Fast-rising Indian hoopster Princepal Singh has shown tremendous improvement since he joined NBA 'G' league developmental side Ignite, head coach Brian Shaw said on Tuesday.
Singh, who is a part of Ignite, a one-of-a-kind development team, consisting mostly of NBA Draft prospects from around the world, joined the squad for training in October last year.
"I initially thought of working with him slowly, but he insisted on jumping right in and try and get up to speed with everyone else. Out of all our young guys, he was last to come in but he's worked very hard," Shaw said in a virtual media interaction.
"He's adjusted well, his confidence is very high. He feels good about the work that he's been putting in everyday, just getting better and stronger, building up his stamina," he added.
Shaw feels playing with the others in the team will help Singh improve as a player.
"The competition that he's playing against everyday is a high level competition and that's going to help his game and I have seen a lot of improvement in his game since he got here."
"I don't think he's been playing basketball as long as the guys we have on this team, but I think he's improved the most of all the guys we have here," he added.
The coach said he has been working with Singh, who is not a native English speaker, in developing a non-verbal techniques to communicate on court.
"He's getting stronger, improved his shooting range, learned more about the NBA game. He has extended his range out to the 3-point line. And if he continues the hard work he'll keep improving as a player."
"The biggest thing for him is communication. He can think about the call in Punjabi but how do you think about it in English and it doesn't register right away.
"So, one of the things I said to him was if you can't think of it just make a noise or clap to communicate to your teammates . And that's helped him a lot," he added.
Delighted to be part of the team, Singh said he had to work on his fitness once he got here as he was unable to spend time on court back home due to the lockdown owing to the COVID-19 pandemic.
"When I came here, I was very excited to meet my teammates and coaches. I hadn't been on the court for a while because of the lockdown in India. So I was a little unfit. I worked on my conditioning.
"I have improved in shooting and dribbling, passing sense", he added.
The 20-year-old has is eyes set on playing in the NBA next.
"It is a big thing for me. I wanted to play in the G League. My aim is to do well here and then play in NBA," Singh said.
The NBA G League is schedule to begin here from February 10.
A total of 18 teams, 17 NBA G League teams and G League Ignite, will be participating in the 2021 season.