesh will look to build on their boys’ 2nd place finish last year.

Matches will be played in one indoor court and two outdoor courts. The format of the Championship will be league cum knockout of Level 1 and 2.

At the onset, Roopam Sharma, CEO of the BFI, said “Basketball Federation of India is delighted to host the 29th Youth National Basketball Championship for Boys and Girls in Indore. The BFI is thankful to the Madhya Pradesh Basketball Association and Emerald Heights International School for rendering their support in organising and hosting the event. The Youth National Championship is aimed at providing the perfect platform for these young boys and girls to showcase their talent and keep them abreast with game strategies and skills required to improve the playing standards of basketball. I am certain that such competitive championships will sustain the interest of youngsters and will nurture, groom and further encourage them to take up basketball as a career option.”

During the event, 25 boys and girls will be scouted and selected to participate in the U-16 National Coaching Camp which will be held subsequently to further enhance their training skills. These 50 players will be receiving the monetary benefits as a part of the BFI’s ongoing program to encourage the talented players. The best amongst the U-16 probables will be further selected to participate in the next a future international competition.

To further develop the game, the BFI has organized NBA India’s Director of Basketball Operations, Troy Justice, and India’s National Strength & Conditioning Coach Zak Penwell, to conduct a coaching clinic for the participating and local coaches October 12th. This is an open event and all coaches are welcome to attend. This initiative is primarily undertaken by the BFI under the Train the Trainers Programme.

29th National Youth Basketball Championship to be held in Indore from Oct 6-13

The finest under-16 basketball players in India will be taking part in the 29th Youth National Basketball Championship for Boys and Girls in the city of Indore in Madhya Pradesh from October 6-13, 2012. The tournament – organised by the Basketball Federation of India (BFI) and the Madhya Pradesh Basketball Association – will be held at the Emerald Heights International School in Rau.

Secretary of the Madhya Pradesh Basketball Association Kulvinder Singh Gill said that the tournament is returning to the city after a period of 11 years.

Over 50 boys and girls teams from dozens of different Indian states will be taking part in this week-long event. Matches will be played in indoor courts.

Last year’s championship was held in the city of Nagpur in Maharashtra. Delhi (Boys) and Kerala (Girls) were last year’s champions and will be looking to defend their titles in Indore.