City cager Siya lands in US Joins Life Prep Academy on scholarship
| Date :17-Sep-2020 |
Siya Deodhar (R) with coach Jeff Henry (C) and Ann Mary Zacariah from Kerala at her academy in the US.
Principal Correspondent :
CITY hoopster Siya Deodhar has inched closer to fulfilling her dream of playing the WNBA after she landed in the United States and joined the prestigious Life Prep Academy a few days ago. Though the WNBA dream is quite far, Siya joining the academy in the United States would definitely give her dreams the wings to aim for the highest peak one day. The talented cager from Shivaji Nagar Gymkhana will be becoming first professional basketball player from Nagpur to represent the academy.
A student of Shiv Chhatrapati award winner and former national-level player coach Shatrughna Gokhale, Siya will be representing Wichita Hoops Club which is famous for its world class facilities and has 12 indoor state-of-art basketball courts. The 17-year-old Siya is one of the three girls to have attended three NBA Academy India Women’s high-profile camps which were held in May (2018), January (2019) and October (2019). She had won awards at all the three camps. Siya was ‘Most Improved Player’ in the first camp and then received ‘Team-mate Award’ in the next two editions. Her sterling performance was all for the coaches from United States to pick her for the scholarship in US. Siya got an offer from Life Prep Academy in Wichita, Kansas, USA on July 10, 2020 through the Head Coach Jeff Henry and Blair Hardiek, Global Director, NBA Academy. Coach Henry is also the Director for Next Level Eclipse Basketball, an Adidas-sponsored club team. In August, Siya announced her commitment to play high school basketball at Life Prep Academy.
A student of Centre Point School, Katol Road, Siya represented Mahrashtra basketball team in many national championships. At the age of 16, She was part of senior women Indian camp last year. Siya would be the fourth Indian-born athlete to play high-school basketball in the United States after Asmat Kaur Taunque, Harsimran Kaur, and Ann Mary Zachariah. Siya will be playing with 16-year-old, 6’2 forward Ann Mary, who also announced her commitment to Life Prep Academy. Siya’s rise within the junior ranks has been well documented by her selection to multiple global training and development camps. In April 2019, she was one of seven Indians (four girls) to participate at the NCAA Next Generation Showcase. Similarly, in August last year, Siya was one of four Indians (two girls) at the Basketball Without Border Asia Camp in Tokyo, Japan. Earlier this year, Siya was one of the three Indians (two girls) picked for the Basketball Without Borders Global Camp, held during the 2020 All-Star Weekend in Chicago.