GMC Club of former Indian basketball stars to play exhibition games in Dubai

Several of India's former basketball stars, including retired big names like CV Sunny and Unwin Antony, will be heading to Dubai next week for exhibition games in an effort to promote the game in the UAE. GulfNews.com reported on Thursday that the team Good Morning Club (GMC) comprising of players who formerly represented India, all-India government organisations and state teams, is scheduled to play vs. teams in Dubai on February 15 and 16.

More reporting by Alaric Gomes via GulfNews.com

“These players have all played basketball at quite a level and our aim now is to have them pass on their invaluable knowledge to youngsters here in the UAE,” Ali T., one of the organisers told Gulf News.
“In recent years, basketball has shown a lot of promise especially in India and we want to cash in on this and further help in the development of the game,” he added.

The tour is being coordinated by the pioneer coaches of grassroot development in the sport in the UAE for the past two decades IBS-UAE, the only registered expat non-profit sports organisation with the Indian Business Council at the Sharjah Chamber of Commerce.

The veteran GMC side takes part in senior state and national age group competitions and in motivational programmes for upcoming talent in India. Their players in this exhibition tour will include former India captain Unwin Antony, former India captain CV Sunny, and former India players Thomas Varghese and George Zachariah. Experienced former state players KM George, Jose Kurian, Jose Joseph, Philip Zachariah, and more will be part of the squad.

GMC will play against All Stars Dubai at the NIMS Dubai Indoor Stadium on February 15 and Beatrice Dubai at DPS Dubai Indoor Hall on February 16.

Hoopdarshan Episode 42: All Star Everything with Indian NBA expert Akshay Manwani

With the 2017 NBA All Star Weekend around the corner, the Hoopdarshan podcast takes a deep (and often ridiculous) dive into the festivities. NBA India expert and best-selling author Akshay Manwani joins co-hosts Kaushik Lakshman and Karan Madhok to talk about the biggest stars at the Weekend like Westbrook, Curry, Durant, Harden, and Kawhi, Warriors/Cavaliers title contentions, Carmelo Anthony trade chatter, and Abhishek Bachchan's on-court skills.

Manwani is a best-selling author of two Cinema-themed books - Sahir Ludhianvi: The People's Poet, and Music, Masti, Modernity: The Cinema of Nasir Husain. He's one of the top NBA experts in India, has written and edited for NBA India, and appeared on TV on the Around the Hoop show.

In Episode 42, Kaushik and Karan also discuss recent Indian basketball headlines, including the news of India hosting two FIBA Asia events this year, the start of the new UBA Basketball League season, and the BFI's cryptic note about starting a professional basketball league in India later this year.



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.

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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NBA announces selected young players for launch of NBA Academy India

In about two months, the NBA will officially kick-off perhaps their grandest project in India, an elite academy in the Delhi-NCR region where they will groom and develop the country's best young basketball players. To populate the first group of youngsters who will join the NBA Academy India, NBA India hosted a final selection programme in Noida this week. On Saturday, February 11, they made the dreams of a few dozen come true with the announcement of the selected young players for the launch of the NBA Academy India.

Back in November, the NBA announced plans to launch NBA Academy India, an elite basketball training centre for the top male and female prospects from India in Delhi-NCR. NBA Academy India, which is the first of its kind in the country, and the NBA’s fifth elite training centre globally, will be fully funded by the NBA. It is set to open in April and will provide 24 young prospects (ages 13-17) high-level training by NBA-affiliated coaches.

As part of the ACG-NBA Jump , the NBA conducted a national scouting programme in Chennai, Delhi, Ludhiana, Kochi, and Kolkata, and then brought the 45 best talents to Jaypee Greens in Greater Noida for the final stage. From February 9-11, the NBA refined their search even more and made their final selection. 21 players joining the first session of the elite Academy were named on Saturday, and three more will be identified over the next few months. The NBA has only picked male players for the first session, and will reportedly add female players in the future, too.

