CHANDIGARH: Only a rare Indian family will stay up late to catch a non-cricketing match live from the United States. A lad from this basketball-crazy Sandhu family in Mohali is keen to be a giant of the game.
The First Love Christian Academy, a private high school in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, is offering Amaan Sandhu,17, a high school scholarship in the US. "I will be a different Amaan Sandhu by the end of my high school," he told TOI before his departure to Pittsburgh.
"I can't wait to start the new chapter of my life. The USA has a strong basketball culture, training, coaching; everything is going to be different. My first focus will be to improve my dribbling and shooting skills," he said.
This year, Sandhu, a student-athlete of NBA Academy India, was one of 64 high school prospects who participated in the sixth annual Basketball Without Borders Global Camp held in Chicago. Of the 40 boys at the camp, he was the only one from India.
"It has been some journey for me. From being an overweight kid to getting a basketball scholarship, it is a big thing and I can't describe it in words. When I joined the NBA Academy in Noida, I was 130kg, and now in two years, I have lost 21 kg," said Amaan.
Motivation is a huge component in making it as a professional player, but many other factors play a part - mentality, coaches, and, most importantly, family. In Amaan's case, his family has driven him to reach more significant goals.
Love for basketball runs in the family. Amaan's father, Gurcharanjeet Sandhu, and sister,
Akarshan Sandhu
, represented India in basketball, while his mother,
Rajinder
Kaur, played the domestic basketball circuit for more than a decade.
Growing up, Amaan faced a unique problem. At 12, his shoe number was 13, and in India, you don't get that size generally. "Don't ask, it was irritating," he said. "My father used to take me to factory outlets in Ludhiana to find shoes my size. Since that would be costly, we'd ask our relatives in Canada to send over a pair, but even that wasn't any cheaper."
With his move to the US, he doesn't have to face this problem again. "No one can imagine the trouble of having big feet, but now, I think, it won't be a problem," said the 6-foot-11-inch boy with a smile on his face.
Sandhu joined the NBA Academy India in 2017 as part of the inaugural class of student-athletes identified through the ACG-NBA Jump Program.
A year ago, Amaan played a vital role in guiding the Punjab team to the junior national title in Patna. He became the youngest member of the Indian basketball team in the FIBA Asia Qualifiers held in Dubai in February this year. "Playing for India will always remain a big priority for me. I will be available to play all the matches if I get selected. To wear the Indian jersey gives you a different feeling," he said.
Interestingly, five years ago, his first coach
Amarjit Singh was not impressed with Amaan when he first saw him at Sports Complex, Sector 42, Chandigarh.
"His father used to train under me during his playing days. One day, he brought Amaan to the court and asked me to train him. I will be honest; I was not impressed. He was a chubby kid. I knew his parents, so I took him in. But beyond my imagination, he improved rapidly, and after his stint with NBA Academy, he is a different player - lighter, fitter, and two notches above. He is my great hope," said Amarjit.
First Love Christian Academy CEO, Nathan Roesing said "Amaan is a top prospect coming out of India that will fit in perfectly with our style of basketball. We will continue to develop Amaan and expand his game as we prepare him for the collegiate level."
The NBA will be a long road for Amaan, but he knows the importance of patience and perseverance and is just off the blocks. "My end goal is to make it to the NBA, but for now, I want to get enrolled in a good university after completing my high school," said the player who idolizes Los Angeles Lakers star
DeMarcus Cousins
.
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