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

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  • #31
    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."
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    • #32

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      • #33
        http://video.thescore.com/watch/cana...act-for-canada

        Here's a video of the two brothers training with the Junior Canadian National team. Might as well move this thread to the Canadian forum .

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        • #34
          Originally posted by albiongate View Post
          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.
          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.

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          • #35
            Wow such big improvement. I can still remember when the older Bhullar can barely move on the basketball court a few years ago!

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            • #36
              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
              Sacramento Kings
              HERE WE STAY UNTIL THE COWBELLS COME HOME

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              • #37
                Originally posted by sinobball View Post
                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.
                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.
                ================================================== =========================================

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                • #38
                  congrats to sim on the commitment

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                  • #39
                    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.
                    Last edited by BBallfanJ; 06-27-2011, 03:24 PM.

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                    • #40
                      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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                      • #41
                        Sim Bhullar has de-committed from Xavier and will attend New Mexico state starting this year - 2011-2012 season, rather than wait a year. New Mexico State already has 5 Canadians on their roster.

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                        • #42
                          Originally posted by BBallfanJ View Post
                          Sim Bhullar has de-committed from Xavier and will attend New Mexico state starting this year - 2011-2012 season, rather than wait a year. New Mexico State already has 5 Canadians on their roster.
                          So it's New Canada State Mounties then.

                          I from Wisconsin!
                          http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ca6O8FR0rbQ

                          TO SYNTHESIZER WE ARE A BIG TEAM

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                          • #43
                            Sim Bullar explains his decision to switch from Xavier to New Mexico State



                            After decommitting from Xavier, men’s basketball prospect Sim Bhullar said Wednesday that his decision to attend New Mexico State was rooted in finances and eligibility.

                            Bhullar, a 7-foot-4 Toronto native, said he did not qualify to compete immediately at Division I schools because of NCAA eligibility rules, and he could not afford to pay for a year at Xavier out-of-pocket.

                            “The whole time I was going to go to Xavier, I was really looking forward to it. The last few days I found out that I didn’t qualify and I would have to play regular tuition price this year,” Bhullar said. “My family wasn’t ready to pay that much. We were looking for other options that would be cheaper.”

                            Bhullar estimated that he would have to pay about $43,000 for one year at XU. It’s about $25,000 a year for an out-of-state resident to enroll at New Mexico State, per the school’s web site.

                            Sources say Bhullar delayed his Division I eligibility by not graduating from high school in four years. The end of the 2009-10 school year marked the close of the eight-semester time frame in which he started high school.

                            He spent his fourth year and the first part of his fifth year at The Kiski School in Pennsylvania, an all-boys college prep boarding school. He left after Thanksgiving for Huntington Prep in West Virginia.

                            Per NCAA rules he is not eligible to compete a sixth year at the high school level.

                            A university could seek an NCAA waiver, based on the idea that Bhullar misunderstood the process for qualifying for Division I sports. The NCAA might grant him partial qualifier status. Or it could deem him a non-qualifier, meaning he would have to pay his way for the year.

                            Bhullar chose New Mexico State because he knew people close to the team – five Aggies on next year’s roster are from Canada – and said the program had experience filing similar waivers.

                            Dain Price, Bhullar’s host father in Huntington, praised XU’s coaches and said Bhullar had been excited about being a Musketeer.

                            “He really just had his heart set on going,” Price said. “But 43 grand is 43 grand.”
                            Bhullar made the decision to go to Las Cruces, N.M. late Tuesday after talking with his family.

                            “I really wanted to go to Xavier,” Bhullar said. “That was the school I chose. I really loved the coaches and players. It’s a shame I can’t go there.”

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                            • #44
                              Canadian U17 center Tanveer Bhullar a big hope for India as well

                              REGENSBURG (David Hein’s Eye on the Future) – Here’s hoping that China and Canada face off at the FIBA U17 World Championship. The two countries are not in the same group in Kaunas, Lithuania but both have a big man drawing loads of interest from basketball observers the world over.

