Hoopdarshan Episode 90: India's rising basketball star Amaan Sandhu on quarantine life and beyond

After spending the last few years 'in the lab', improving his game at the NBA Academy India, 17-year-old 7-footer Amaan Sandhu made his senior national India debut in the winter. In Episode 90 of Hoopdarshan, Kaushik Lakshman and Karan Madhok welcome Sandhu to talk about his rapid improvements, inheriting the hoops-gene from his high-flying father, his plans during the nationwide lockdown, and the world's greatest nickname: Big Baby Punjab.

Originally from Mohali, Sandhu is one of the brightest rising stars in Indian basketball. The 17-year-old product of the NBA Academy India has earned the opportunity to play in NBA Global Camps, NBA Academy Games, Basketball Without Borders Global and Asia events, and most-recently, made his debut in India's senior team in the 2019 South Asian Games and 2020 FIBA Asia Cup Qualifiers.



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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• - Facebook.com/Hoopdarshan 

NBA Global Academy win NBA Academy Games in Australia; India's squad also participated

From July 14-21, some of the top youth basketball prospects from around the world - handpicked by the NBA - converged for an international basketball confluence to Australia for the 2nd NBA Academy Games and Basketball Australia Prospects Camp. Held at the Australian Institute of Sport in Canberra, this tournament/camp featured NBA Academy teams representing Latin America, Africa, China, India, and of course, local Australian prospects.

Participants came from Academies based in Australia, China, India, Mexico and Senegal, along with five teams comprised of 50 top prospects from Australia, including Basketball Australia’s Centre of Excellence team, for a total of 120 prospects from 18 countries. Participants engaged in a series of exhibition games, on-court drills, professional skill development and daily life skills sessions.

At the conclusion of the 'Academy Games' on Saturday, July 21, the NBA Global Academy squad defeated NBA Academy Latin America 79-74. Global Academy had a commanding 18-point lead late in the third quarter before Latin America stormed back to bring the game within one possession late in the fourth quarter. Global Academy’s strong resolve down the stretch helped the champions maintain their lead and secure the victory. Hyunjung Lee of Global Academy scored 21 points to lead all scorers.

The BA Prospects A defeated NBA Academy Africa 77-70 to finish third, led by Brandon Freire (23) and Kobe Williamson (18).

Through thick and thin ✊🏾

A post shared by NBA Academy (@nbaacademy) on Jul 19, 2018 at 6:16am PDT

This year was the NBA Academy India squad's first opportunity to take part in this competition. The squad featured up-and-coming Indian prospects like Amaan Sandhu, Brijesh Tiwari, Riyanshu Negi, Achintya Krishna, Pritish Jitesh Kokate, and more. The team was coached by Jacques Vandescure. Although the Indian team didn't make it too far in the single-elimination knockout stage, they picked up important experience as the youngest squad in the tournament against other international prospects.