Since he was 16, Hyderabad boy Aashay Verma has been a step ahead of the basketball competition, charting his own path, and often, creating a new one. After starring in the NBA's Global Academy in Australia and numerous international basketball camps, the 7-foot-2, 20-year-old Center has now taken the next big step: Earlier this month, he joined the Butte-Glenn Community College in Oroville, California.
After being first spotted in the ACG-NBA Jump programme at age 16, Verma ended up being recruited to the NBA's Global Academy in Canberra, Australia, where he became a regular part of the Academy's team. Over the past few years, he has taken part in the NBA All Star Weekend's Basketball Without Borders camp and attended the NBA's Global Camp in Italy. In 2018 and 2019, he was invited to the NCAA Next Generation Showcase in San Antonio and Minnesota respectively.
According to the NBA Academy, Verma is now working on earning an NCAA scholarship.
Verma will join the Butte College Roadrunners, who have been the Golden Valley Conference Champions five times in the past ten years, including their most recent title earlier this year. Next season, the team will hope to defend their title, and secure a seventh consecutive trip to the California State Championships to fight for the state title.
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).
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.