                              Wouldn’t it be great to see what China’s long and lean 16-year-old Zhou Qi could do against the 17-year-old behemoth Tanveer Bhullar from Canada?

                              While both of these players have a lot of talent – and size (and mass in the case of Bhullar) – both of them are also huge figures in the world of hoops.

                              Many in China hope that 7-foot-1 (2.14m) Qi can be the eventual next big thing as the nation still weeps over the retirement of Yao Ming – despite the presence of Yi Jianlian.

                              But at least there have been some Chinese to play and star in the NBA – besides Yao and Yi Jianlian there was also Wang Zhizhi and Mengke Bateer.

                              Of course there have been hundreds of Canadians who have or are playing in the NBA. But the 7-foot-2 Bhullar – and his older (and even bigger) brother Sim – both are the big hope for India.

                              Sim and Tanveer’s father, Avtar, and mother, Variander, emigrated to Toronto from the northern Indian state of Punjab in the late 1980s.

                              And despite playing for the Canadian national team, the continued emergence of the Bhullar brothers could be a huge boost in increasing the popularity of basketball in India - and the 1.2 billion residents there, about 5 million of whom play basketball.

                              India has never had anyone close to the NBA and these sub-20-year-olds are the greatest hope thus far.

                              But …

                              These are two youngsters who are absolutely huge, tipping the scales at more than 260 pounds at age 15 – and Sim weighed over 360 pounds in 2011. The biggest issue for both of them is conditioning. They have to be able to run up and down the court more than a couple times to have an impact on the game.

                              The 7-foot-5 Sim – who turns 20 in December – has impressed internationally for Canada the past two summers, averaging 6 points and 3.8 points at the 2010 FIBA Americas U18 Championship including a 14 points, 4 rebounds and 3 blocks effort against the United States.

                              A year later, Sim averaged 12.3 points and 6.3 rebounds in six games - including 24 points and 14 rebounds against Korea - before breaking his nose at the FIBA U19 World Championship in Riga, Latvia.

                              Considering the size of Sim and Tanveer, it’s scary to think about them playing in the same frontcourt. And that was the case at The Kiski School, a small, all-boys boarding school in the mountains of Saltsburg, Pennsylvania with an enrollment of about 210 pupils.

                              They are the first tandem of 7-foot brothers to play together since Brook and Robin Lopez starred at Mater Dei High School in Santa Ana, California before both playing at Stanford and being selected in the first round of the 2008 NBA Draft.

                              Daryn Freeman, a former assistant coach at Duquesne who also worked for Philadelphia and New Jersey in the NBA, found the Bhullar brothers and brought them to western Pennsylvania – as the parents recognized there were limited chances in Canada.

                              The Bhullars eventually would move to different high school academies and then Sim enrolled at New Mexico State University (NSU) but was ruled ineligible until the 2012-13 season.

                              One reason Bhullar went to play with the Aggies was that NMSU’s roster includes Daniel Mullings, Christian Kabongo, Hernst Laroche, Tyrone Watson and Renaldo Dixon – all Canadian-born players.

                              Even though Tanveer says he will be looking for a college program that has a track record in developing big men into NBA centers, many believe he may become an Aggie in New Mexico with his brother as well.

                              That would allow Tanveer and Sim to once again do battle against one another in practice. Going against his older brother helps Tanveer develop as a player as he can work on his offensive skills and defense on one of the few players who is actually bigger than him.

                              Tanveer will recall those Bhullar brother sessions should he face off against Qi at the U17 Worlds in Lithuania.

                              And eventually they could make Bhullar a role model for more than a billion Indians should he make the NBA – even if he’s from Canada.

                              David Hein
                              Die Liebe wird eine Krankheit, wenn man sie als eine Heilung sieht
                              Artificial Nature

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                              • #45
                                Kings will sign Sim Bhullar, who was undrafted last night. Our owner Vivek is Indian.
                                Sacramento Kings
                                HERE WE STAY UNTIL THE COWBELLS COME HOME

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