Waiting to make a mark

Personality:

It is but normal to ponder over what sets Geethu Anna Jose apart from an estimated 50 lakh players of the fairer sex who take up basketball as something more than a mere hobby.

So what does she have that the rest don’t? What skill or added incentive does she possess that puts her on WNBA’s (Womens National Basketball Association) radar while the rest of the basketballing fraternity grapples amongst itself to make a small mark in a huge country?

For starters, Geethu is determined to an extent that seems like an addiction. Secondly, with a heady dose of volleyball growing up in Kottayam, she turned out to be quite an athlete and that is one of the most decisive factors in her move up the ranks.

Apart from how athletically well endowed and driven she is, her ability to train for hours at stretch without ever really complaining, her uncanny knack of getting into the right position to make a shot or gather a rebound, her zeal to run the court no matter what and her muscle-memory propelled right arm which pretty much converts from any point on the wooden floor give her the edge.  The edge that the WNBA was looking for, the edge that could have her play at either the Allstate Arena, Staples Center or the Delta Center in the near future.

What makes its all seem further more surreal is the fact that the 26-year-old centre took up the sport around ten years ago -- it certainly played a huge part while she completed try outs for three of WNBA’s most well known teams last month.

“I never quite expected this kind of a chance to come my way,” said the Indian Railways player, who has guided the team to seven consecutive National basketball championships thus far. “It happened all of a sudden but I think I did well enough during the tryouts. I don’t know if I will get selected or not, that’s entirely up to what they (the teams) think but from my point of view I have performed well.”

“There are few words left for me to express my happiness. Two years ago, I had got a similar offer, but back then I refused to go. I didn’t feel confident in my own fitness to go for this kind of test. I felt a lot of regret about letting an opportunity like that slip. I thought I would never get my chance again but here it is and I’m not concerned about where I go because I think I can fit in with any of the teams,” she added.

Geethu’s first try out was conducted by the Chicago Sky (April 27-28) and their coaching team. After which she flew all the way across to Los Angeles to try out for the Sparks (April 30-May 1). She completed her rather hectic tour with a trip to the San Antonio Silver Stars’ facility (May 3-4).

Reports from the US media -- from LA and San Antonio --  suggest that Geethu stands a good chance of making the roster with a glowing tributes from either sides’ coaches. However, her ‘lack of aggressiveness’ seems to outweigh everything else at this point.

“Everything is different. The way we play and approach the game is so different. They are just so aggressive. And they have the advantage because they start so young, I only started playing when I was around 13. I was not as aggressive as most of them and that was spoken to me about on a number of occasions. I did push myself to get as aggressive as possible,” said Geethu.

The former India captain said that she needed to learn a lot in order to give what teams in the WNBA were looking for. Enter Troy Justice! The Director of Operations for the National Basketball Association in India took it upon himself to train Geethu in Chennai and get her into shape for the trials.

“The training with Troy really helped me in understanding and learning what the WNBA wants from their players. We had a training session in Chennai, it was a short camp but it was worth everything. This sort of a thing needed to be done. I was also in need of getting myself into that mindset. It’s really different there!”

Towards the end of the conversation, Geethu said: “Every time I went to a court, I imagined that I was playing in the WNBA. It’s quite funny when you look back at it but when it comes true, it really makes you wonder. I have some dreams and this is one of the best dreams to have come true. This is not just my dream, this is an Indian dream.” So, let’s all wait with bated breath to see if one of India’s finest ever basketball players makes her mark in the competitive world of the WNBA.