The selected players (via SportStar) are: Manoj Sisodiya, Md. Ali, Riyanshu Negi, Amaan Sandhu, Sejin Mathew, Virat Dhakad, Achintya Krishna, Rajveer Bhati, M. Shanmugam, Shaurya Kohli, Prashant Rawat, Vivek Chauhan, Jagshanbir Singh, Brijesh Tiwari, Arvind Kumar, Robin Banerjee,Digvijay Shekhawat, Preshit Pawar, Suraj Phathak, Parth Sharma and Rishabh Jaiswal.

The prospects at the NBA Academy India will play against top domestic and some international teams. Each centre will feature Under-18 and Under-16 teams, reported Northbridge Times, with travel sides selected for international events. Ultimately, the most promising players at NBA Academy India will be considered for promotion to the NBA Global Academy, which the league recently established in partnership with Basketball Australia in Canberra as an international hub for the training of elite prospects.

"For the youth, it is a pathway to make a career out of the sport. We are committed to growing the program in the years to come", said the NBA India's Managing Director Yannick Colaco.

"The 24 players will now have a solid platform to prepare for the opportunity to move into the professional ranks," said ACG director Karan Singh, "The final pool of players represented the very goal of the program that was to identify, hone and create a pathway for the untapped talent pool of basketball players in India."

Two Indian youngsters in NBA All Star Weekend's Basketball Without Borders Global Camp rosters

The NBA All Star Weekend features the best talent in the world: the NBA's finest and most-popular players, the best shooters, dunkers, dribblers, and the entire larger multiverse of basketball. But in 2015, the All Star Weekend added a taste of the world basketball's future to the festivities, too, with the addition of the Basketball Without Borders (BWB) Global Camp. The camp brings together more than 50 of the most-talented high-school age boys and girls from outside the US to the All Star Weekend for an elite training session and the opportunity to be a part of the All Star experience.

There is good news this year: the rosters of the BWB Global Camp were revealed on Tuesday, and two young Indian basketball players - Priyanka Prabharaka and Aashay Verma - will be among the 67 boys and girls from 32 countries and territories heading to New Orleans for the NBA All Star Weekend from February 17-19.

Priyanka Prabharaka (18) is a 5'10" shooting guard from Nemmara (Kerala) who represented India at the 2016 FIBA Asia U18 Championship for Women in Bangkok. She was an important starter for the team led India in rebounds (8.2 rpg) in the tournament.

Aashay Verma (17) is a 7'1" center from Hyderabad who was chosen by NBA/FIBA to be one of three Indians in last year's BWB Asia camp in Melbourne (Australia). Verma is reportedly new to the game but showed great potential at the camp.

The coaching participants at the All Star BWB Global Camp will include Cheick Diallo (Pelicans), Wayne Ellington (Miami Heat), Justin Holiday (New York Knicks), Meyers Leonard (Portland Trail Blazers), Thon Maker (Milwaukee Bucks) and Emmanuel Mudiay (Denver Nuggets). Current NBA assistant coaches Joe Connelly (Denver Nuggets), Jay Hernandez (Orlando Magic) and Fred Vinson (New Orleans Pelicans), along with Brooklyn Nets scout and NBA D-League Assistant GM Matt Riccardi, will also serve as BWB Global coaches. Patrick Hunt (President of the World Association of Basketball Coaches; Australia), Gersson Rosas (Houston Rockets; Colombia), Marin Sedlacek (Philadelphia 76ers; Serbia) and Masai Ujiri (Toronto Raptors; Nigeria) will serve as camp directors. Former NBA trainer Wally Blase (U.S.) will serve as the camp’s athletic trainer.

More via SLAMOnline.com

Players and coaches will lead the campers through a variety of activities on and off the court, including movement efficiency, positional skill development, shooting and skills competitions, 5-on-5 games, and daily life skills seminars focusing on health, leadership and communication. One boy and one girl will be named BWB Global Camp MVPs at the conclusion of the three-day camp.
The campers will attend the BBVA Compass Rising Stars Challenge, State Farm NBA All-Star Saturday Night, and the 66th NBA All-Star Game at Smoothie King Center.

This camp is a great opportunity for Prabhakara and Verma to learn in the presence of NBA players, coaches, and other great young players from around the world. Hopefully, this experience can help improve their game as their future potential.

