Picking the brain of FIBA Oceania’s Steve Smith

While the basketball competition in the 2005 Palau South Pacific Mini Games is going on, local enthusiasts of the sport could only look forward to next year’s Micronesian Games and the 2007 South Pacific Games, as the CNMI didn’t send any basketball delegation to Koror.

But if FIBA Oceania secretary general Steve Smith is to be believed, the future of CNMI Basketball is pretty bright.

Smith visited the CNMI last June 21 and 22 to sort of touch bases with the sport’s hierarchy on the islands. He also made himself available for an e-mail interview, where the affable basketball official gamely answered questions about how he ranks basketball development in the Commonwealth, his views on “importing” basketball talents from off-island, the state of basketball in the world, and the rise and fall of USA Basketball.

The following in an excerpt of that e-mail interview:

Saipan Tribune: What is your impression of basketball in the CNMI? Could you comment on the officials, facilities, and interest on the sport in general?

Steve Smith: I was very pleased that I had the chance to visit Saipan recently. It is unfortunate that my trip was so short and I was not able to visit outside Saipan. Even my time on Saipan—less than two days—was too short to pretend that I am an expert. Nevertheless, I was very encouraged by the potential I saw for the growth and development of our sport. For a nation of your size, good progress has been made in recent years in developing basketball facilities. The gyms at Marianas High School and Northern Marianas College are very good. The Gilbert C. Ada Gymnasium is also good but as the oldest and hardest working of the gyms on the island, is in need of some “tender loving care”—a bit of a “facelift”—to bring it up to the standard that the people of Saipan deserves. I believe there are future plans to build a gym at Saipan Southern High School. During my meeting with Gov. Juan N. Babauta, he advised that if he were elected for a second term, he would construct three community gyms in the north, center, and south of Saipan. If all these things do happen, Saipan would have an excellent supply of basketball facilities.

With respect to basketball officials, everyone should respect the people within BANMI (Basketball Association of the Northern Mariana Islands) who have put themselves forward and volunteered their time to provide leadership for our sport and to devote time on a volunteer basis. They get few thanks and little reward—only joy in the hearts when things come together, they achieve some success, or they put a smile on a child’s face. So I have great admiration for your BANMI officials and thank them for helping us to grow basketball. I think you presently have on the BANMI board a good mix of talents to help our sport. Ex-players, coaches, referees, people with connections to business and to government. People with international experience, people with administrative, legal, and accounting experience. So you have the ingredients for a successful BANMI.

With respect to the interest in the sport, it seems the CNMI is very lucky—it was clear to me from my brief stay that interest is very high. Young people, adults, masters are all keen on the game and it is pleasing to me to learn that over recent years, the game is holding more appeal to girls and a few more opportunities have been created to allow them to play the game.

ST: How does the CNMI rank in basketball development in the region?

SS: The biggest problem it seems to me for CNMI Basketball is consistency—or rather the lack of it. If BANMI can help in the delivery of a more consistent program, our sport will benefit tremendously. When I talk of consistency, I am really thinking of a regular competition calendar, which has a designated start and finish time for leagues for adults, for youth, for women and for girls. There also should be a regular, “calendarized” all-star game between the best of the leagues BANMI organizes and the Filipino league—just to stir some interest in our sport. We also need regular participation in international events. Don’t tell me it can’t be done, because if baseball can succeed, why can’t basketball?

ST: What does CNMI Basketball need to improve on?

SS: Well, it seems to me to achieve the things I have just talked about requires some planning and that is what BANMI has to make a commitment to. I suggested when I was there for the executives to spend some time thinking about and planning for the future. As part of this process, they need to agree on some priorities and then propose some strategies to achieve their goals. At this point in the process, BANMI should call an open public meeting and invite all basketball “junkies” to come along and hear what the executives would like to do for the future. The basketball fans, players, coaches, referees, sponsors, the Public School System, Division of Sports and Recreation, etc. should be invited to comment on the vision. This meeting will give BANMI some feedback on whether they have the right vision for the future.

ST: And what are the things CNMI Basketball is doing right?

SS: Your great assets are, the popularity of basketball, the good mix of people involved with BANMI, the good work being done by Tony Rogolifoi and his staff, especially Elias Rangamar, and the facilities which are now available and will become available for basketball. Congratulations on providing opportunities for many people to enjoy the pleasure of basketball.

ST: Changing gears now. FIBA Oceania, you said, is interested in developing grassroots basketball. If that’s the case, what’s your take on national teams saving spots or recruiting players from off island who have “roots” on their countries. Does this bode well for the sport and FIBA Oceania?

SS: The selection of a national team is a matter for the federation, in your case BANMI, not for FIBA Oceania. However, we would hope that there is a clearly established and publicly announced strategy, process and timeline for national team selection. The federation should be ready to explain to players, coaches, fans, and the media, why it has decided to include [exclude?] overseas-based players. The explanation should revolve around participation in the national team program being part of the strategy to develop basketball and raise the profile of basketball in the CNMI. Personally, I have no problem, with players who have genuine connections with the CNMI [or any other nation], but who at the moment are outside the country for study, work etc. playing for the CNMI in international competition. At the same time, we would like every young boy or girl who starts playing basketball in the CNMI [and any other nation] to have the dream of someday representing his or her country in international competition. Some Pacific island nations field teams in international competition, which are composed of players who have never lived in the country they are representing. This does not help the development of our sport.

ST: How do you envision the sport in the future? Do you think it would rival soccer—or futball as the rest of the world calls—in the near future?

SS: Football is a hugely successful international sport and as a result, FIFA is a very wealthy and powerful international organization.

I do not think that in the very near future, basketball will grow internationally to rival soccer and that is not our aim.

Basketball is obviously a different game from football. Football is played in a different environment and also holds a different place in the life of people who play, coach, officiate, and come to watch games either live in stadiums around the world or on television and the Internet.

Our challenge as a sport is to make our game as attractive as possible to play and to watch. If we look after these two aspects of our game, the media will follow the players and the fans and then the sponsors will follow the fans and the media.

Basketball cannot do anything about the popularity of football, but it can work on the popularity of basketball. That’s our challenge for the years ahead. I am confident that in the next few years you will see an increase in the worldwide popularity of basketball.

ST: Has the recent debacles experienced by USA Basketball in the international scene prove that the world has really caught up with the birthplace of the sport?

SS: There have been little signs there for a long time but the results of the U.S. men’s teams at the 2002 world championships (6th place) and then the Athens Olympics (3rd) is a very public sign that the rest of the world know how to play this game as well.

But don’t forget the USA women still dominate the women’s game and have done so for a long, long time. I personally think it is good when a sporting result is unpredictable—it really adds to the drama of a sports contest.

So for me, the improvement in world basketball standards is good for our game.

And don’t forget, the USA is not the only country to suffer fluctuating fortunes in recent years. Consider Serbia and Montenegro, gold medallist in Indianapolis in 2002, then two years later in Athens 11th out of 12 teams.