Nelson Isley loves India. And the former basketball player, now an instructor, is optimistic about India excelling in this game.
Isley was in India as part of the International Basketball Federation’s initiative to “educate” the coaches.
“It is called the Coaching Education Course,” Isley told The Hindu . “FIBA is trying to make sure that every country in the world has qualified coaches, especially at Level-1 which is where coaches work with kids from 8 to 14. Level-2 deals with those who are 14 to 16, and Level-3 is for elite coaches who work with national/professional teams.’
According to Isley, 70, India is one of the priority countries for FIBA for a lot of reasons.
“The potential the country has in population, the potential it has in basketball, it’s really started to improve, and the youth have really started to get interested in basketball,” he said.
“For the country to progress it is important to have a lot of grass-roots coaches and that’s the reason why I have been coming here for the last 4-5 years (twice a year).”
Training coaches is an important segment of Isley’s work. “It’s very important for the coach to have knowledge of the game and know how to teach it. His players should get better in practice. The whole goal is to teach the kids the correct way to play. And of course he has to have passion for the game. Basketball coach, especially with the kids, should be a role model. Kids look at him as father-figure,” Isley said.
Isley was all praise for the facilities at the Shiv Nadar School in Noida. “Fantastic infrastructure! This is a school which pushes basketball. The coach here (Kunwar Brahmaditya Singh Panwar) is one of the level-3 coaches we have. He is by far one of the better coaches in the country,” Isley said.
On how the women’s side is shaping up, Isley said: “Indian women’s basketball looks very promising. FIBA is taking special interest. Hopefully we can get India there. I think they perhaps have more potential than men.
“Women’s basketball in India can really have a big impact. I have coached women all my life, and I feel all India needs is two tall girls. The height factor is much more vital in men than women. The Indian girls are fast. They have to be disciplined and aggressive.”
Olympic gold
NBA title or an Olympic gold? “Olympic gold always,” Isley responded with a smile. “Most of American athletes feel the same way. Winning the NBA is tremendous but Olympic gold is Olympic gold. NBA is such a business now. They do a great job of promoting the game. Kids relate to them, want to copy the players they see on the television.
“But there is a difference in the NBA game and the FIBA game, which is the national game. I don’t think they can come together. Not all can get to play in the NBA. Only 400 players from around the world can get into NBA but there is a far greater number playing basketball all over the world.”
