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7-foot Indian-Canadian brothers: Tanveer and Sim Bhullar

  • Thread starter Thread starter AlbionGate
  • Start date Start date
They look freaking huge but #1 not agressive #2 not skilled #3 slow. I still think India would benefit by adding them to the roster, but at this stage they have a LONG way to go.
 
Wow the 7'4 guy has range and plays like Sabonis, India should get these 2 kids ASAP. They'll give Kazakhstan a run for the championships.
 
I heard that Tanveer is 7'2 and is being eyed by Virginia Tech.
 
Since these guys r now playing in U.S high schools, if they have a good coach and work hard on improving their fitness and athleticism these guys could end up in the NBA and would make great centers since they're still young.
 
When basketball players Sim and Tanveer Bhullar visited Saltsburg (Pa.) The Kiski School last summer, they were awestruck at the size of the sprawling, 350-acre campus replete with a golf course, Tudor-style dormitories and hiking trails.

"I was like, 'Wow, this is big,'" Tanveer said.

Others react the same way when they meet them.

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.

"Their potential is unlimited," Joe Lewandowksi, one of their first prominent coaches, said.

Either way, they are determined to get a good education, which is how they ended up at a school in Western Pennsylvania known for a lot of things - but not basketball.

Until now.


The Bhullars dwarf the last notable pair of 7-foot brothers to play basketball together on the high school level - Brook and Robin Lopez, who went from San Joaquin Memorial (Calif.) from 2003-2006 to Stanford to the first-round of the 2008 NBA Draft.


Sim Bhullar
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.

They both have improved immensely at Kiski School under Freedman, a longtime college and NBA assistant who arrived at the school about a month before the Bhullars did. They have since remade their bodies, regularly working out at 5 a.m. with the Kiski wrestling coach.

Sim, who has lost 30 pounds, could not run the court more than two or three times. Tanveer, who started last season as a backup, needed a month before he could dunk after a running start.

And while they both have areas to work on - Tanveer must resist the urge to shoot fadeaway jumpers and improve his foot speed; Sim needs to be a more active rebounder and to maintain his composure after committing a silly foul - there have been glimpses of greatness.

Sim displayed his tantalizing skill during an AAU open gym session featuring top Pittsburgh-area prep players. He stole the ball at half court, dribbled between two defenders and then threw down an acrobatic dunk.

"Everyone was just kind of shocked," Freedman said. "That was the first time I was like, 'Wow, he's really come far.'"

Far is an appropriate term.


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."

The brothers were playing with the Youth Association for Academics, Athletics and Character Education (YAAACE), an inner-city Toronto program for which Lewandowski assists.

Their parents, however, knew that their basketball opportunities were limited in Canada.

Varinder asked Lewandowski if he could help them find an American school where her sons could better develop their basketball ability.

The Bhullars considered other schools, including well-known basketball schools DeMatha (Md.) Catholic and Montrose (Md.) Christian. Then Lewandoski, a former Pittsburgh-area high school coach and player at Slippery Rock University, suggested The Kiski School, where Freedman had just taken over as coach.

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.

Freedman, who has coached at various Division 1 schools and with both the Nets and the Sixers in the NBA, has been a perfect fit.

His background not only allows him to develop the kids as players but prepare them for the recruiting process that's ahead


West Virginia has already offered Sim a scholarship. Duke plans to visit him.

Duquesne, Florida State, Kentucky, LSU, Penn State, Pittsburgh, Stanford, Texas, UMass, USC and Washington State have expressed interest in both brothers.


Tanveer Bhullar
Because Freedman spent eight years as an assistant under John Calipari in college and the pros - "He was my mentor, my coaching idol," Freedman says - some assume Kentucky has the inside track. Freedman just laughs.

"They're going to wind up wherever they want to go," he said. "I know way too many people in basketball to tell a kid where to go... I can't do that. It would be unfair to too many people."

The Bhullars are looking for a strong academic school that excels at developing big men and is close to Toronto. And they'd like to play together.

"If we could," Sim said, "we most likely would do it."

Anyone who has seen them together, understands why.

"Everyone thinks they're twins," Freedman said. "They're really, really tight... They definitely have each other's backs all the time."

