Satnam Singh documentary "One in a Billion" is now streaming on Netflix worldwide!

Here's a pitch for a movie: a poor farmer's son from rural India learns basketball and becomes the first of a country of 1.3 billion to be drafted into the NBA.

The summary, if this was a piece of fiction, sounds too improbable to be realistic. But the truth is often stranger than fiction, and over the last decade, that story actually took place: Satnam Singh, the son of a farmer from Ballo Ke village in Punjab, used both nature (his size) and nurture (hard work) to make history when the Dallas Mavericks picked him in the 2015 NBA Draft.

Released worldwide to stream on Netflix on December 6, 2016, "One in a Billion" tells Satnam's comprehensive story so far in great detail. The documentary was produced by OBB Pictures and directed by Roman Gackowski. For a year and a half of filming, Gackowski followed Satnam as he finished his time at the IMG Basketball Academy, got drafted to the NBA, and visited his village in Punjab. He also interviewed several close individuals connected with Satnam's story from this childhood, his education, and his professional career.

If you know Indian basketball, you know the ending of the story already. "One in a Billion" takes us back to the beginning. It brings to screen the surreal story behind Satnam's real life. Some of the strongest moments are when the documentary crew follows him into the hinterlands of Punjab as he visits his family, introduces his friends, and lays on the very farm he grew up in. These scenes are juxtaposed with scenes a few months later at the IMG Academy, one of the finest facility of youth sports development around the world. The documentary introduces viewers to Satnam's family, his coaches, teachers, and his agent. We see him direct the way deep into his Punjabi village. We see agent Travis King's pitch to Satnam, we see him visit draft combines and get suited up for the draft, perform at pre-draft workouts with various teams in the NBA.

One of the most powerful scenes in the film is when Satnam - who has struggled in IMG because of his weak English proficiency - realises that his English has now become good enough to converse freely. "I just wanted to keep talking," he says joyfully. Of course, the moment at the Barclay's Center in New York City when NBA Deputy Commissioner drafts Satnam into the NBA is Satnam and the film's crowning moment.

Also featured in the film are individuals who have played a role in the life of Satnam or in basketball at large over the years, including NBA India's former Director of Operations Troy Justice, NBA Commissioner Adam Silver, Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban, IMG Academy Basketball coach Dan Barto, IMG Academy and former India national team coach Kenny Natt, basketball agent Travis King, Secretary-General of Punjab Basketball Association Teja Singh Dhaliwal, owner of the Sacramento Kings Vivek Ranadive, VP of Kings' basketball operations Vlade Divac, Satnam's family, including his father Balbir, and many more. As I have been tracking Satnam's story closely for several years and offer an international perspective on Indian basketball, I was featured in the documentary as well.

Satnam Singh, however, is the of course the star of the documentary. Through old photographs, stories, footage, and the lead-up to draft day, the documentary paints the picture of a young man who stood up to the responsibility of shouldering a moment in history. Satnam says early in the movie, citing the responsibilities his father told he has for his family and India, that "It's a lot!" The documentary shows a humble young man going out into the big world of NBA basketball where everyone except himself seemed to have a well-carved space. Satnam, instead, created his own space, breaking through the giant wall with his 7-foot frame and coming out on the other side as an ever-smiling, ever-vulnerable, gentle giant.

Go and watch "One in a Billion" now! If you already know the story, it will open your eyes to understand the man in the middle, the details of his struggles, and the joy of his triumph. And if you don't know it yet, well, get ready for an inspirational tale, against all the odds, of an Indian star's success.

1st Reliance Foundation Jr NBA Elite National Camp held in Greater Noida with Sim Bhullar

In 2013, the NBA joined hands with the Reliance Foundation to launch the Reliance Foundation Jr NBA programmes in various Indian cities. In the last two years, the programme reached more than one million youth in 1,000 schools in eight cities around the country. Now, the programme ups the ante: earlier this week, the best performers from the programme over the past year were invited to Greater Noida to receive elite level training and impress NBA-affiliated coaches at the 1st Reliance Foundation JR NBA Elite National Camp.

As a major attraction, the NBA's first Indian-origin player Sim Bhullar - who is in India for a promotional and personal trip this week - inaugurated the camp on May 4th at the Jaypee Greens Integrated Sports Complex in Greater Noida. The camp concluded on May 7th with Bhullar returning for the closing.

The Jr NBA Elite camp consists of skills training, competitions, games, fitness training and team building exercises. It is the culmination of the Reliance Foundation Jr NBA programme that promotes health, fitness and an active lifestyle through basketball.

On the opening day of the camp, Bhullar, the 7-foot-5 Center who held a 10-day contract with the Sacramento Kings this season, helped train the top 140 youth players from across India in attendance. According to a report by Ekalavyas, sharing their expertise with the participating youth were men’s national team guard Vishesh Bhriguvanshi, former international players Sambhaji Kadam, Mohit Bhandari, Shiba Maggon, Divya Singh, Sunita Suren, former youth national coach Paramdeep Singh, coach Francisco Garcia, strength and conditioning coach Tommy Heffelfinger, Senior Director Basketball Operations, NBA Troy Justice, Assistant Vice President (AVP) Basketball Operations of NBA China, Greg Stolt, and Senior Director, Basketball Operations of India, Carlos Barroca.

“I am very excited to travel to India to see firsthand how basketball’s popularity has grown and to meet young basketball players across the country,” said Bhullar. “Hopefully sharing my story will help inspire young Indians to pursue their dreams on and off the court, just as I have.”