UBA Basketball League season 4 to be held in Chennai and Goa from Feb 16

In the space of one year, the United Basketball Alliance of India (UBA India) held three quick, short basketball leagues around the country, holding events in Hyderabad, Bengaluru, and Pune. The rapidly rising association has now announced the dates and host cities for Season 4: for the first time, UBA will be holding official events in two new cities - Chennai and Goa - in the new season, which is set to be held from February 16 to March 16, 2017.

The league is structured as eight teams play a regular season during competing to qualify for the playoffs. The teams are divided into two divisions and feature some of the country’s finest players: The Mumbai Challengers, Delhi Capitals, Haryana Gold and Punjab Steelers form the North Division, and the Chennai Slam, Pune Peshwas, Bengaluru Beast and Hyderabad Sky make up the South Division. The league stage will be held in Chennai's Satyabhama University from February 16 to March 1, before moving to Goa for the championship round (semi-finals and finals) from March 10-16.

Chennai Slam have been the league's most excellent team thus far, qualifying for all three finals and winning Season 1 and 3. The Delhi Capitals paused Chennai's reign with a victory over them in the Season 2 finals. With home advantage in the early stage of the tournament, Chennai will once again be one of the big teams to watch this season. Season 3 finalists Punjab Steelers will be searching for redemption this time around, too.

In December, the UBA hosted its second Pro Performance Camp in Phoenix (USA), where 15 elite UBA players joined American players to take part in various team-building exercises, working on fundamentals, dribbling, defense techniques and shooting drills.

An exciting new addition to the league this season will be the introduction of ten international professionals from the USA to join current UBA teams. These players worked out with the UBA's Indian players in December and will step into the UBA spotlight for the first time this February. At least one international American player will be added on each UBA team, creating stronger competition, performance and a unique experience for the fans of basketball across India.

The most experienced American player coming to India to play in UBA Season 4 is Alex Scales. The 38-year-old shooting guard from the University of Oregan, reached the pinnacle of his career in a one game stint with the San Antonio Spurs in 2005. He has played professionally around the world, including the NBA's D-League, Italy, China, Argentina, Korea, Spain, Greece, Russia, Ukraine, Turkey, Puerto Rico, and most recently, for Tadamon Zouk in Lebanon. Joining Scales will be Indian-American player of Indian origin Chris Solomon, who played college ball in Florida at Northwood University, then professionally in Italy and Mexico. Other American players include Ron March, Pierre Newton, Tevin Kelly, Mak Boskailo, De'Sean Mattox, Jimmy Scroggins, Brendan Pineda-Morales and Dermaine Crockrell.

On announcing Season Four, CEO of United Basketball Alliance, Tommy Fisher said, "We are absolutely elated to raise the game of basketball in India for the fourth season of UBA. Our goal is to always improve in all aspects from the previous season. The past three seasons have shown significant growth and excitement, and we expect nothing less in Season 4. Basketball continues to gain popularity across India in a big way and we are delighted to be associated with this movement in India. We look forward to seeing talented young players step up and showcase their exceptional skill and talent."

Photo courtesy: UBA India

The UBA were recently victims of some controversy when the Basketball Federation of India (BFI) considered them an 'unauthorised competition' and banned 122 players, officials, coaches, and staff who took part in UBA's Season 3 from participating in all official Indian basketball activities. Last month, the BFI's president K. Govindraj hinted that the BFI will be reconsidering the ban with their sub-committee later this year. It remains to be seen if Season 4 participants will face a similar ban, too

You can catch all the action LIVE for the 4th Season on the Ten Sports network channels - Ten 1 HD and Ten 3 from 16th February- 16th March 2017 from Chennai and Goa.

FIBA board recommends change in "No Headgear" policy which affected Indian basketball players

Three years ago, two Indian basketball players - Amritpal Singh and Amjyot Singh - were denied playing against Japan on the opening night of the 2014 FIBA Asia Cup in Wuhan until the two players of Sikh origin removed their turbans. The FIBA officials at this event were only carrying out the international basketball committee's Article 4.4.2, the "No Headgear" rule, which doesn't allow players wearing headgear such as turbans, hijab, kippah, etc. in their official basketball events. Going against their strict religious and cultural traditions, Amritpal and Amjyot took their turbans off to enter the game eventually that night. Later, to avoid further distractions, the two talented stars cut off their long hair altogether.