Avneet used to drive her brothers to and from a Toronto-area gym. But on the one day that she could not pick them up and the boys had to walk, Tanveer rolled his ankle. Sim's shoulder would later ache because he served as a crutch, supporting Tanveer the whole way home.

"Had it been another older brother, he'd probably laugh at his younger brother for his foolishness," Avneet said via e-mail. "But Sim was more worried than amused for the well-being of his little brother."


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."

That, however, can wait.

This summer will be spent in Canada playing for the AAU team, Team Takeover, and the Canadian national teams.

In 2010-11, the Bhullars will return to a loaded Kiski School squad, which went 16-4 last year and also includes Serbian Stefan Jankovic, a super-talented 6-9 forward who grew up in Toronto.

It's reason enough for Freedman to be thrilled with his career move.

"I love this," he said. "It's just such a great situation.

"I have no interest right now in going back to college."

Why should he? With a pair of brothers such as the Bhullars, the colleges will be coming to him.
Click to expand...

http://highschool.rivals.com/content.asp?CID=1087336
 
Sim Bhullar hearing from High Majors

Sim Bhullar hearing from High Majors

At 7-4, Sim Bhullar doesn't exactly know what it's like to fly under the radar. When he enters the gym at an AAU event, he ducks underneath the door and all eyes immediately flock to him. It's not just his size that have people drawn, his game has been doing a lot of talking as well. He's increased his mobility, been outstanding in the middle of Team Takeover Canada's 2-3 zone, shown range on his jump shot, and played like a school yard bully; dunking on anyone who gets in his way. So far in the spring Sim's been outstanding at every stop. Whether it be Pitt Jam Fest, the King James Shooting Stars Classic, or the Nike Baltimore Elite Invitational, the buzz has certainly been there. With all the new exsposure created by media outlets and scouting services during the closed period, it's no surprise that schools have started doing their homework and taking interest.

I talked with Sim earlier today and he told me he's heard from Georgetown, USC, Washington State, Texas, Penn State, Duke, Syracuse, Villanova, Maryland, Stanford, Cornell, and Kentucky. He also holds an offer from West Virginia.

He also told me he plans to attend the Kentucky Elite Camp this summer.

So what's Sim's game plan for making a decision? According to Sim "I'm just going to play AAU this summer and let everything happen. I'll start taking visits after the summer throughout my Junior year."

When the open period in July begins you can be rest assured that coaches will be at his games doing their due diligence. If he continues to protect the rim, hit the glass, and run the floor…… coaches will be lining up next year to get him on their campuses.
Click to expand...

http://www.flagrantfouls.com/2010/05/sim-bhullar-hearing-from-high-majors/
 
sinobball said:
They look freaking huge but #1 not agressive #2 not skilled #3 slow. I still think India would benefit by adding them to the roster, but at this stage they have a LONG way to go.
Click to expand...
Sure they're slow, but not much slower than Haddadi for example.
 
Hi guys,
Been lurking for a while, just joined today on my b'day. I wanted to give a heads up about the Bhullar bros. They're both suiting up for Canada this summer for their respective U16 and U17 teams. I've been posting about them on the Gonzaga board, as we really recruit the top Canadian kids, and these guys are starting to blow up. I'll repost the latest news here:

The latest blurb on Sim from the Pangos camp:

• Sim Bhullar (Saltsburg, Pa./Kiski), a 7-3 sophomore, has as much upside as any prospect that was at the camp. He converted a number of plays around the rim with remarkable agility and terrific hands. He is more mobile (decent feet) than most realize and he has terrific hands. Bhullar converted a number of plays around the rim with remarkable agility, considering his youth.

http://insider.espn.go.com/ncb/recru...t= http%3a%2f

%2finsider.espn.go.com%2fncb%2frecruiting%2ftracke r%2fplayer%3frecruitId%3d103322

http://sports.espn.go.com/ncaa/recru...ory?id=5259917
Reply With Quote
 
thespywhozaggedme said:
Hi guys,
Been lurking for a while, just joined today on my b'day. I wanted to give a heads up about the Bhullar bros. They're both suiting up for Canada this summer for their respective U16 and U17 teams
Click to expand...

Yes, they are both suiting up for Canada, but not for their respective U16 & U17.

