Professional League Will Help Basketball In India: Head Coach Of NBA Academy India

11 players from ACG-NBA Jump 2022 will be receiving full scholarships to attend NBA Academy India. From July 14-16, the ACG-Jump National Tryout was conducted, bringing together 30 of India's most promising young players. The ACG-NBA Jump 2022 National Tryout marks the culmination of a nationwide talent search which tipped off on May 21, 2022, at Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium, New Delhi, and visited six cities across India – Delhi, Kottayam, Ludhiana, Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai.  Currently in its sixth edition, the program saw participation from more than 1,600 aspirants.

ACG-NBA Jump is India's first national basketball scouting program that provides aspiring basketball players from across the country with a platform to compete alongside one another, showcase their skills and receive additional basketball development opportunities. As part of the NBA and ACG's commitment to grow basketball in India, the program provides talented young players from around the country an opportunity to develop their skills under the guidance of NBA-certified coaches.

While replying to an NDTV question during a select media interaction regarding this program, Scott Flemming, Head Coach / Technical Director of the NBA Academy India said: "It has been a long process and we have seen a lot of players in these trials. We did our best to bring in top 30 that we saw, not only based just on talent, but also age, intentionally bringing in younger players so that they have the time here. A lot of it, you have to select players on potential as well, not just how they perform right now. I have to think about these players will be 2-3 years later and that is something I worked on when I was a college coach in the US, so lot of these younger players have a lot of potential. I think the program is working."

When asked about the one area where basketball can improve in India, he said: "I have seen it grow, it has been a slow and steady growth. From the first time I came in 2012 and till now, it has grown. I still think and a lot of people agree, and if there was a professional league here, it will help. It is out of my hands; we will see what happens with that. But, there are lot of things we could be doing, the NBA academy, the national team, even grassroots programme that is all getting basketball in front of people. We have two goals -- to promote the NBA and the other is to help baskbetball grow."

Following are the selected prospects for the NBA Academy India: Harjeet Singh (Patiala), Tajinder Bir Singh (Jalandhar), Abhimanyu G (Chennai), Lavish Khanchi (Panipat), Jatin Hooda (Haryana), Mayank Chaudhary (Meerut), Mohammad Ishan (Jaipur), Guremaninder Singh Sandhu (Panipat), Vedansh Ranot (Mohali), Arshneil Dhaliwal (Chandigarh), Dorian Lal Sangmawia (Aizwal)