You can check out fantastic pictures of this camp taken by Adarsh Rao of Ekalavyas here.

Carlos Barroca takes over basketball operations in NBA India, replacing Troy Justice

Over the past 35 years, Carlos Barroca carved up a legendary career as a leader in the game of basketball back in his home nation of Portugal. Now, he gets the opportunity to bring in that experience and leadership qualities to carve up a new legend in India.

The NBA recently announced that Barroca will be taking over as the Senior Director of Basketball Operations for NBA India. A former basketball coach, general manager, television analyst, and ambassador, Barroca will replace Troy Justice, the much-beloved American coach and basketball ambassador who had enjoyed several successful years closely aiding the growth of hoops in India.

Barroca will spearhead the NBA's basketball development initiatives in India, which include training local coaches and players, executing grassroots programmes and working with key basketball stakeholders across India to grow the sport. His 35 years of experience has given him several different roles involved with basketball, mostly in Portugal. During the 2000-2001 season, Barroca served as the head coach of the Portuguese Basketball Federation and the national U-20 squad, and has joined the NBA’s Basketball without Borders programme as a guest coach since 2006. Following his time on the sidelines, Barroca was appointed as National Director of High School Sports Programme and selected as a member of the Supreme Council for Sports as well as the Olympic Committee of Portugal. Barroca also served as a consultant for Adecco, a Swiss HR company, S.A., where he promoted team building and motivation in corporate HR.

Barroca joins the NBA India team at a crucial time: in India, the league is currently involved in various grassroots initiatives to grow the NBA brand as well as the brand of basketball, such as the Reliance Foundation Jr. NBA programme, NBA Jam, and more. The rise of the NBA in India will not be isolated from India's overall improving basketball fortunes, and Barroca will have to keep an eye on the Basketball Federation of India (BFI), the performances of the India's national squads, and the promise of a potential professional basketball league in the future. Meanwhile, India and the NBA have been drawing closer together abroad, too: an NBA team now has an Indian owner (Vivek Ranadive of the Sacramento Kings) who will be visiting India along with the NBA's new commissioner Adam Silver this December. Plus, the same team also made Canadian national Sim Bhullar into the first-ever player of Indian descent to be signed by the NBA.

With so much on their plate, it is an exciting new beginning both for Barroca and for NBA India. But every new beginning signifies an end too; and in this case, it marks the end of a fruitful tenure by Troy Justice as NBA India's basketball operations' senior directory. Justice will join the NBA's Basketball Operations department in New York at the end of September, working closely with each member of the Basketball Operations staff in the regional offices to support their efforts to grow the game of basketball at both the elite and grassroots level. He will also focus on expanding the NBA’s global youth basketball programming through the Jr. NBA/WNBA programme.

In India, Justice will leave behind some big shoes for Barroca to fill. India can be a challenging place for many outsiders, but Justice took to the country's many idiosyncrasies with ease, and soon, became as popular draw across the country's grassroots basketball circles. From Kerala to Mumbai to Punjab and more, Justice traveled the length and breath of India over the past half a dozen years preaching the gospel of hoops. His personal approach to coaching, his acceptance of everything Indian, and of course, his deep knowledge of the game, all made him a fan favourite among both players and coaches in the country.

A personal thank you from my end to Justice for being just the right fit for basketball and for the NBA in India. He got his start in Indian basketball around the same time I did, and I will always remember our initial correspondences and meetings as we worked to help the game rise from the ground up. Of course, I will always remember our little trip to Aman's in Ludhiana for the best butter chicken in Ludhiana, but that's another story for another day.

Good luck to Justice for his endeavours ahead, and a warm welcome to Barroca, who will hopefully continue to expand on the path of his predecessor.

The Indian Lob Pass: How Basketball is becoming an unlikely bridge to India

I wrote this article originally for the India Abroad Magazine and it was first published in their February 14, 2014 edition.

There is no shortage of basketball courts in India. There are courts in high schools, in colleges, in private and public clubs, at YMCAs, at government facilities, and even in some backyards. There are courts in the middle of the mountains and courts by the beach. There are some indoor courts, but mostly, there cement outdoor courts. There are courts that have hosted international basketball tournaments and courts that host parking lots.

The trouble is, there just aren’t that many dedicated players to fill these courts. As a sport that isn’t the government’s top athletic priority, basketball loses almost as many serious players as it attracts. Most quit the game to join that mysterious rat-race called ‘real life’ turning to academics or other sure-shot careers. Many are bullied off the floor by the rabid and overpopulated cricketers, who turn every nook, cranny, gullie, rooftop and basketball court into a cricket pitch. Soon, the sounds of bouncing rubber basketballs are replaced by sounds of willow on cork and leather. And many of those basketball courts go under-used, misused, or simply, unused.

This is something that a man called Vivek Ranadive – born in Mumbai but residing in California – would desperately like to change. Last year, Ranadive, a software entrepreneur and CEO of the billion-dollar company TIBCO, became the first-ever Indian majority-owner of an NBA team when he purchased the Sacramento Kings. As a bidder for the Kings, Ranadive had a very clear vision for basketball: to make it the world’s biggest sport, and to start with his homeland in India, where he believed that the sport is simple enough to spread like wildfire.

"Cricket will always be the national pastime in India," Ranadive said in an interview with NBA.com’s Jared Greenberg, “But if basketball can be a strong second, I think it will be an important step towards my vision of NBA 3.0, making basketball the premier sport of the 21st century. It's already become the fastest-growing sport in India… It's the kind of sport that can be played in a poor country like India; it can be played by one person, by a few people, by boys, by girls, in villages, in cities, you don't need a lot of space for it like you do for cricket. So I fully expect it to be very very popular.”

