Holy moly. The next Yao Ming could come from India. While the country has never had a player play or even be drafted by an NBA team, a 7-foot named Satnam Singh Bhamara apparently has scouts "drooling over his skills." And oh, by the way, he's only 14. Whaaaaat: 7-foot 14-year-old from India is ready to follow in Yao's footsteps.
Seriously, talk about an untapped market. 1.3 million people -- that's not a population you take lightly. A guy like Satnam could mean huge money and exposure in for the NBA, so it's no wonder people have already got their eye on this kid. And hell, he apparently hasn't even stopped growing yet. More here: NBA Awaits Satnam From India, So Big and Athletic at 14.
In a country of 1.3 billion people, 7-foot, 250-pound Satnam Singh Bhamar has become a beacon for basketball hope.
At age 14.
"Satnam could one day do the same thing for India that Yao Ming did in China -- put the spotlight on basketball through an entire country," said Troy Justice, the NBA Director of Basketball Operations in India who has watched him play many times. "It really could be something."
Despite the league's already-strong global flavor today -- there are 84 international players from 38 different countries or territories -- there never has been a player from India on an NBA roster.
Satnam may well be the first a few years from now, opening the door to a monstrous but untapped market.