Indian men’s basketball team head coach Scott Flemming on Monday made it clear that his eyes were set on helping his team reach its “full potential” as it gears up for the FIBA Asia Cup 2025, tipping off in Jeddah on Tuesday.
The young Indian side, with an average age of 24, is staring at a daunting task after being grouped with higher-ranked China, Jordan and host Saudi Arabia in Group C.
However, Flemming, who previously had a stint with the team from 2012 to 2015, backed his players’ ability, adding that they are relishing the challenge.
“We are almost always the underdog, and that’s our challenge. But at least we’ve beaten a couple of higher-ranked teams in the recent past. I think that has given us some confidence that we can. When you don’t win at all, it’s tough to gain that confidence, even if you believe in yourself,” Flemming said.
India was winless in its first two qualifying games for the tournament and sat last in its group before Flemming took command again in May 2024. Despite a shaky loss against Qatar in his first game, he managed to encourage the side to a win against better-seeded Kazakhstan in the following match.
In the subsequent playoff tournament for third-placed teams, India managed to win two in two, first against Iraq before edging past Bahrain to book its spot in the Finals.
“We know that we’re the lowest-ranked team in our pool. But, we’re here to win every game, and my job is to just try to get them to their full potential. And then we’ll let the score speak for itself,” he added.
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Pranav Prince, the team’s standout player and leader in efficiency (14.8), points per game (10.9) and rebounds per game (6.9), in the qualifiers, said that Flemming’s return helped the players rewire their usual routine and approach to a game.
“The improvement, I think, was just building habits on and off the court. There were times when we gave up on plays and gave up on ourselves as well,” Pranav said.
“Now, I think the mindset, the structure, everything is totally different. After the coach came, even in practice, we never gave up on anything,” he added.
Pranav is just one of the five who were retained from the squad that lost all three group games and crashed out in the 2022 edition of the continental competition.
Speaking about his selection process and the absence of veterans like Vishesh Bhriguvanshi and Amritpal Singh, Flemming said that his choices were purely based on performance.
“I never make any moves from a political standpoint or who’s from what state or whatever. I’m just trying to put the 12 on the floor that will give us the best chance to win,” Flemming asserted.
“The roster has changed each time that we’ve gone (for the tournament), we don’t always stay with the same 12. It’s like, what have you done for me lately? We have practices and training camps, and they have to earn their way onto these teams,” he added.
With India set to take on Jordan in its opener on Tuesday, Flemming held himself back from giving out any predictions and, with a calm demeanour, said, “I want to win them all. And we’ll go at each game that way.”