The National Basketball Association (NBA) and the ACG Worldwide Group launched a national basketball talent search program called ACG-NBA Jump on Monday.
At the end of it, one player from the programme will get the opportunity to attend an NBA Development league (NBA D-league) tryout in the United States.
Satnam Singh Bhamara, the first Indian-born player to be drafted into the NBA for Dallas Mavericks, inaugurated the program at the Thyagraj Sports Complex on Monday.
The 7’2” centre player said it is a good initiative for the Indian youngsters as it would provide them with great opportunity to showcase their skills in the sport.
“We definitely have talent in India to succeed in basketball,” the 19-year-old said.
Six regional camps will be held for a day in six different cities — Delhi, Chandigarh, Hyderabad, Mumbai, Chennai and Kolkata. 60 top players from each of these regions, with a catchment area of four to five states, will go through skills training, game and talent evaluation.
In the next part of the programme, the top 32 will take part in a four-day camp. An NBA star and international coach would travel to India to conduct the camp.
In the final phase, a top player from the camp will be selected for the tryout for NBA’s D league. Prior to the NBA D league tryout, NBA-certified coaches will work with the selected talent for two months to get him in the best shape before the tryout.