32 players chosen from six cities across India will fight for a spot at the National Basketball Association (NBA) D-League National Tryout in the United States, when the national final of a basketball talent hunt program climaxes at the Jaypee Greens, Noida. Besides giving one person a chance to contest for a qualification opportunity at the NBA D-League, the minor league aimed as a kind of feeder to the more prominent NBA league, the endeavour in India will also help the country sharpen its talent pool with ‘intensive coaching’.
This final event will take place from February 22 to February 25, after five months of wading through Indian basketball players in Delhi, Ludhiana, Hyderabad, Mumbai, Chennai and Kolkata. The program, a collaboration between NBA and ACG Worldwide Group (a company dealing with pharmaceutical products), was inaugurated by India-born NBA player Satnam Singh at the Thyagraj Sports Complex in New Delhi.
Sony Six, the sports channel, will create a feature of the winner of the talent hunt until his D-League Tryouts. The player, before the tryouts in June, 2016, will receive training from NBA-certified coaches until that point.
“While one out of the 32 players will get the big opportunity of a national tryout in the NBA D-League, the entire pool will be a part of Elite Talent Club and NBA will monitor their progress on a regular basis,” NBA India Managing Director Yannick Colaco said.
“The final pool of players represents the very goal of the program that was to identify and hone the untapped talent pool of basketball in India. We strongly believe that our partnership with NBA to tap this potential and create a solid platform for the aspirants has found the right beginning,” ACG Director Karan Singh said.
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