WNBA star Briann January arrives in India for ACG-NBA Jump camp in Mumbai

The search for a diamond in India's populated haystack, for the first player from the country to make an NBA debut, continues this week in Mumbai. The next iteration of the 'ACG-NBA Jump' - a talent search programme organized by NBA India to find the country's best young player for a chance at an NBA D-League tryout - will be held on Saturday, December 12, at the Central Railway Ground in Parel. While dozens of young Indian aspirants are expected to show up to make the final cut of the programme, there will also be a special guest from across the pond to help mentor and inspire the players.

Briann January, point guard for the WNBA's Indiana Fever and a former WNBA champion and All Star, arrived in India early on Friday and is expected to observe the showcase of young talents at the Mumbai leg of the ACG-NBA Jump.

January was a star in college for the Arizona State University and was drafted sixth by the Fever in the 2009 WNBA Draft. She was an essential starter in the Fever side that won the 2012 WNBA championship and was named to her first WNBA All Star Team in 2014. She has also played internationally in Israel and Turkey.

Aside from attending the ACG-Jump camp, I'm sure that January may also be invited to attend other NBA India events in or around Mumbai, like the Reliance Foundation Jr. NBA programme.

The ACG-NBA Jump programme is set to provide basketball players between the ages of 18-22 from around the country the opportunity to develop their skills and one top player from the programme would also receive the opportunity to attend the NBA Development League (NBA D-League) National Tryout in the United States. The programme would be split into three phases. In the first phase, six regional, one-day elite camps will be held in six cities: Delhi (Oct 26), Chandigarh (Nov 21), Hyderabad (Nov 28), Mumbai (Dec 12), Kolkata (Jan 9), and Chennai (Jan 16). The second phase would 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.