India Men's Basketball Coach Scott Flemming to resign
His term will end after the upcoming second window of the World Cup Asian Qualifiers, where India faces Qatar (Feb 28) and Lebanon (March 3).
In an unexpected development, India Men’s Basketball Coach Scott Flemming has announced his retirement after the upcoming second window of the World Cup 2027 Asian Qualifiers, where India faces Qatar (Feb 28) and Lebanon (March 3).
This was Coach Flemming’s second stint with the national team.
Coach Flemming is arguably the most loved and respected name in Indian basketball over the last 12 years, and his resignation truly marks the end of an era - where the men’s team not only posted historic wins over the likes of China and Angola, but later also found itself at the start of a long rebuild, a process which is underway today.
Here’s Coach Flemming’s full statement:
I am resigning my position as Indian National Coach. It has been 12 years I have committed to working with the players and coaches of India basketball, both with BFI and the NBA. My reasons for leaving are both personal and professional and I desire to return to the U.S. after many years in India. I greatly appreciate the opportunity that BFI has given me, for the second time, to lead the Indian National Team.
While I’ll always wish the team could have done more, I am very proud of our recent accomplishments. Even with a number of obstacles, we won 3 games, 2 over higher ranked opponents, to qualify for the Asia Cup and the World Cup Qualifiers. I believe that is more wins than the 10 years prior. During this time, we moved up 7 positions in the FIBA World Rankings.
In addition, I was able to coach the U18 National Team to a win over higher ranked Lebanon to advance to the second round of the 2024 Asia Cup. Of course, we also have many great memories in my first assignment as national coach, specifically winning the Lusofonia Games Gold Medal and defeating China, in China, for the first time in the Asia Cup.
Beyond that, my greatest joy has been my relationships with the players, coaches, administrators, and all those associated with India basketball. Chawn and I have made so many close friends while serving here and I really can’t imagine our lives without India.
I want to wish BFI and the national team greater success in the future. Because it is a very young team, there is potential to keep improving in the years to come. It is also exciting see the progress ACG has made toward initiating the IBL professional league. This will definitely enhance the growth of basketball in India.
A sincere thank you to all the people that have made this time in India so special. We will always cherish our time, calling it home.
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