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British players and how to grow them by Jez Brown British basketball has a problem, we have no players, or at least that's what you'd think by looking around the leagues. We currently have one player in the NBA (although we're desperately trying to lay claim to a couple of others) and our own league is jam packed with Americans. The truth is that there are British players out there, there's just not enough of them. What we have got in this country though is lots of raw talent. What we haven't got is structure in place in order for this talent to progress. If you take a trip down to your local court you will see kids playing there who have got skills, we just need to find a way to harness and organise this talent and get these kids noticed by the people that matter. The real problem starts well before we get to this stage though. We have to persuade kids to pick up a basketball instead of a football and for them to do this they need role models and heroes. To achieve this, we need more basketball on television. We need more coverage of the NBA because this is the sport at its highest level and this is where heroes are to be found. We also need greater coverage of the British game because there has to be a more attainable, closer to home target for these kids. Once the coverage is in place, we then need to look at the marketing of the game. Basketball in this country is not going to go any further without better marketing. Better marketing of our league should bring in bigger crowds and in turn bring more money into the game. It really is that easy............ So we've now got kids running around in Lakers jerseys instead of Man Utd shirts, what next? There needs to be some sort of structure put in place involving schools, colleges, local teams and as things stand now, the American high schools and colleges. There has to be a path that kids with talent can follow. We also need teachers and coaches that can recognize this talent and who are then able to nurture it. Finally and perhaps easiest of all, we need a televised high profile streetball tournament, such as Rough 'n' Ready to act as a showcase event for all that is good in the British game. You never know, it may even create some British heroes and role-models, something we badly need......... Well there it is, British players and how to grow them. Yes I know it'll probably never happen and that's a crying shame............. |
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