Sim will play for the U18 team (Americas Championship), while Tanveer will play for the U17 (World Championship).

BTW, some indian olympic committee officials should kill themselves. They are the ones who create that silly law that prevent Bhullar bros to play for India.
 
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albiongate said:
Yes, they are both suiting up for Canada, but not for their respective U16 & U17.

Sim will play for the U18 team (Americas Championship), while Tanveer will play for the U17 (World Championship).
Click to expand...

Yeah, that's what I meant.
 
The seventh wonders
Matthew Coutts, National Post · Tuesday, Jun. 15, 2010

TORONTO — It was the first day of Canada Basketball tryouts and Sim Bhullar had survived about 30 minutes of a regimen designed to bust ankles and break sweat.

Seventeen junior team hopefuls were running sharp cuts the length of the court at a practice last week and Bhullar was lagging noticeably. Endurance and footwork are not his strong traits. Watching the behemoth 7-foot-4 teenager carry his 285-pound body 80 feet is exhausting in itself.

Eventually the drills changed focus, moved under the basket and Bhullar was in his element. His opponent, leaning against him like a wall, received a pass and made a move around the imposing centre. When the shot went up, Bhullar effortlessly pushed the ball aside.

For Canada's basketball program, Sim's height makes him a rare commodity. Even more rare is that it has come to them twice. Sim's brother Tanveer, at 7-foot-2, is trying out with Canada's cadet team for players under 17 years old.

"They are talented players; it's not like they are bereft of skills," Roy Rana, the cadet team's head coach, said recently. "They have a good foundation to work from. And the size is unique. They are among the biggest people on the planet. They are big, big people."

There is a saying in basketball circles: You can't teach size.

You can't teach players to have skyscraping height or the bulk of a tractor-trailer to park under the basket. What you can do is teach them how to patrol the post, box out opponents and suck in rebounds like a vacuum. You can bulk them up if they are too slender for physical play or trim them down if they are too heavy to jump off the ground.

You can't teach size, but you can teach a player to use it.

And that is what Canada's national program has with the behemoth Toronto teenagers born to Indian parents of perfectly normal height. You will notice their shoulders hovering above the heads of their Canadian cohorts.

If you look at the current rosters for every NBA team you will find a little more than 40 players listed on or above the seven-foot barrier. But whittle the list to those who match or exceed Tanveer's 7-foot-2 and there are a total of five. The number of players taller than Sim is best summarized in two words: Yao Ming.

"It is a lot easier to score," Sim says, when absurdly asked how height benefits his game. "It makes the game easier because they are not as tall as you."

There are endless possibilities for the Bhullar brothers: U.S. college ball, the national program, maybe the NBA some day. If that dream comes true -- and both boys say it is the goal -- they would be the first players from Indiaborn parents to play in the big show. The international marketing potential has been compared to the effect Yao had on China when he joined the NBA in 2002.

Tanveer, who sat out this particular practice with a brace on his right foot, says it is an honour to be considered for Canada's national program.

"It's great to play for Team Canada because you get to represent your country and make a name for Canada," he said. "Right now it's all about the United States because they are so good. You want to compete with them."

Canada Basketball will keep its eyes on how the brothers progress. They currently split their time between high school ball in Pennsylvania, where they attend a private prep school outside Pittsburgh, playing with a Toronto-based AAU program in the summer and, starting last week, with the national program.

The Canadian cadet team has a place in the FIBA under-17 world championship tournament in Germany beginning on July 2, while the junior team is playing in the FIBA Americas under-18 championship in San Antonio starting on June 26.

"They are very unique. It is not every day we have the ability to work with kids of their size that show that much potential. There is a lot of excitement in Canada for them," Rana said. "They have nice touch around the rim. Their mobility is improving daily. They certainly have a chance at playing at a very high level."

The Bhullar brothers moved from North York to Saltsburg, Pa., last year to attend the Kiski School, where their father felt they would better their chances at a college career.

Just as the brothers are works in progress for Canada Basketball, they are part of a new foundation at Kiski, which is well-known for its academics but, until recently, not at all for its basketball program.

