In Bhutan, only royals had been allowed to take part in the rapidly globalizing sport until now. This shows in the fact that the custom that ordinary people cannot touch royals applies to the basketball court as well, which is probably why Queen Wangchuck put up 34 points, 3 rebounds, and 4 assists in a pick-up game. Other than wacky traditions, the problem that has prevented Bhutan from making an international team is height.
Students at a school in Bhutan play basketball.
Let’s face it: being good at basketball requires more than just skill, it also requires height. Keyong Kim, the newly hired South Korean coach for the Bhutan national team, believes that height cannot be taught in basketball, and he does not intend to try. Mr. Kim’s task is not all that different from the plot of Hoosiers, a movie about an underdog team in a small Indiana town. His focus is on defense, vigorous defense. It’s not surprising because when you have an undersized team, you have to rely on a strong defense; a five-foot tall guy is not going to shoot over a 7’6″ freak of nature. Now that the country is slowly moving in to the 21st century, their traditions are changing. For now, let’s hope Bhutan can get that defense worked out and get their name out there. If you want more information on the Bhutan team and their aspirations, see this:
Image from: http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/2013/10/15/sports/basketball/BHUTAN/BHUTAN-articleLarge.jpg