It was a controversial moment in international basketball, and soon, voices rose in protest the 'No Headgear in India and around the world, until FIBA announced their decision to review this policy, before eventually, choosing to delay a permanent decision in their Central Board meeting in September 2014.

It seems that now, finally, the association has taken a sure step in the right direction. The FIBA's central board announced it supports a change in the 'No Headgear' policy in international competition. The board's recommendation will be considered when FIBA's mid-term Congress meets in May.

Following a meeting of FIBA's Central Board in Switzerland on January 27-28, FIBA said: "After initiating a revision process of the headgear rule (Article 4.4.2) of the Official Basketball Rules in September 2014, the Board received a report on the impact of the exceptions applied on a domestic level during a two-year period. It (the board) favoured a modification of the rule and issued a mandate for the Technical Commission to come forward with a proposal that would allow headgear to be worn safely by athletes. This will be presented to the Mid-Term Congress in May."

Two top American lawmakers who have fought FIBA against this ban have welcomed the move towards ending its "discriminatory" policy. "We're thrilled that the board has endorsed a change that, if adopted, will let Sikhs and other athletes who wear articles of faith play," Joe Crowley and Ami Bera said in a joint statement.

If this policy is removed, it would be a huge boon for Sikh players who had to make a choice between tradition and sport when facing this dilemma. It will also be a huge respite to Muslim players who prefer to play in a hijab - such as Bilqis Abdul-Qaadir, whose story was featured in UNINTERRUPTED's documentary 'FIBA Allow Hijab'.

India internationals Amritpal Singh, Yadwinder Singh, and Amjyot Singh to play in Mizoram Super League this season

UPDATED February 22, 2017

Two of India's top basketball players will be heading North-East next month as the marquee names in season three of the Mizoram Super League (MSL). Superstars Amritpal Singh and the veteran Yadwinder Singh have signed with the MSL team Zarkawt BCA for season three, which is set to begin from March 21, 2017. India's international star Amjyot Singh signed for Tuikual South Basketball Club.

The The MSL was announced by the Mizoram Basketball Association (MBBA) in the state's capital city Aizal in November 2014 and launched early in 2015. Zarkawt's bagging of the two national superstars isn't unprecedented; last year, India internationals Vishesh Bhriguvanshi and Pratham Singh both played for the Tuikual South Basketball Club. The arrivals of Amritpal and Yadwinder makes Zarkawt virtual favourites to win the league in Season 3.

Amritpal Singh has captained India in various international tournaments and has been a linchpin for the national team for several years. He and Amjyot Singh have also played professionally in Japan's BJ Summer League and the Japan's Development League, winning the title in the latter for the Tokyo Excellence. Last year, they declared their names for the NBA's D-League draft but weren't picked. Amjyot is one of India's top players and has been ranked one of the top 3x3 players in the world. Yadwinder Singh has a part of India's national squad for almost a decade and continues to be an important veteran presence off the bench.

While other sports have raced ahead through professional leagues in India, basketball has lagged behind, due to a split within the Basketball Federation of India (BFI), among various other reasons. The MSL is one of the few part-time leagues in the country, the most popular of which is the UBA. The UBA, however, launched their league without full affiliation with the BFI, and the BFI disallowed players associated with India's international/domestic basketball structure from taking part in the UBA League. This is why several players like Bhriguvanshi and Pratham last year and Amritpal and Yadwinder this year have taken for any paying basketball option they could find. Last year, Bhriguvanshi and big man Rikin Pethani also played in a pro league in Maldives.

Mizoram doesn't have a long history of national basketball excellence, but the state does feature passionate support for the game and an eager association looking to get basketball off the ground. Hopefully, the presence of Amjyot, Amritpal and Yadwinder this year can help shine a spotlight on MSL and the other rising basketball talent in the state.

And of course, no such article would be complete without another hopeful nod towards the BFI's own full pro league in India. No matter how many years pass, I'll keep hoping for that big news, one melancholy blog post at a time.