JIT to send basketball contingent to IMG Academy, Florida
Four JIT players to attend 5-week camp at IMG Academy, Florida, the same facility that trained Satnam Singh, India’s first basketballer to get drafted by an NBA team.
The camp is from 20th June- 23rd July.
Pursuit, the talent management wing of Ekalavyas Consultancy Private Limited, assisted the Managing Director of JIT, Mr N Marie Wilson, to land best possible offer.
Players to be hosted at the IMG Campus and will learn from the best.
JIT contingent which will travel to IMG Academy, Florida. From L to R: Jeyavenkatesh, Muin Bek, JIT Director N. Marie Wilson, Coach Ravishankar, Anantharaj Eswaran, Navas Jaleel
Chennai, 16th June, 2016: The Jeppiaar Institute of Technology (JIT) which is based just outside Chennai, Tamil Nadu, in Sri Perumbadur, is sending four of its best players, along with the head coach, to the world-famous IMG Academy facility in Florida, USA for a five week long training camp. The contingent is set to depart in the wee hours of 17th June from the city.
The training camp is set to start on the 20th of June and will end on the 23rd of July, and the JIT athletes will be provided for at the IMG campus. IMG, based out of the state of Florida is famous for having an incredibly varied and holistic programme for a range of sports. Its basketball programme has produced Satnam Singh Bhamara (drafted by NBA team Dallas Mavericks in 2015 and currently with their D-League Affiliate Texas Legends), Jimmy Butler (Chicago Bulls) and Michael Beasley (Houston Rockets), among other professional athletes.
JIT's Managing Director, N Marie Wilson has always been a fervent proponent of basketball and sport in general and the college as a whole pays a lot of attention to their basketball program. JIT participates in most basketball events/championships and often does well at the State Championships. It is with this in mind that Mr. Wilson approached Vishnu Ravi Shankar, Head of Pursuit, the talent management division of Ekalavyas Consultancy Private Limited. His specific request was a summer camp that his players could attend. After approaching various organizations in USA, Europe and China, Pursuit was able to land the JIT players an offer from IMG Academy.
IMG Academy is a famous name in sports training. Apart from basketball players, athletes like Maria Sharapova (tennis) and Cam Newton (American Football) have trained at their facilities. What programmes like IMG offer is an opportunity for athletes to be in a competitive and healthy environment while they learn skills that will stay with them for a lifetime. Often spoken about by Indian athletes is the fact that the game as it is played here is really so different from how it is played in the either Europe or the United States.
Says Mr Wilson, "The objective is to develop skill sets that will allow the players to compete at the Inter-University and Inter-College levels." He hopes that this turns out to be a pioneering decision, which will be replicated in the future, while also stressing that he would like to prepare the players to play in professional leagues, should such opportunities present themselves.
Muin Bek Hafeez, one of the players making the trip also echoed the same sentiment. "My teammates and I are excited about learning from players and coaches who have experience in the NBA and I hope that this will help me in my career, going forward."
The IMG experience for these players from JIT will be invaluable in teaching them to be more compatible with a different and more strenuous brand of basketball. The technical experts of IMG, with their case-to-case evaluation of players might also be able to offer more of an insight than other coaches in India who might not have the same equipment or time to do so.
Vishnu, of Pursuit, feels quite satisfied with having been able to help the JIT team and Director secure this opportunity to train in Florida. "It’s a great step forward by Mr. Wilson and the management at Jeppiaar. Even 5 weeks at an academy like IMG can do a world of good for young players and help them become future stars." He also said that he hopes that other universities will be able to identify this as an opportunity and will opt for it, going forward.
Members of the Contingent
Sr. No Last Name First Name Designation DOB Place of Birth
(all in Tamil Nadu)
1 Eswaran Anantharaj Player 7/12/1996 Thoothukudi 2 Kothandaraja Jeyavenkatesh Player 15/3/1996 Rajapalayam 3 Jaleel Navas Player 26/9/1998 Poonamalle 4 Hafeez Muin Bek Player 16/3/1996 Dharmapuri 5 Ravishankar Coach 6 Nestor Marie Wilson Managing Director 7 Janaki Raman Prakash
About the Jeppiaar Institute of Technology
Jeppiaar Educational Trust was started in 1987 and it’s stated aim was to promote technical education in India. The trust established Sathyabama Engineering College in 1988 which went on to obtain the status of a University. With a proven record in creating temples of education, they went on to form the Jeppiaar Institute of Technology in 2011. Mr. Marie Wilson, the Director of Jeppiaar Institute of Technology is the president of the Jeppiaar Basketball Club that organizes the Jeppiaar Trophy All-India Basketball Tournament, which was first hosted in 2009. The tournament is meant to attract basketball talent from around the country and allow it to be on display.
For more information visit: www.jeppiaarinstitute.org
About Pursuit
Pursuit is the newly launched talent management and scouting division of Ekalavyas Consultancy Private Limited. The aim is to find and create the right opportunities for budding athletes with the talent and potential to succeed at the international level. Through its grassroots network, Pursuit is able to spot athletic talent from a young age and help them along their playing careers, whether in India or abroad Pursuit is headed by Vishnu Ravi Shankar, who is a Director at Ekalavyas, and hopes to become India’s pre-eminent and pioneering basketball scouting and talent management agency. Pursuit currently represents India’s two leading senior professionals Amjyot Singh and Amritpal Singh (who are currently playing professionally in Japan). Pursuit has also facilitated scholarship opportunities to promising Indian student athletes to study and play in Japan.
For more information visit: www.pursuitindia.com