Within just the first few months of his Kings’ takeover, Ranadive has turned words into action. He has already professed his dream of making the Kings the first NBA team to play an exhibition game in India. The team then went ahead and signed a deal with Indian real-estate company the Krrish Group. Furthermore, the Kings made it clear that they will be announcing several more partnerships with India in the near future.

Meanwhile, back in Sacramento, the first home game for the Kings this season was a celebration for the city in succeeding to team the team in its home since 1985. On the historic night, the franchise also ensured their commitment to reach out to a whole new fanbase. From part-owner Shaquille O’Neal playing cricket to a festival of Bollywood flavours across the arena, the Kings started strong on their promise of becoming “India’s home team”. The Kings also become the NBA’s first-ever team to launch a Hindi website.

Ranadive understands that, to truly capture the imagination of Indian fans, his team has to play exciting and meaningful games on the court, first. Over the last year, there has been a massive increase of live NBA games broadcast back in India, many of which are Kings’ games. Ranadive is also banking on his star player DeMarcus Cousins to become a dominant and popular force, at his adopted home, as well as his homeland.

Other teams in the NBA have followed on a parallel thought-process as Ranadive and correctly identified India and the Indian community as the next market to target for their basketball product, after the success that the game has enjoyed with the other billion-plus population, China. Unlike China, India doesn’t have the same market for the game, a functioning league, or a Yao Ming like home-grown star yet. What they do have is the largest young population in the world. Before he was with the Kings, Ranadive attempted to tap to the Indian audience by hosting ‘Bollywood Nights’ as a minority owner of the Golden State Warriors. Meanwhile in Orlando, the Indian-American Chamber of Commerce have been organizing ‘India Day’ for the past two years for the Orlando Magic. Both events have featured colourful aspects of Indian culture tied in with the NBA.

The NBA has had their eyes on India for a while now. League representatives have been in the country for several years already, holding grassroots events and programmes to raise awareness about basketball and even playing host to dozens of current and former NBA stars that have started to add the country in their travel itineraries. NBA India opened their first office in the country in Mumbai a few years ago, and the league’s iconic former Commissioner – David Stern – made his first visit to India for a charity programme last year. Even after stepping down, Stern is likely to invest time supporting India’s Reliance Foundation to grow the Jr. NBA programme to reach hundreds of thousands of kids in the country.

The onus will now be on Adam Silver, Stern’s successor as NBA Commissioner, to turn the league's ambitions in India into a basketball revolution.

Working from the ground up to construct this revolution have been two very visible faces for NBA India: their Senior Director of Development and Indian-American Akash Jain, and NBA’s Worldwide Senior Director of Basketball Operations Troy Justice.

Unlike some other foreign sports and sporting leagues trying to breakthrough to the Indian market, the NBA has a distinct advantage: India already has a functioning system and culture of organized basketball that goes back almost 80 years.

The Basketball Federation of India (BFI), the governing and controlling body of basketball in the country, was launched in 1950 and has since been the backbone of sport in the country, conducting and associating with national, state, and district level tournaments every year and forming India’s international basketball squads. But it took about six decades of existence before the BFI took their biggest step forward: a sponsoring relationship with the American sports/events management company IMG Worldwide and one of India’s largest conglomerate companies, Reliance, in 2010. Aside from various promotional deals, BFI and IMG-Reliance have also invested in school and college level basketball leagues in India, and made promises of India’s first-ever professional basketball league in the future.

IMG hired Bobby Sharma, an Indian-American who formerly served as the Senior VP of the NBA’s Development League, to take the SVP position for IMG’s global basketball and strategic initiatives. Sharma helped steer IMG’s relationship with Reliance and the BFI in India as he joined the growing list of individuals further strengthening the basketball bridge between India and the States.

The Indian basketball dream is to see the country get more competitive at the international level, make the sport a bigger of the culture and activity among Indians – both recreationally and professionally – and of course, see Indian individuals develop into some the world’s finest players. But before that game-changing player comes around, India will need game-changing coaching.

IMG-Reliance have aggressively sought out interested American and international coaches to bring their expertise to Indian national squads. Over the past four years, former Wheaton College Coach Bill Harris, former WNBA player Tamika Raymond, former NBA Head Coach Kenny Natt, and former Duke University Assistant Pete Gaudet all came to India for short-term coaching tenures, working with the senior teams, young players, as well as other Indian coaches.

Currently, former NBDL Coach Scott Flemming and experienced Spanish Coach Francisco Garcia are working with the Men’s and Women’s team respectively, and both have overseen serious improvement for the national sides. IMG-Reliance also hired American Strength & Conditioning Coach Zak Penwell to be the first such trainer of his expertise ever in India.

From the NBA to IMG and everywhere else in between, all these individuals are weaving together a complex bond of basketball between India and the West, between expertise and potential, between the country where basketball was invented and the country that could be a major player in the game’s future.

For India, that future means more national team success, a functioning and popular pro league, and more interest in the sport on the grassroots level. Perhaps then, all those misused basketball courts could finally be utilized, and India could follow up with the infrastructure to support its world-class ambitions.

Basketball is a team game, where the different individuals on court offer different specialities and skills but merge together as one to accomplish the same goal. The goal in India is to realize the country’s promise as a consumer and a lover of game, and with each passing day, there are more players joining the team to make that promise come true.

