Scouting Report: India

Moniker: Blue Tigers

Qualification: Beat Nepal and Afghanistan in the 2013 SABA Tournament to qualify.

Last FIBA Asia Appearance: 2011 – 1 win & 4 losses – Beat Qatar by default, but lost to Korea, Lebanon, Malaysia, and Indonesia.

Roster:

Name, Age, Height, Position

Sambhaji Kadam, 33, 5’10″, Guard

Narender Kumar Grewal, 25, 6’1″, Guard

Pratham Singh, 22, 6’0″, Guard/Forward

Vinay Kaushik, 22, 6’3″, Forward

Arjun Singh, 21, 6’0″, Guard/Forward

Vishesh Bhriguvanshi, 22, 6’4″, Guard/Forward

Amrit Pal Singh, 22, 6’11″, Center

Joginder Singh, 25, 5’11″, Guard

Amjyot Singh, 21, 6’9″, Center/Forward

Yadwinder Singh, 27, 6’6″, Forward

Rikin Pethani, 23, 6’9″, Forward/Center

Satnam Singh Bhamara, 18, 7’2″, Center

Key Players:

1. Vishesh Bhriguvanshi – Vishesh is the best all-around player for coach Scott Fleming, and he will probably finish among the scoring leaders by the tournament’s end. A gifted slasher and shooter, Vishesh can hang with the best guards in Asia, and now that it seems the team has stronger bigs compared to 2011, he should have even more room to operate at the perimeter.

2. Satnam Singh Bhamara – Satnam has captured the imagination of many Indians in much the same way Yao Ming did for the Chinese in the early 2000s. I highly doubt if Satnam has the skills to break into the NBA one day, but one cannot deny how imposing he is when he is under the basket. He still needs to develop his quickness and footwork, but he has a nice touch around the basket and his defensive timing has greatly improved compared to 2 years ago.

 

Points of Interest:

1. Breakthrough year? – It has long baffled me how a country that is second only to China in terms of population hasn’t been able to find great players to fill the spots on its national basketball team. That problem may have been a thing of the past, though, as coach Fleming has put together a roster that, on paper, seems really balanced. This is the main reason why 2013 might just be the Blue Tigers’ breakthrough year.

2. Potential rising power? – As has been mentioned above, India already has a top-flight guard in Vishesh Bhriguvanshi, and now that big guys like Amjyot Singh, Rikin Pethani, and Amrit Pal Singh have improved significantly, the future looks really bright. If coach Fleming can just find a way to make the Indians play their best on a consistent basis, then this could be the start of something really good.

Tournament Outlook:

I have the Indians beating Thailand and advancing to the second round. They might even have enough to spring to beat Bahrain, though upsetting the Kazakhs might be too tall an order. Once in round 2, however, I doubt if India can make much noise given how strong the Group C teams are. They won’t make the quarterfinals, but they have an outside chance of finishing in the top ten. – Rappler.com