At 14, Could 7-Foot Satnam Launch India's Global Basketball Future?

India and basketball...two words that have never been closely associated.

While the sport has been played in India for decades, basketball has never remotely come close to attracting the interest that cricket (most popular sport) or field hockey (official national sport) have among the Indian population.  All that could change in the next several years.

In the same way that Yao Ming's emergence changed the way China paid attention to basketball, a young, teenage boy from a small Punjab village may initiate a similar impact on the sports landscape of the world's second-most populous country.

Satnam Singh Bhamara is a 7-foot, 250 pound, 14-year-old who is currently training at the IMG Academy in Bradenton, Florida. He came to the United States for the first time less than two months ago, one of 29 student athletes (both male and female in three different sports) from India who will train at the IMG Academy in Bradenton, Fla,. The scholarship program that these students are involved in hopes to further build and advance sports and other interests in the young people of India.

Satnam's size alone makes him a point of interest. However, rather than being a gawky Goliath, he is solidly built and possesses astonishing eye-hand coordination (See YouTube video: "IMG Reliance Scholarship Recipients Training at the IMG Basketball Academy" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pez1sU11hFE&feature=player_embedded). And Satnam may not be done growing. It has been reported that his father, Balbir Singh Bhamara, is 7-2, and his grandmother on his father's side is 6-9.

Dan Barto, director of player development at IMG Basketball Academy, has commented favorably about Satnam's attitude and work ethic, two factors that derail many a talented prodigy. If Satnam continues to pursue this current path, he could not be in a better place to develop. IMG has world-class training facilities where they approach individual development through eight disciplines: physical conditioning, mental conditioning, communication, nutrition, vision, college advantage, life skills and athletic regeneration.

The NBA has been making minor in-roads in the land of 1.3 billion people for close to twenty years. Weekly game broadcasts and live television coverage of the playoffs has given basketball some much needed exposure.

But the sport still remains very much outside the mainstream. Two summers ago, the NBA brought Basketball without Borders to India. While there, Kyle Korver of the Chicago Bulls remarked, "There's a basketball court in every neighborhood in the United States. I've seen three since I've been here--not counting this one."

It appears that Satnam is a good kid who comes from good stock. In an exclusive interview with Senior NBA writer Tim Povtak of www.nba.fanhouse.com, he said, "When I left home, my father told me to work hard, and bring a good name for my family, my village, my country. He is proud. I love basketball, and I am happy to play this game. I want to get better.'' Satnam also indicated that his father "wanted to play basketball, but my grandfather insisted he could not. They were a family of farmers. He had fields to tend."

In chemistry, a catalyst is something that modifies and increases other substances without being consumed in the process. It is my hope that Satnam Singh Bhamara will be that kind of catalyst. I hope he can fulfill his dreams and further establish an amazing sport within his country "without being consumed in the process."