BFI, FIBA, & NBA get together to organize basketball coaching certification courses across India

To support the great hall of basketball in India, the game needs the strongest pillars to support it. And three of those pillars - the Basketball Federation of India (BFI), the NBA, and FIBA, have joined hands between December 2013 - February 2014 to bring expert training to India's most influential basketball coaches. These efforts will help build a link so the chosen coaches can then pass on to other coaches and young players across the country, thus lifting the quality of the game nationwide.

120 Indian coaches from four zones around the country will receive the FIBA Level 1 Coaching Certification as well as BFI Certification, thus enriching their knowledge of teaching fundamentals to the youth. The coaches were selected strategically based on the curriculum's content. The curriculum is based on FIBA's “Basketball for Young Players” book & CD for U13-U18 age players.

During the clinics in each zone, experts from FIBA, the BFI, and the NBA are pitting their talents together. FIBA's experienced coaching instructor Nelson Isley and NBA-India's Senior Director of Basketball Operations Troy Justice are conducting the FIBA Level 1 Coaching Certification programme. The BFI's head coaches for India's Senior Men's and Women's team - the American Scott Flemming and the Spaniard Francisco Garcia - will be conducting the BFI Certification Programme.

Representing India's West Zone, the first of the clinics was held in Mumbai - at Don Bosco High School, Matunga - from December 8-14, 2013. New Delhi is currently hosting the courses for the North Zone at the KD Jadhav Indoor Hall from 16-22 December 2013.

In February 2014, cities from India's South and East zones will be chosen to host the certification courses, too - dates and cities are yet to be officially announced.

Speaking from the Coaches Certification programme in New Delhi, FIBA Coaching Instructor Nelson Isley said, “I am very satisfied with the attendance of the Indian coaches at the clinic. They have shown a lot of interest and are open to learning new basketball coaching techniques. It has been a very positive experience for me in India.”

Isley has been associated with FIBA since 2000. He has over 4 decades of coaching experience and conducting national development programmes, and has taught FIBA coaching clinics in Iceland, Mozambique, Swaziland, Nicaragua, Guatamala, Haiti, Spain, Chile, Bolivia, England, Zimbabwe, El Salvador, Tanzania, Ethiopia, Jamaica, Maldives, and Canada among other countries.

Flemming has been Head Coach of India's National Basketball Men's Team for a year. Prior to that, he was Assistant Coach of the Texas Legends in the NBA Development League. Garcia has been India's Women's National team coach for six months, and has 22 years of coaching experience across clubs in various European countries. Justice has spent several years in India spearheading NBA's programmes on grassroots level with coaching clinics, tournaments, and much more.

140 PE teachers attend NBA's Train the Trainers Programme in Kerala

A little over a month ago, the NBA and Reliance Foundation announced a multiyear partnership to launch a comprehensive school-based youth basketball strategy for India: the Reliance Foundation Jr. NBA programme. As part of this programme, a three-day workshop was held at the Rajagiri School in Kalamassery, Kerala, which was attended by 140 Physical Education teachers from around the state.

The PE Teachers were trained by Troy Justice, Senior Director Operations International of NBA in India, along with Australian coach Adrain Newell.

The first year of the Reliance Foundation Jr. NBA Programme in Kerala will operate in more than 100 schools in the districts of Ernakululum, Kottayam, Alappuzha, and parts of Thrissur and Pathanamthitta from Nov 20th to January 8th. 5 international coaches have been recruited for this programme by the NBA and Reliance. Along with them, assistant coaches recruited locally and the trained PE teachers will conduct daily basketball-led physical education classes for grades 4-10 in their schools.

In addition to the in-school portion, select schools will make their courts available four days per week for after-school basketball programsmes comprised of more advanced training and individual skills and team-based competitions. These will include 3x3 and 5x5 competitions, and the top players and teams from each school will be selected to compete in a citywide competition.

A Reliance Foundation Jr. NBA Hot Shot Competition will identify the best shooters in each school to compete in a citywide championship at the end of the program. Kerala for the first time will have the chance to see an NBA or WNBA legend at the end of the programme to work with players and coaches.

Made in India: On a global basketball journey, Eban Hyams wants to be a role model for Indian players

Eban Hyams uses his body as a canvas, as a blank slate completely open to modification, improvement, and to serve as a platform for artistic expression. For a man who is so many things from so many places, each piece of art etched on to his skin serve as a memento of his identity. He's a basketball player and a true multicultural child of the rapidly globalizing world.

And, as the most poignant tattoo on his skin represents, he is - very proudly - an Indian.

Hyams sports a map of India on his left forearm, a reminder of the nation that he proclaims gave him his DNA, and stayed with him through his upbringing and life through Australia, Israel, Singapore, back in India, and now, in the USA. A star of David - signifying his Jewish heritage - has been etched slightly south-west of middle of the tattoo, right at the spot where the city of Pune would be on the Indian geography. 'Made in India', says the label on the tattoo, and the 32-year-old explosive guard proclaims that his truest desire is to help make basketball bigger in the nation that made him.

"When my family migrated to Australia, we had to give up our Indian citizenship," Hyams says, "However it don't change you and where you come from as that's a part of you, your heritage and your DNA. I am very proud to say I am Indian when anyone ask's me and my up bringing in India has made me the person I am today."