Daryn Freedman, a former NBA staffer with the Philadelphia 76ers and the New Jersey Nets who also assisted John Calipari at the University of Kentucky, was lured to Kiski last summer and set about establishing a program that would make the colleges take notice. He wanted young, raw talent to develop. He got that when a former colleague introduced him to the Bhullar brothers.

"Sim was so out of shape and Tanveer couldn't leave the ground," he said. "With Sim, with the weight he was carrying, it was hard for him to get up and down the floor. He would go for three minutes and he didn't have the stamina to keep up."

But you can't teach size. Freedman knows that. He has worked with the likes of Marcus Camby and Montreal native Samuel Dalembert, and he saw enough talent in the Bhullars to know they were the real deal.

What was better was that Sim and Tanveer knew their limitations, their shortcomings as players, and were willing to work. When asked about their downsides, Sim pointed to his conditioning, while Tanveer said he needed to develop an explosive first step, like his idol Tim Duncan of the San Antonio Spurs.

Over the course of the season, Freedman ran the Bhullars into shape. Sim dropped 30 pounds training in the morning with the school's wrestling coach. Tanveer learned to jump, if only slightly, and opened up the world of dunking.

By the end of his sophomore season, Sim was averaging nearly a triple-double, with 16 points, 14 rebounds and eight blocks; Tanveer, a freshman, had moved from the bench into the starting lineup next to his brother, averaging 12 points, 11 rebounds and five blocks.

"We always know Sim gets the ball first," Tanveer said. "We usually do high-low together because no one knows which one of us to guard. I can take the shot or pass it to him."

West Virginia, Duke, Florida State, Kentucky and LSU are among the schools that have reportedly expressed interest in the brothers, specifically Sim, who has two more years before he graduates high school. The number has probably tripled in the past month, Freedman said. Universities have been calling just to say they want the boys to consider them when the time comes.

"I expect both of them to be able to do whatever they want. They can go wherever they want ... Just the fact that Sim is so dominating, he will have options. There is no question when you see him. This kid is without a doubt right now a prospect."

Tanveer, meanwhile, is considered among the top prospects in the 2013 graduating class, ranked first out of Canada, and considered by ESPN's college recruiting experts to have a higher ceiling than his brother.

"Is he going to be better than Sim? I don't know. But he's going to be better than he is now, and a lot better than when he came to Kiski," Freedman said. "When he's a junior, I think he is going to be completely unstoppable."
Click to expand...
http://www.nationalpost.com/sports/seventh+wonders/3155222/story.html
 
albiongate said:
Yes, they are both suiting up for Canada, but not for their respective U16 & U17.

Sim will play for the U18 team (Americas Championship), while Tanveer will play for the U17 (World Championship).

BTW, some indian olympic committee officials should kill themselves. They are the ones who create that silly law that prevent Bhullar bros to play for India.
Click to expand...

They should kill themselves alright..hahaha specially when this two towers if luck is on their side reach the NBA...

Just like some people in their country bashed the movie "slumdog millionaire" at start. But when that movie was sweeping award after award up to the Oscar.. they suddenly praised it..

If this two kids goes to the NBA expect the same will happen.
 
Wow such big improvement. I can still remember when the older Bhullar can barely move on the basketball court a few years ago!
 
Tanveer Bhullar Basketball Scheds

Tanveer Bhullar Basketball Scheds

July 6-8 Adidas Invitational
July 9-11 Sophomore All American Camp in Cleveland, Ohio
July 12-13 Pittsburgh Shooting clinic
July 14-16 West Virgina Jamfest
July 19-29 Showcase in Orlando
 
sinobball said:
They look freaking huge but #1 not agressive #2 not skilled #3 slow. I still think India would benefit by adding them to the roster, but at this stage they have a LONG way to go.
Click to expand...

he's too young thats why
he had more potential
a teenager 7'4 300lbs and a heavier and stronger than yao ming was young.
 
I've never been much interested before in following junior competitions, but these 2 big 7 footers are intriguing prospects. It will be interesting to follow how Sim does in the Junior World Championships starting Thursday.

BTW, Sim has apparently committed to Xavier for 2012 - source ESPN.
 
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In game one of the FIBA U19 Championships against Korea, Sim Bhuller led Canada to a 109-93 victory with 24 points and 14 rebounds.
 
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