Click to play videoNew Delhi: Basketball fans know Dominique Wilkins for his rivalry with the great Michael Jordan. Wilkins is in India these days along with a couple of other NBA stars as part of the ‘Basketball Without Borders’ initiative. CNN-IBN's Himanshu Singhal spoke to Wilkins and Kyle Korver from the Utah in this CNN-IBN exclusive.
Himanshu Singhal: You have interacted with a few kids. What is you impression about the talent pool India has as far as basketball is concerned?
Dominique Wilkins: Well they are very disciplined. There's a really nice pool. The kids really were very attentive. It was a little shock at first to see that many kids. I think even more shocking part is to see quite a few little kids who actually know about basketball and quite a few of them had NBAgers. So that was a pretty nice surprise. But either kids were pretty good players or kids who just played for the first time, to have basketball come over here in this way is pretty big for them.
Himanshu Singhal: In what ways do you think that this whole initiative can help a country like India or kids in India?
Kyle Korver: I think the biggest thing in India is that walking around here you just don't see basketball courts very often. You walk around in America and there are courts everywhere. There are kids playing all time. I think one of biggest things that NBA is trying to do is put up hoops and let kids learn how to play, learn how to shoot. I think once they do that, then really pick it up and see much fun the game is and enjoy it.
Himanshu Singhal: Is it there any one area particularly, specifically where you would like to help the Indian kids?
Kyle Korver: I think the perception here in India is that we are very short so we can't we very good basketball players. But I have played with a lot of guys like Allen Iverson for five years. He was six feet tall. There are a lot of India people out there with that height. Allen Iverson is one of the greatest players. I have played. So I think we can just teach some of the basic, the fundamentals then the kids can pick it up and really enjoy it.
Himanshu Singhal: Dominique what’s the way forward for Indian basketball? Do you think India also needs probably a professional body like the NBA to take the game forward?
Dominique Wilkins: There is talent everywhere you go. Anywhere in the world you go there is talent. It takes programmes to find that talent and help nurse that talent. But it's going to take time and over a period of time you will see more and more Indian players getting involved in basketball.
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