If you had been following the story, you would've seen Hyams in practices with the Indian national basketball squad, striving to fit in and help the team succeed, while at the same time, fighting to regain his Indian citizenship and the right to wear the name 'India' on the jersey across his chest. You would've found him touring the country alongside NBA India's Troy Justice, spreading the gospel of hoops to every nook and cranny from Mumbai to Mussooorie, entertaining onlookers with his athleticism and educating young players with his knowledge of the game. And most recently, you would've heard of him getting a run amongst other talented players at the NBDL national invitational tryouts in New York, attempting to make a strong push to become the first Indian to get a shot at an NBA Development League team - with dreams of the NBA itself of course not too far away.

But Hyams story goes deeper and further beyond all that. It's the story of identity, opportunity, some ill-fortune, and some strong comebacks. There are a lot of non-resident Indian basketball players practicing their trade across the globe, wishing for a chance to represent their motherland but never making the necessary sacrifices to fulfill that wish. Hyams was one that came closest to that sacrifice, and now hopes to carry the hopes of a hoops nation even further.

Hyams was born in Pune, Maharashtra to Jewish-Indian parents. Growing up in India, his athletic interests lay elsewhere, in Cricket (like practically every Indian kid) or in Football. But when his mother moved to Sydney, Australia when Hyams was 14, he belatedly found Basketball. "[Basketball] was a sport that most of the multicultural kids played at my school so that was group I fitted in with," Hyams said, "However, I never got picked up on a team as I was not very good at all. I used to spend my time on the sidelines watching. The closest I used to get to the game was collecting basketball cards - I still have my collection in storage!"

But Hyams remained determined to succeed, and began to spend a lot of time at local courts in Sydney improving his game and working on moves that he watched on 'NBA Action'. The hard work paid off and he was picked for his school's second division team. He also took part in a local competition with some friends, and a 45 point-7 assist performance to help his squad win the medal helped him win the attention of a regional team.

"At this time I was very committed to basketball," said Hyams, "For my 17th Birthday I got tickets to a professional basketball game in the NBL (Australian professional league) to watch the Sydney Kings. I remember like it was yesterday. I had goosebumps watching the game and I remember telling myself: I'm going to become a professional basketball player one day."

Hyams starred for the Australian second-division team Penrith Panthers in Sydney of the Australian Basketball Association (ABA) from 1999-2002, but decided that the next step in the journey would be to head West - or East from Australia - and find a college in the USA to play for. After one and a half unsuccessful years of watching and waiting, he finally heard back from Coastal Georgia Community College, who offered him a basketball scholarship. After two years of junior college and playing NJCAA in the states, he returned to Australia, and finally got his big break. Hyams was invited to take part in the 'And 1 Mixtape' tour in Australia against some of the best streetball players in the world. It was here that Eban Hyams uncovered his alter-ego - "Do It All".

After dominating the And 1 circuit, Hyams also returned to the ABA to play for the Hornsby Spider, Sydney Comets, and Bankstown Bruins, and even spent a season in Singapore playing with the Singapore Slingers of the Singaporean NBL. His last season with the Bruins won the attention of Israeli powerhouse club Galil Elyon Goba. A year later, he remained in Israel to play with Binyamenia.

But in 2008, Hyams career took an unwelcome halt. He broke his hand, and due to a misdiagnosis, remained out of the game for eight months. While he returned briefly to play in the ABA in Australia and even represent the Australian contingent at the Goodwill Games in Philippines, he turned his attention back East. Back to his motherland.

Hyams wished to play for India, and was welcomed into the national camps by the then national coach Kenny Natt. Unfortunately, his citizenship status meant that he would have to give in his Australian passport before he became eligible for Indian nationality. A bureaucratic slow drama - of the famously slow pace and frustration that only Indians best understand - was set out in motion.

"As a professional athlete, there is no better honour than to put on a jersey with your country's name and your name on the back," he said, "The pride factor really comes to play when you get the opportunity to do this and you put everything on the line when you are represent your country and your people. I was welcomed with open arms by the coaches and players of the National team and I really felt their hospitality."

A point guard with the ability to score and create for his teammates, Hyams could've been the definite missing piece to India's basketball structure, which has never found a floor general to orchestrate them offensively. He is also a strong defensive player and has the athleticism that could set him miles apart from most Asian challengers. While he was new to the Indian system at first, he showed his potential at practices with the team and gave a hint of what the future could hold if he was able to play alongside the likes of Vishesh Bhriguvanshi, Yadwinder Singh, Amrit Pal Singh, Satnam Singh Bhamara, and the rest.

Unfortunately, ill-fortune struck him again, this time in the form of a pesky, infected mosquito. Three weeks before the 2011 FIBA Asia Championship in Wuhan, Hyams contracted the Dengue Fever in India which hospitalized him and kept him out of action for several months. He left Kenny Natt's camp with his mission uncompleted but with positive memories.

"Kenny Natt is one of the best coaches I have ever played and worked with and I'm so glad I had the opportunity to learn from him in the time I spent with the team," he said, "Every player on the team was very talented and gifted. We were brothers off the court and warriors while competing on the court each day working to get better. My time training with the team is definitely something I will never forget."

Luckily, his efforts weren't completely unrecognized. The NBA had been in India for several years, touring around the nation spreading the good gospel of basketball. The man in the middle of his mission - the untiring Troy Justice - inspired young hoops enthusiasts everywhere he went, and it was the same man who recruited Hyams who assist in the mission alongside him. Hyams was hired by the NBA to manage their basketball operations in India to support and promote the game.

