The 2007 sub-junior basketball Nationals were in progress at Kapurthala, Punjab. FIBA (International Basketball Federation) referee Norman Isaac saw a gangling teenager standing over seven-feet tall.
“He was totally raw, had huge palms, extremely sluggish and even his normal walking style was awkward. A hoarse voice and his abnormal appearance made him so unattractive that he was terribly shy. I really had doubts whether he would go very far,” recalled the FIBA Commissioner.
One man stood rock solid behind the youngster and he really was in the know. After all, S. Subrahmanian was not the Chief National Coach for nothing. It was he who spotted potential in Satnam Singh Bhamra, that boy from Balloke.
After his retirement as Director, Technical, National Institute of Sports (NIS), Subramanian was given the task of scouting the Land of Five Rivers for tall boys for the Punjab Basketball Academy in Ludhiana, which had one indoor and two outdoor courts. Two others, Amjyoth Singh and Amritpal Singh, who were picked along with Satnam, now play in the Japanese league.
Satnam went on to play for Punjab in the junior and youth Nationals. “He was much improved, but there were still many flaws to be ironed out,” said Norman who watched him in action. In 2010 he was identified among four boys under the International Management Group (IMG) Reliance scheme to go to the IMG Academy in Florida.
“The twin tasks of studying and playing sharpened his desire to play in the NBA.
Nor would he miss out the nationals back home, making into the country’ senior squads in 2011 and 2013. Exposure to the game in the US did wonders for him,” observed the seasoned whistle-blower.
“Now that Satnam has made history, the NBA will divert its gaze from China to India for two reasons. Firstly, our country will be seen as a source of talent and secondly as a market for the league’s commercial growth,” said Norman.
