For the young hoopsters of the city it was a memorable day for they interacted, played and learnt few invaluable tips from former NBA basketballer Jaja Richards of United States of America on the courts of Andhra Loyola College on Monday.
The Loyola alumni from Chicago spent a couple of hours teaching the nuances of dribbling, throwing the ball from different angles and using both hands while driving in. He is as part of the Basketball Federation of India’s technical camp jointly organised by Lifestyle Media and Vinod Nagubadi Trust.
Interestingly, the celebrity hoopster is married to Ms. Hashi, whose mother Subbarayamma belongs to Prakasam district. They migrated to USA long back. The highlight of the evening was four-year-old son of Mr. Richards who exhibited abundant alacrity while tackling the ball on court.
After retiring from the game, the 42-year-old hoopster was selected as head coach for the ‘Inspire Youth to Play’ programme conceived for the promotion of the game in India with the collaboration of Reliance Foundation and Junior NBA.
“He is every much in demand as coach and mentor and he has travelled all over he coaching and teaching the basic skills to youngsters,” said Krishna District Basketball Association secretary Bose Babu.
Mr Bose, who is making efforts to increase the activity in the city, said that more number of tournaments will be conducted for schools and colleges from the next year.
