Although Kazakhstan now has the largest Central Asia economy and a large population at 20 million, it still has underdeveloped basketball. Modern facilities are being constructed so more children are expected to be involved. This should bring basketball in Kazakh to the next level.
In 1992, Kazakhstan became a member of FIBA (International Basketball Federation). Ever since then, the best result of the men’s team was a bronze finish at the Busan Asian Games in 2002. Then, at the 2007 FIBA Asia Championship, the team finished fourth. The Kazakhstan women’s basketball team finished on 4 occasions at number 5 in the Asian Games and 4 times at number 6 in the Asia Championship.
It should be known that the country’s main basketball championship league, named National League for Men, only has 5 clubs. This is definitely not enough when it comes to player development and competition. Astana is the leading club and it does have several foreign players. The team also enjoys play time in a regional tournament with teams from Belarus and Russia.
Kazakhstan basketball game attendance is also pretty low because the infrastructure is lacking. Even the before-mentioned Astana is playing games in a velodrome. Seats are far away from the basketball court so watching the game is quite uncomfortable. The National Basketball Federation of Kazakhstan acknowledges the fact that there is no facility that manages to meet the international standards. The entire sport cannot develop properly because of the lack of courts and basketball stadiums.
In 2002, we saw Abay Alpamysov, a reputable businessman in Kazakhstan, becoming the National Basketball Federation’s head. He is a very energetic manager and declared that one of his main priorities is to build sports facilities that can accommodate 3,000 people in all the country’s regions. The goal is to promote the sport and attract both spectators and young athletes.
In order to execute the eager plans, Alpamysov now assembles a team. Dmitry Konov was appointed as advisor. He is a former Russian executive with a high experience in making Russian basketball more popular. Konov is going to have the responsibility of promoting the sport, mainly among teenagers and children in the country. This is supplemented by introducing modern coaching methods for skill enhancements and developing the country’s sports infrastructure.
Konov has been involved in the sport of basketball ever since he was young. He even was a player in the Moscow Student Championship for the MGIMO University. He is a true specialist and oversaw the work done for modernization of facilities in Russia across 9 regions. He also worked on the construction of 6 basketball centres thanks to a partnership with the NBA (National Basketball Association), the main league in Canada and the US, all with the goal of making sure facilities meet the highest possible quality standards.
NBA champions like Brook Lopez (Brooklyn Nets) and Bruce Bowen (San Antonio Spurs) were invited by Konov for facility openings. The basketball stars from the US conducted workshops aimed at promoting the sport for children. In addition, Konov launched several educational programmes for Russian children and coaches.
In one instance, as a Russian Basketball Federation supervisory board member, Konov invited Russian national team coaches to scout younger players, 14 to 16, at the regional basketball centres. Due to this, coaches were able to identify talented players to then invite to organized summer camps. This is where the scouted players could have ended up as being reserves for the national team. Such an approach proved to be very effective as it improved basketball coaching qualifications all across the implemented regions in Russia. Such experience is definitely a welcomed addition for Kazakhstan.
It should be mentioned that Konov is an IMD business school MBA graduate and always was very attentive with sustainability issues. It was his initiative that made Russian Basketball League clubs collect plastics during the matches so that recycling would be made possible. Recycled plastics were actually utilized to make basketballs.
Konov was presented as an important step in the development of basketball in the country. The National Basketball Federation will do all it can to help him apply his managerial approach, together with his innovative thinking.
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