The National Basketball Association announced plans to open a training facility for top prospects in India — NBA Academy India will focus on instruction for athletes ages 14 to 18 and will be located in the National Capital Region. It is scheduled to begin operation in April 2017 and will provide academic education through a school partnership, reports ESPN.
“Our mission with this academy is to develop and grow basketball in India,” NBA vice president of international basketball operations Brooks Meek said. “It’s focused on improving the level of the players on the national team and to really give a vision to Indian kids that there’s a chance and a pathway for them in basketball.”
By February 2017, representatives from NBA will select the first 24 male scholarship athletes from a series of scouting camps which they plan to hold across the country. The league will also select coaches, scouts and consultants to staff the academy. Once the facility begins operations, top female athletes will be enrolled to train at the academy too.
“The strategy is a holistic approach,” Meek said. “This is off-court and on-court education, all of the things we feel that we want to have a direct impact on influencing the 360-degree development of an elite basketball player.”
