Still hope yet for basketball's future in the UK

I get cynical about UK basketball often but the weekend was one of those great opportunities to see there are some very enthusiastic players from junior level to streetball warriors who are keen on the game, not just the image.

Though Clapham Common looked like it had been hit by a Powerade, ESPN and EA Sports bulk merchandising drop for two days, seeing the excitement of so many players at the appearance of their Chicago Bulls' heroes was worth the product placement. The NBA Cares program also donated a new court surface - bad timing for us as the weather turns worse but it should last for a few years at a good standard.

The main dunk competition was amazing to watch, some of the boys trying some ridiculous moves and hopefully reminding the sluggish crowd that Dwight Howard and LBJ also started out on street courts, so it's worth cheering for a no-name when they have decent skills.
Here's one example:




That was filmed on my phone but still shows the quality. Ok, most of those guys were from Europe but still, Londoners need all the inspiration they can get.

Beyond Sport conference: opening sessions

Photograph: Andrew Couldridge/Action Images

The early sessions at the Beyond Sport conference have provided some inspiring moments.
Compere Kevin Carroll discussed how hiw life "saved by a ball" and how he rose from a disadvantaged background to become head athletic trainer at NBA team the Philadelphia 76ers.

In the first session, former UK Prime Minister Tony Blair described what sport does for us: excites, insipres, promotes tolerance andhelps many get out of a bad home environment. He also said he had learnt the power & limits of government to really develop and promote sport. Lord Puttnam received a round of applause for his points that educating girls creates systemic change and men are respomsible for a majority of the world's problems.
Former NBA star Dikembe Mutombo has journeyed regularly to African countries, including his childhood home in the Democratic Republic of Congo, for the last 18 years to help children develop their social and sporting skills. He said basketball had made it possible for him to open a US$30m dollar hospital in the DRC and admonished FIFA and European football associations for often merely scouting talent in Africa when they could be doing good.
Multi-Olympic gold medallist, swimmer Ian Thorpe, gave a powerful address on his own journey beyond sport, starting a charity at age 18 to help poor and disadvantedg people. He used the speaking opportunity to highlight the major health and socioeconomic problems in Australian Aboriginal communities and said it was disappointing that his own opinion was more important to the media and general public, because of his sports achievements, than that of the experts.

Ball players hit the headlines- but for how long?

As a follow-up to the previous story about British basketball, it is heartening to see the mainstream media being seduced into writing basketball stories on the back of English players' participation in the 2009 NBA Live game and 4 Nations tournament in London this year.

Chicago Bulls star and injury-prone Luol Deng has garnered much of the media attention, though Brit-born Ben Gordon has had the benefit of serious game time in the NBA finals series to boost his profile.

Promoters for NBA Live and 4 Nations need to work out how to steal a sports page from the Sun, Mirror and Daily Mail on a regular basis in an effort to bring basketball into the public consciousness before these major events at the O2. While they are sure to be well-attended – ticket sales for the lower priced seats seem to pick up after each story – the longer-lasting benefits may be lost unless PR and marketing teams work on the ever present problem of grassroots participation.

As mentioned in a previous post, basketball courts around the country are lying dormant or solely used, with either permanent or improved goals at each end, for football. As a local example, I practice at an outdoor court in south London at least once a week and for the first time in six months, found basketball players using it over the weekend. The weather's obviously a factor but it appears people generally aren't learning a love for the game at an early age.

On a disappointing sidenote, the one publication to regularly feature a wide range of sports ended its print run last month.
Opinions are divided on whether Sport rightly earned its title as the UK’s best sport magazine, but in my short experience it featured top-notch writing, interesting picture stories and a determination not to fill its pages solely with football stars, WAGS or poor-performing cricketers.