Indian kids have high fitness levels but needed better facilities, including proper training, to excel in basketball, National Basketball Association legend Robert Reid said on Tuesday.
NEW DELHI: Indian kids have high fitness levels but needed better facilities, including proper training, to excel in basketball, National Basketball Association legend Robert Reid said on Tuesday.
Reid, who was hired by the Directorate of Sports, Punjab, to conduct a three-day interactive sessions with 60 young players and 40 coaches, said he was impressed with the youngsters' dedication.
"I was happy to see the dedication and strong approach of players here. You can easily make them do something. But they need facilities like good trainers, weight training, equipment and good shoes to improve," Reid told mediapersons here.
Reid, who saw a few matches of the recent junior national basketball championship in Ludhiana, said the Indian players must learn the basics like dribbling, passing and shooting while working on nutrition.
"They should learn different skills properly. They should be strong in basics like dribbling, passing and shooting.
"They need to work on the front of nutrition. The Indian doctors are really good and they can suggest what will be nutritious for the players here," he said.
The former Houston Rockets player, who was known as the King of rebound attack, felt coaches in India should try to be more aggressive in defence and refrain from hiding weaker players.
"They need to teach more aggressive defence, protect the ball and keep the ball below the three-point line. They should not hide weaker players," he said.
Reid, with a career spanning for 13 years in the NBA, thought that the initiative by Punjab Sports Directorate needed to be followed up to raise the profile of the sport in India.
The NBA star, who played against the likes of Kareem Abdul Jabbar and Michael Jordan, was overwhelmed with the reception he got in India.
"I am very fortunate to make it to India. I enjoyed every moment here and will speak about my experience at a national players' meet in July," he said.
Punjab Sports Director and former India hockey captain Pargat Singh said his organisation had identified nine sports, including basketball, for development and the whole country would reap the benefits.
"The process of backing different sports will continue. Though Punjab is doing it, the whole country is going to be benefited by it as the coaches will go back to their states and implement what they learnt from such exposure," he said.
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