THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: He is not an exceedingly tall man suggestive of the long-limbed ganglings who hop around the hoop. Troy Justice, the six-feet, two-inch tall, bald-headed former American basket player and NBA coach, however, is warm in his admission of his gait. ‘’Yeah, I know that I am too short to be a basketball player. But I just love this game. I had played this game since my high school days and had even moved around playing in different professional leagues’’. Troy is in the city for a three-day coaching session at Central Stadium jointly organised by Kerala State Sports Council and Kerala Basketball Association. At the moist-laden concrete court of Central stadium, Troy found two things lacking. A twenty-thousand numbering roaring crowd and the likes of seven-feet two-inch tall players; something he misses badly in his life. Yet, he had his share of blast at the coaching camp. He picked up a ball on his thumbs and tossed it over and let it land right above another ball that rested on his fingers. He then swirled them, one ball above the other, his fingers and his eyes both still as ice. An eager battery of players gazed on as Troy switched on from one trick to another like a nimble footed player dribbling past the defence. ‘’This is not just a pack of tricks. These are some things which you pick up as a player. It has got a lot to do with hand-eye co-ordination,’’ he explains hurling the ball into the hoop one after another, each throw backed by clap of hands and not a single one missing the target. The 44-year-old Troy sports a sturdy figure, looking lean and prim in his black sports outfit. He seemed too perfect that a journo could not help but wonder. ‘’You are 44, but you look fit as 22.’’ Troy gaily quips, stroking his shining head.’’ I like that as much as I hate my bald head.’’ ‘Promising’ is how he describes the players at the camp. ‘’They are keen and eager to learn. Also they have a heart to learn from mistakes which is what we expect from a good player’’. Troy Justice who has been in India since 1991 is on his first visit to Kerala and he parts with a vow. ‘’ I will come back. There is a lot that can be done with basketball here. You have got such talent that I will have to come back,’’ he says.
Comments
0 comment