It's hard being a tall teenager. I don't know this from experience, because I didn't break 5 feet until 9th grade, but I've been told that being awkwardly tall when you're preadolescence is torture. So what must life be like for Satnam Singh Bhamra, the 14-year-old kid from India who is 7 feet tall?
As you may have guessed, someone decided that he needed to play basketball. Interesting fun fact- no person from India has been drafted by or even played for an NBA team. So what makes this kid so special? Well, aside from the fact that he's SEVEN FEET TALL already?
"Satnam is on track to be a very, very good long-term basketball player,'' said Dan Barto, director of player development at IMG Basketball Academy, who recently returned from India where he conducted several coaching clinics. "His biggest weakness now is our biggest strength here when it comes to developing players -- neuromuscular firing -- overall body control. His potential is pretty amazing.''
This isn't just some genetic fluke, either. The Satnam Singh Bhamra's dad is two inches taller than him, and his dad's mom is 6' 9". I would imagine the ceilings in their house had to be pretty high. Either that, or they suffered concussions on a regular basis.
So yeah, the Satnam Singh Bhamra is still in his awkward, stages, but apparently he's already pretty thick and strong, and has a few more years of growing ahead of him. As basketball fans know, height isn't everything in the NBA. At least a modicum of skill is required. But for those uber-big guys, that's being generous. If you can stand in front of the basket with your arms up, and you're THAT tall, someone will want you.
For the record, I'm now 5' 6". So no short jokes, please.
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