"Working with the NBA was an unforgettable experience," Hyams said, "It never felt like a job as I was doing what I loved and enjoyed, and it was similar to playing basketball professionally. Also getting the chance to work with Troy Justice on a daily bases was a blessing and it was great to be under his mentorship. We had the opportunity to travel around India education coaches, kids and parents about the life benefits from the game of basketball."

Hyams stepped away from administrative and training work for the NBA in India to try out his fortunes as an athlete again. This is the chapter in his life where he now finds himself. He impressed in the NBDL national tryouts in New York, and is now working on his game and his fitness in Los Angeles. He awaits the start of the NBA season, after which the roster spots for the D-League will be determined, and Hyams hopes to find himself in the thick of the action.

"I want to still be playing basketball, whether it is professionally or socially," he says, "I hope to be an ambassador for basketball in India and be able to make an impact in the lives of aspiring young Indian players. Basketball changed my life and opened doors for me so I would like to do the same for young Indian kids who were just like me one day."

"Considering there is no professional league in India yet to inspire kids to play, and there is a shortage in quality infrastructure in the country, the game has still progressed quite well," continues Hyams, "The passion in the players, coaches and fans involved in the game of basketball is amazing. There is so much untapped talent and once the government and other private entities starts to invest more in the game and the athletics we are gonna see a dramatic change in the level of basketball played in the country. We Indians have the DNA to be amazing athletes and great sportsmen. We have so many talented boys and girls who are hungry to get better and have the ability to do it. It's very exciting to see where the sport in the country is going and I'm glad to be a part of it."

Hyams says that he has hopes of getting a chance to play in the USA, or continuing his career in Israel or even China. But his long-term desire - like the desires of so many other basketball fanatics in India - lies in the creation of India's first professional basketball league. The whispers of the league have been getting louder in recent years, but with each two steps that we take towards it, the reality of the league seems to be pushing a further two steps away.

"100 percent - the Indian pro league would be the ideal situation," says Hyams, "It would be fabolous to be a part of it. The future for Basketball in India is very bright and there are going to be so many young talented stars coming from our country.We have to build together and work hard if we want to achieve greatness on the basketball court."

As Hyams' hoops journey continues, we hope that he will get a chance one day to finally hold on to that dream by representing India and bringing his pro dreams - from Australia and Israel via Singapore and the USA - back to India. After all, he already has the country scripted on his skin and the love for basketball built along with the Indianness in his DNA.

3-day Train the Trainers basketball clinic with Troy Justice in Kochi

The Kerala Basketball Association (KBA) along with Regional Sports Center (RSC) will host Kerala's second phase of the Train the Trainers Coaching Clinic in the state over three days from June 24-26 at the Rajiv Gandhi Indoor Stadium in Kadavanthara, Kochi. The clinic will be laed by Troy Justice, the NBA's Senior Director of International Basketball Relations. Phase 1 of the programme back in 2011 attracted over a 100 coaches.

Along with coaches, selected players of the NBA's Generation adidas programme will also attend the clinic to be trained with Justice. Additionally, Justice will also work with the Kerala State Junior Girls basketball team.

The three-day event will include introduction to NBA/FIBA resources to coaches, clinics about different type of defensive coaching options, drills for team offense, NBA/FIBA offensive sets and plays, focused drills on player development, and Q&A sessions with Justice.

The RSC has imported 25 lakh rupees worth of basketball equipment from Germany, including tempered glass backboards, international quality rings, nets, electronic score boards and other electronic material. Justice will unveil the equipment along with PI Sheik Pareeth, the Distric Collector of Ernakulum on June 24.

Dr. S. Subramanian – one of India’s greatest-ever basketball coaches – passes away

When we say that we "live for something", or that we "dedicate our life" towards something, what do we even mean? Do we mean that we aspire day and night to keep that something safe and make that something better? Does it mean we spend a year, 10 years, 20 years, or a whole lifetime guarding and obsessing over that thing? Does we mean that the something for us really is everything?

A lot of us claim that basketball is our something, the one thing that we obsess with day or night, our everything. But only a few truly give the game the dedication that it deserves.

Dr. Sankaran Subramanian - who spent 43 long years as a basketball coach in India, honing and shaping some of our country's best players and helping the game take great strides over the past four decades - is one of the few. Subramanian truly dedicated his life to basketball. Subramanian passed away at 75 years of age in Patiala (Punjab) on the early hours of May 22nd, 2013, but even in absence, his presence will continue to be felt in the legacy that he leaves behind.

Subrananian will go down in history as one of the greatest-ever basketball coaches in India. From 1968 onwards, he had been thoroughly involved in coaching and developing players in Punjab and for the Indian national team. Subramanian was the coach of the Punjab state team, the director and chief of the Ludhiana Basketball Academy (LBA) in Punjab and also the director of the National Institute of Sports in Patiala. He was the man behind half of India's Men's Basketball squad that represented the country in the last FIBA Asia Championship in Wuhan (China) in 2011. He was the man who first honed the skills of Satnam Singh Bhamara, India's 17-year-old 7-footed phenom who is garnering hype to become the future face of Indian basketball. Over the past years, he trained hordes of athletes (at the Senior as well as Junior level) who went on to represent India in FIBA Asia Championships, in Commonwealth Games, Asian Games, and even the Olympics.

Subramanian played basketball for his school and college teams and later joined Indian Air Force in the year 1958. He played in Air Force and Inter-Services Championships and also participated in the National Basketball Championships for three consecutive years from 1964-1967. He took to coaching after that in 1968, working with the Air Force team and with Services and leading them to wins in several national level tournaments. He also briefly coached the Mysore Girls team in the early 70s. He joined NIS in Patiala in 1973 from where he worked to hone several junior and senior players and host national coaching camps at NIS.

