American Basketball coaches to arrive in India on Monday

INVC,,

Delhi,,

After the arrival of Kenny Natt, a world-class basketball coach, in India, two more American coaches signed by the Basketball Federation of India (BFI) – Pete Gaudet and Zak Penwell – will be arriving in India on Monday, June 13th, to begin their term with the Indian National Basketball teams.

A few weeks ago, the BFI announced the appointment of three preeminent American coaches to lead India’s men’s and women’s national basketball teams, and further the BFI’s grassroots growth of the game in India. IMG Reliance, which recently partnered with BFI to develop the sport of basketball in the country, was instrumental in identifying and forging the relationships with this top coaching talent.

The epitome of an accomplished basketball coaching veteran, Pete Gaudet has been in basketball for more than 40 years and brings a wealth of knowledge and experience to the position. He has coached both men and women at the highest levels of American college basketball, including positions at West Point, Duke University, Vanderbilt, and The Ohio State University, and has extensive technical and international basketball experience. While at Duke, Gaudet won 2 NCAA men’s championships and made 7 Final Fours, coaching 8 All-Americans, 3 national players of the year, and 12 NBA draft picks.

As the BFI’s Strength & Conditioning Coach, Zak Penwell will be responsible for developing and implementing specialized nutritional, strength training, and conditioning programs for all Indian national men’s and women’s teams. He will also advise Indian coaches throughout the BFI system to enhance and nurture the development of top basketball talent throughout the country. Penwell comes most recently from Scotland’s Sportscotland Institute of Sport, where he worked with athletes from a range of national teams including swimming, basketball, sprint canoe, judo, rugby, golf, curling, triathlon, and field hockey. Since 2006 he has spent over 40,000 athlete contact hours in the weight room, with over 550 elite collegiate and international-level athletes.  Penwell is a graduate of the U.S. men’s and women’s college basketball power the University of Connecticut, where he earned two degrees from the top Kinesiology program in America.

Kenny Natt, who has been appointed as coach of the Indian Senior Men’s National team, arrived in India a few days ago and has already started training with the Men’s team in New Delhi. For 13 seasons, Kenny Natt was as a coach for the NBA’s Utah Jazz, Cleveland Cavaliers, and Sacramento Kings, including as the head coach of the Kings during the 2008-09 NBA season. The Players coached by Natt include NBA legends John Stockton and Karl Malone, as well as current NBA superstar LeBron James. Natt also had a 3-year NBA playing career with the Indiana Pacers and the Jazz, having been the 7th pick in the 2nd round of the 1980 NBA Draft.

Natt, Gaudet, and Penwell will all be based in Delhi as they work with the players at the Indian Senior National camps in the city.