Delhi: The National Basketball Association (NBA) and the ACG Worldwide Group (ACG) today launched ACG-NBA Jump, India’s first national basketball talent search program. As part of the NBA and ACG’s commitment to grow basketball in India, the first-of-its-kind program will provide basketball players from around the country the opportunity to develop their skills under the guidance of NBA-certified coaches. One top player from the ACG-NBA Jump program will receive the opportunity to attend an NBA Development League (NBA D-League) tryout in the United States. Satnam Singh, the first Indian-born player to be drafted into the NBA, tipped off the program at the Thyagraj Sports Complex today in Delhi.
“This is one of the most comprehensive talent identification and development program ever launched for basketball in India,” said NBA India Managing Director Yannick Colaco. “Aside from creating opportunities for basketball players to turn Pro on a global stage, this program will also help raise the skill levels of basketball talent in the country. ACG NBA Jump is going to create aspirations for the millions of basketball playing youth in India who want to make it big in the sport.”
“Promotion of sports and youth development has always been a part of ACG’s CSR vision and this program is an important milestone towards realization of this vision. ,” said ACG Director Karan Singh. “Overarching goal of the program is to identify and hone huge untapped talent pool of basketball in India. We strongly believe that our partnership with NBA to tap this potential can create a solid platform for the aspirants who are talented but do not have access to such platforms. This initiative will also take basketball to almost every corner of India and encourage the youth to take it up as a serious sporting option.”
The program will be spread across in three phases. In the first phase, six regional elite camps will be held for one day in six different cities, i.e., 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.
The phase two will consist of a national elite camp where top 32 players selected across the six regional camps will assemble for a four-day period. An NBA star and international coach would travel to India to conduct the camp. All the players who make it to the national elite camp will become a part of Elite Talent Club of which NBA will track and monitor the progress. Year on year top 32 youth, coming out of this program will be added to this elite club.
The third and the last phase is where the top player from the national elite 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. Besides, NBA will also assess option of sending the player for special development programs abroad.
Sony SIX, the official broadcaster of the program, will create a feature around ACG-NBA Jump, following the program through its various stages and tracking the winner up until his NBA D-league tryout.
The NBA D-League is the NBA’s official minor league, serving to develop players, coaches, and front office executives. Entering its 15th season, the NBA D-League features 19 teams in the U.S. and Canada, each of which is singly-affiliated with an NBA parent club. An all-time high 38% of players on 2014-15 NBA end-of-season rosters boasted NBA D-League experience.