Subramanian had been the head coach of the Punjab State teams from 2000-2013, and led them to an era of great dominance in this period, collecting 14 Gold, 13 Silver and 9 Bronze Medals in Sub-Junior, Youth, Junior and Senior National Championships. Under his tutelage, Punjab's Senior Men's team won the National Championship in 2012 and finished as runners-up this year.

He was also a FIBA certified International Referee in basketball and had officiated in many international Tournaments/Championship in India and abroad.

The number of talented stars who had blossomed under his tutelage during this period is too vast to be mentioned here, but some of them include Arjuna Award winner Manmohan Singh, Paramjit Singh, who represented Indian in the 1980 Olympic Basketball team, and Tarlok Singh Sandhu. In India's most recent Men's squad, a record number of six players were developed under Subramanian in his Ludhiana Academy: TJ Sahi, Yadwinder Singh, Jagdeep Singh Bains, Amjyot Singh, Amrit Pal Singh, and of course, Satnam Singh Bhamara. He also trained women's international Kiranjit Kaur, who won gold for India in the 2012 Asian Beach Games.

Anyone who ever delved into the world of Indian hoops came out with a special appreciation for Subramanian's passion for the game and his dedication over four long decades to young players. He was known to be a very disciplined coach but one who also found ways to change this tactics and take risks to get the best out of his players. His ability to find and develop new talent in India is virtually unmatched.

Many have spoken of their appreciation of Subramanian since the news of his demise. India's current basketball head coach Scott Flemming wrote: "So glad I was able to spend time with him this past January in Ludhiana. I was so impressed not only with his coaching background but his passion for helping young athletes." NBA India's Senior Director of Basketball Operations Troy Justice wrote: "He was a father to many of us who knew him. He earned our love and respect through his hard work and passion. He was always there to teach, coach, lead, serve, or whatever it took to to enrich someone else's life. I will always carry the great memories we shared together. There is a special bond when you are together on a basketball court that can never be broken."

The true effect of a coach's brilliance can't be gleaned from the coach himself, but from the players he coaches. For every great player, you know that there is one even greater coach making them who they are. In that spirit, even in Subramanian's absence, we will remain blessed with his greatness going into the future. In players like Sahi, Yadwinder, and Jagdeep, who continue to be the foundation of India's basketball. In young bucks like Satnam, Amjyot, and Amrit Pal, who will carry Subramanian's spirit with them into the bold new future. And in those countless other young players that he has worked with, from superstar internationals to amateurs who found love in basketball.

Basketball in India doesn't bring in much fame, and it surely doesn't bring in that much money. Those who stick with it do it because of the true, uncorrupted love for the game. Subramaniam loved basketball till the very end; and in demise he coaches us all one more time, teaching us how to truly dedicate our lives to that something we love, to the very end.

Woodstock School wins 3rd consecutive Win Mumby Basketball tournament in Mussoorie

Prepare to be blasted with a full force of bias.

I did most of my schooling in Woodstock School in Mussoorie, spending my formative years (10-18) in the boarding school in the Himalayas. I even worked at the school for a year. It was my time here that made me into the basketball fanatic that I am, and, although I was never good enough to play in the Woodstock's basketball team (The Tigers), I was deeply influenced by all of the school's basketball activities. Woodstock's basketball season comes to a heady zenith every spring, when the school organizes the Win Mumby All India Basketball Tournament. Over a dozen of India's top schools from the Mussoorie/Dehradun region, and some from much further like New Delhi, Sanawar, and Patiala, take part in this annual tournament. It's basketball mania at it's best, nestled in the gorgeous surroundings of the Mussoorie mountains.

I was back to witness the Win Mumby in Woodstock this year, and the tournament didn't disappoint, as the Woodstock Boys team lifted the championship for the third consecutive year on Saturday, April 20th, following a convincing win over Welham Boys' School (Dehradun) 67-42 in the Final. Woodstock's captain Matthew Sailo - a tall, dominant senior - was named MVP of the tournament for the second consecutive year. The final turned out to be a much easier affair, especially after the memorable battle for the home team in the Semi-Final round, where they edged Modern School (Delhi) 83-79 behind 45 points by Karan Deol.

In the Girls section, Modern School won the championship for the second year running after beating Welham Girls’ School 39-20. Woodstock’s girls team reached the semi-finals but lost out to Welham Girls.

The 16 teams competing were:

Girls: Welham Girls’ School (Dehradun), Hope Town Girls’ School (Dehradun), The Shri Ram School (Gurgaon), The Lawrence School (Sanawar), Modern School (Delhi), Bluebells School (Delhi), Wynberg Allen School (Mussoorie), Woodstock School (Mussoorie).

Boys: Welham Boys’ School (Dehradun), The Doon School (Dehradun), The Shri Ram School (Gurgaon), Yadavindra Public School (Patiala), Modern School (Delhi), The Asian School (Dehradun), Wynberg Allen School (Mussoorie), Woodstock School (Mussoorie).

Vijay Bahuguna, the Chief Minister of Uttarakhand, was the chief guest at the Win Mumby Basketball Court for the Finals.

Also attending the tournament were representatives from NBA-India, including NBA's Senior Director of International Operations Troy Justice, NBA's Senior Director of Development in India Akash Jain, and Eban Hyams, who is also of NBA-India Operations. Justice gave a talk to the Senior Boys team about applying to US/Canada colleges with their basketball programmes in mind. Hyams put up a special 'dunk performance' for the kids over the past week, too.

