Clarke hopes IBL can revive Indian basketball

Bengaluru: One would think talent is the most important thing in sport. But more than talent, it is the platform to showcase it that makes all the difference.While India has never lacked potential in basketball, the discrepancy between talent and success rate at the highest level doesn’t align. So how does one identify and nurture it into a world-class, eye-catching product? “A National League,” Marty Clarke, Technical Director, High Performance Centre, India Basketball League, told a select media at the HPC. “That’s the big thing that Indian basketball hasn’t been able to maintain, and that’s what’s been missing.”Bengaluru to host FIBA Women’s Basketball League Asia in IndiaTo put together a frustrating puzzle, the Basketball Federation of India (BFI) and AGC Private Sports Limited might have found the “missing” piece: India Basketball League (IBL). The IBL, announced in 2025 and set to get underway in early 2027, is India’s first major professional league. It has been designed to tap into the “enormous” and “passionate” talent pipeline. “IBL is something that is critical for the development of Indian basketball. India has mass numbers, now we’ve got to harness that,” Clarke adds. The former Australian hoopster is sure that IBL will inject quality into the national setup, but admits that the first step is developing individuals. “The function of the league will be the improvement of the national team. But we also want to try and put what one would term an old head on a young body, and that’s a difficult thing to do. That’s my philosophy here.”“We’re way behind when compared to other countries, so we’ve got a lot of work to do quickly to get to that level, but this will be a big piece of India improving in world rankings.”While all things shiny are not new toys, the level of basketball here at the HPC isn’t casual; it involves a structure, carefully crafted and sketched by coaches and tacticians. And that is something not natural to Indian basketball. “The IBL also has a High Performance Centre. We have the national-level players, seniors and emerging ones. You bring the best, put them together, let them headbutt for long enough till everyone gets good.”But that doesn’t guarantee you success at the highest level, admits Clarke. “The national team will not improve right away. That is not how it works because there are other teams out there that have been doing this for much longer. But if we are consistent, there is a definite chance.”“When you look around the rest of the world, they’ve got a national league that runs for four to six months. So why is that important? It builds up competitive resilience. We’ve created the Origins like a mini season. We are trying to produce a mass number of players to put pressure on the national team.”For a league that has been heavily invested in, it leads to the question: Economics or development?“We are starting to develop players, we might have 30 to 40 next year. We hope the league grows, and then there are more teams. But as of now, with six teams, it is more about developing talent. You don’t want to have an eight-team league and have three good teams. So development is the first goal, but it is a delicate balance.”

Source: Deccan Herald