Kerala lad and his NBA dreams

Chennai : Young Kerala basketball player Pranav Prince dreams of being part of the NBA league one day and feels that the stint at (the NBA) Global Academy in Australia would come in handy.

"My visit to Australia was fantastic, it was an unforgettable experience. I got a chance to play with the best players from all over the world.

I learned many new skills and got to know on what aspect of my game I should improve on," the 16-year old from Alappuzha said of his stint at the NBA academy in Australia earlier this month.

"My biggest goal is to play in the NBA, but after finishing my time at the NBA Academy, I am looking to win a scholarship in a US university. If I perform well in the USA college basketball tournaments, then I will have a good chance to play in the NBA," he added.

Pranav Prince, a Point Guard, who has represented Kerala in various national-level tournaments in different age-groups, said the coaches in Australia laid emphasis on fundamentals of the game.

"In Australia, the coaches focus on all fundamentals of the game. In India, the one who scores baskets becomes the main player of the team.

But it shouldn't be like that. Basketball is a team sport and all five players in the team should score baskets, not just one player in the team. I thought this was the biggest difference between practicing in India and Australia," he added.

Theyoung basketballer said he was always encouraged by his father, a taxi driver, to aim for the next level in the game.

Pranav was selected in the NBA Academy (Greater Noida) from among 50 boys who attended the all-India trials in May 2018.