Congrats, Tigers! Hopefully our Girls are inching closer to figuring out how to solve the Welham's riddle!

How India invaded the NBA All Star Weekend

No, there are no Indian players in the NBA, much less than players with the elite talent to make it amongst the world’s best that played the NBA All Star Game on February 17^th. But the Indian presence at the world’s largest annual NBA gala got bigger than ever at Houston 2013.

As SLAM Magazine veteran Lang Whitaker noted in his GQcolumn a few days ago, the “All-Star is about basketball, but it's really the biggest industry convention for people who cover the NBA.” Let me add to that point that the weekend (or half a week) is the biggest industry convention for anyone and everyone even loosely connected to the league. Having covered the craziness, excitement, and the superstar overload first hand at the All StarWeekend in Los Angeles two years ago, I can attest that – even though the official events at the Weekend may not be of anything more than exhibition value – it is still the ultimate basketball festival, the centre of the NBA universe.

And with NBA’s interest growing in India (and other Asian/international markets), it was inevitable that India’s interest would grow reciprocally for the NBA…

This year, the NBA held for the first time the ‘Sprite Uncontainable Game’: 22 amateur ‘undiscovered talents’ between the ages of 14-30 were chosen from nine countries around the world to win an all-access trip to the All Star Weekend and play in the ‘Uncontainable Game’. Two young Indian players – Bopanna Pardhana Nanaiah (22) and Akilan Pari (23) – won NBA India’s national3x3 tournament last year and were the lucky two chosen for this event. Thousands of players from Delhi, Hyderabad, Chennai, and Mumbai took part in the NBA 3x events last year, with the Finals held in Mumbai in October.

Players from Canada, China, Estonia, Lithuania, Mexico, Philippines, Puerto Rico, and the United States added flavour to the final international rosters.

Nanaiah (from Kodagu in Karnataka) and Pari (from Pollachi in Tamil Nadu) were divided into ‘Team Intense’ and ‘Team Sudden’ respectively. They were lucky enough to be in the presence of some great NBA players: Team Intense was ‘coached’ by Kobe Bryant, Andrea Bargnani, and Al Horford; while LeBron James, Omri Casspi, and Serge Ibaka were the coaches of Team Sudden.

There were many more familiar faces at Houston last week. NBA India’s Senior Director of Basketball Operations Troy Justice and his young padawan for NBA coaching in India Eban Hyams also soaked in the non-stop action at the weekend. Justice even conducted an NBA Fit clinic with legendary point guard (and my childhood favourite) Gary Payton!

For the past few years, the NBA has invited top representatives of basketball federations from around the world to the All Star Weekend, and India was represented until recent years by former Basketball Federation of India (BFI) CEO Harish Sharma. Sharma passed away last year, but the presence of the federation at NBA’s biggest ‘industry convention’ continues.

And of course, those following the NBA from back home in India would’ve noticed a continuing increase of mainstream media coverage live from the league into Indian daily newspapers, our TV channels, and our webpages. NBA fans in India had their most in-depth look at All Star events ever this year, as both Sony SIX and CNN IBN were on-site, gathering footage and conducting interviews of the weekend’s events.

The Times Group (behind the Times of India newspaper and Times Now) has a digital partnership with the NBA, and have been sending correspondents to cover the league on-site for years. This year, Saibal Bose was there feeding back daily stories from the events. On Saturday, Bose reported that the NBA Commissioner David Stern considers India  a ‘potential basketball giant’, and about how he would like to emulate the success of the IPL to help grow NBA in India. On Sunday, Bose spoke to superstar Kobe Bryant about potentially coming to India, to which Kobe replied: “I am working on my cricket skills.”

I couldn't be in Houston this year, but NBA.com/India handed the baton to fellow hoops-geek Jonathan Rego to cover the Weekend through his Fan Blog daily. Rego’s blog is an entertaining read, following his journey as he met the game’s biggest stars, reported on little-but-important things that the television audiences may have missed, and put into words the indescribable experience of being immersed in the fantastic world of the NBA for the first time!

Beware NBA: the floodgates have opened. And the Indians are coming!

(Now can we get a player good enough to actually play in the league? Please pretty please?) 

NBA India hires Yannick Colaco as managing director

NBA India has hired Yannick Colaco as their Managing Director this week. The Goan Colaco spent the previous ten years of his career working with Nimbus Sport – the company behind Neo Sports/Neo Prime, etc. – and was their Chief Operating Officer from 2009 till recently. Colaco will join a team that includes Senior Director for Development Akash Jain and the omnipresent Senior Director of Basketball Operations / Superhero Troy Justice amongst others in the NBA India office.

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Swami Sri Dunkacharyas: A brief glimpse at NBA players practicing Yoga

Somehow, Yoga, this ancient Indian technique of breathing and body exercises that perhaps began as early as the mid 3rd millennium BC, and basketball, this sport of running and jumping with a rubber ball that began in North America in 1891, seem to be made for each other.

Here is a brief look at how basketball has embraced Yoga!

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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.

David Stern discusses the future of NBA in India

The NBA has grown steadily in India, but there is still a long way to go. NBA Commissioner David Stern spoke about the league’s desire to increase its brand in India, including talks of a Hindi-English NBA website, more television agreements, more NBA tournaments, and potentially, a basketball league in India that bears the NBA name.

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