Karthik (via #uberdesi) and Videsh (via Tipster) tip us to these 2 high school aged siblings of Indian origin who possess the height and skills to be future NBA stars. [Yahoo Sports]
Sim, 17, is 7-4, 285 pounds.
Tanveer, only 15, is 7-2, 260 pounds.
Both have solid skills and are developing quickly on the court.
They have a chance to become top college basketball players. They have the opportunity to become national sports heroes in India.
Normally with those kind of physical attributes, either brother would make an ideal center, think Yao Ming or Dwight Howard, from the current crop of centers, for a college team and perhaps even a NBA team. However, it’s what they bring to the board with their skills, that’s wowing scouts.
And while the Bhullars are still growing into their large frames, they both are nimble and have skills to complement their height.
Sim, who just completed his sophomore season, averaged about 16 points, 14 rebounds and eight blocks. He has three-point range and is a strong passer, but he also can run the floor and finish strong with power dunks.
“You just don’t find big guys that agile,” Kiski School head coach Daryn Freedman said. “There’s nothing like him in the country right now.”
Tanveer averaged about 12 points, 11 rebounds and five blocks during his freshman season. He possesses a smooth 15- to 17-foot jumper and has quick feet and soft hands, key attributes to low-post success.
As for their Indian roots, their parents who hail from Amritsar, moved to Toronto and from there to the PA area to, like all good desi parents, provide more opportunities for their children.
The Bhullars’ road to Kiski School is a long one – and started more than two decades ago when their father Avtar (who stands 6-1), moved from Amritsar, India, to Toronto. His wife, the 5-foot-10 Varinder, joined him later.
They had three children – the boys plus older sister Avneet, who attends law school in England.
“They left their home to a whole new country so their future family would have a better life,” Avneet said. “All three of us are very grateful to them.”
Their parents, however, knew that their basketball opportunities were limited in Canada.
The Kiski School – an all-boys, prep school of 210 students located 30 miles east of Pittsburgh and just a six-hour drive from Toronto – turned out to be the perfect combination of academics, location and coaching.
Sim is courting offers from various nationally renowned college basketball programs like West Virginia, Duke, Duquesne, Florida State, Kentucky, LSU, Penn State, Pittsburgh, Stanford, Texas, UMass, USC and Washington State. Oh, but how I wish he would end up a Seminole but distance from their birth place in Toronto is a major factor for the brothers.
More on their long term plans.
The brothers are serious about their future – and would welcome roles as Indian basketball pioneers.
The NBA had players from 36 countries and territories this season, but none from India.
The brothers already have a following. When they visited the Golden Temple, a Sikh spiritual and cultural center, last summer, about 100 people crowded them.
“If I was able to make the NBA,” Sim said, “that would be something big for India.”
We are rooting for the Bhullar brothers to make it to the NBA and have long distinguished careers also.
Looks like you are one of our regular visitors. Here is our RSS feed, just another way to keep up with the new posts.