Bhullar Brothers transfer from Kiski School

Seven-footed giant brothers, Sim (age 16, height 7 foot 4) and Tanveer(age 14, height 7 foot 2) Bhullar, the Indian-origin basketball players from Toronto, Canada, have recently withdrawn from the Kiski School in Pennslyvania (USA). Sim and Tanveer, who have been gathering a lot of attention from American colleges over their dominant play and potential, seem to be heading into different schools.

Sim and Tanveer Bhullar's parents, Avtar and Varinder, are immigrants to Canada originally from Amritsar, Punjab.

The Bhullars' Canadian teammate Stefan Jankovic is also transferring from Kiski. According to NBE Basketball Sim and Stefan are reportedly planning to join Huntington Prep in West Virginia, whereas Tanveer may be going to Montrose Christian in Maryland.

The American Chronicle reports:

Sim Bhullar, a 7-foot-4 junior, Tanveer Bhullar, a 7-2 sophomore and Sim's brother, and 6-10 junior Stefan Jankovic all plan to transfer to schools outside the state, said Kiski School coach Daryn Freedman. All three players are from Toronto and enrolled at Kiski for the 2009-10 school year.

Freedman, in his second year as coach, said the players' departures were a shock. The players already had been playing in games this season for Kiski, which is not part of the WPIAL. Freedman claimed AAU basketball and the influence of other people associated with AAU basketball outside Western Pennsylvania were the reasons for the players' departure.
"Basically, this had to do with AAU stuff," Freedman said. "It's one of those bad, dirty parts of basketball. It's sad, but they've moved on."

"The Bhullar brothers are going to split up," Freedman said. "There are rumors that Sim and Stefan are looking at Huntington [W.Va.] Prep. Tanveer may be going to a school in Maryland."

The two giant brothers carry a lot of expectations on their shoulders, not just because of their freakish potential but also because there happens to be a country of 1.1. billion people that look kinda like them who will have very large hopes for their success. Hopefully this decision helps them in the long run.

Go here for some recent videos of the brother's dominating all competition.

Video: Sim and Tanveer Bhullar making High School kids look like High School kids

As you get older, you know that feeling you get sometimes that kids are growing up too quick these days? That some of these kids can do things at a young age that we couldn't have dreamed of in our time (although, in my case, "our time" was only about seven years ago). Especially when you see some of the young high school basketball players who are far more athletic, quick, and explosive, and play a game that makes them look much older than their age?

Well, here is a quick fix to all of that. I just watched two videos from City League Hoops, chronicaling the American National Prep Tip Off in Pittsburgh this past weekend. The videos featured Indian-origin Canadian brothers, who I have since decided to collectively call the Giant Bhullars. The two brothers are massive: Sim (17) is 7 foot 4 inches tall, and Tanveer (15) is 7 feet 2. I credit the hatta-katta physique to some home-made Punjabi white butter in their ancestral veins. Both the brothers currently attend the Kiski School in Pennsylvania, and have both been getting a lot of attention from Division 1 colleges in the US.

Anyways - back to the videos. The two brothers, especially Sim, is making the competition look like little children out there. I almost feel bad for them. Damn Sim... Don't hurt the kids. He's making all the other kids who grew up too soon look like kids again. Speaking of kids who grew up too soon, let me repeat that Sim is 7 foot 4. And 17.

Here are some highlights of Sim Bhullar.



Tanveer got limited minutes at this camp, but he too showed his good offensive touch around the basket. Here are his highlights:



Exciting stuff, indeed. They could be the first Indian-origin players in the NBA. Of course, we have our own giant Punjabi out here in India, born and bred at the Ballo Ke village in Bhamara, grown to a 7 feet at age 14, and currently learning to hone his talents on scholarship at the IMG Academy in Bradenton, Florida. I'm speaking, of course, of Satnam Singh Bhamara, who, too, has started to garner some hype in the hoop circles in America.

Watch out world - Giant Punjabis are coming to dunk on your kids.

The Purple Room, live from Ludhiana

Over the last month, fierce Toronto Raptors fan, the author of the Raptors Game Time blog, and the face behind the Inside the Purple Room videos Payal Doshi was in India to see sights and catch flights. In the midst of it all, the Indian-origin Canadian also got a chance to witness some of the games at the Mahindra-NBA Challenge in Ludhiana.

A voice-data operator for a Canadian sports channel, Payal has literally brought home her love for the Raptors, and then broadcasted it all over the world. Her "Inside the Purple Room" videos, featuring colourful analysis of Raptors-related stories, have been hitting YouTube from her own room at home, customised to the colours of her favourite team.

Now, Payal hopes to join the growing numbers of young people hoping to give back to basketball in India in her own way. In the future, Payal and her associates are also hoping to launch a basketball website for Indian players, in Canada, and worldwide.

"My first experience with basketball in India was a few years ago," said Payal, "I got the chance to visit a camp held by Baron Davis in Mumbai. As I see now, most Indian youth are still in the beginning stages of understanding the game - what they need is a lot of practice, teaching, good coaches, and need to absorb all information and tips that are passed on their way."

She added: "I am a big fan of what the NBA is trying to do for the game of basketball globally. And with the Mahindra-NBA Challenge, Indian kids are being given a great chance to enhance their involvement in the sport. Basketball is fun, exciting, and inexpensive - find a backboard and you're set!"

Additional to her blog and videos, Payal is also working on her own web-show, entitled Always Looking Up In A Short Girl's World, where she is hoping to focus on the more unknown and underrated basketball talents, and on their journeys in the game.

The city of Toronto itself has many of inner-city basketball leagues, many of the leagues created for the large number of Indian-origin basketball players. Payal has had the chance to follow the careers of the Giant Bhullar Brothers, the seven-footed teenage children of Punjabi parents from near-Toronto, who are set to light the basketball world on fire.

"Both the brothers are currently in High School in the US," Payal said, "Right now, they're popular, but not yet famous. If they keep doing what they are doing, then the sky will the limit for them. They can be a dominant force in basketball."

Payal interacted with several young players at the NBA Challenge in Ludhiana, and was happy to note how excited they were to just play basketball. She will soon be doing a feature on her experiences watching the games and talking with the players, coaches, and organisers at the event.

For now, watch an episode of "Inside the Purple Room", as Payal discusses the (somewhat unfortunate) off-season suffered by the Raptors.

US Colleges chasing the Giant Bhullars!

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This could potentially be huge for Indians and my fellow Brown Peeps all over the world - The giant Bhullar brothers, whose parents hailed from Punjab (India), who settled into Toronto (Canada), and who have recently been making some noise with their basketball at Kiski School in Pennslyvania (USA), may soon become a very, very big deal in the States.

College basketball recruiting in America is an uber-competitive, harsh, and crazy world, and it seems that once they finish High School, the Bhullar Brothers are set to become sought-after commodities.

Truly giants, Sim Bhullar (17) is 7 feet 4 inches, and weighs almost 130 kgs. The younger brother, Tanveer (15), is 7 feet 2 inches, and weighs around 118 kgs. Their parents hail from Amritsar, Punjab - father Avtar is 6-1 and mother Varinder is 5-10. Hey, the father's name is Avtar. Didn't anyone else see this coming? I've seen how tall those Na'vi are.

Anyways, since I last checked on the Bhullar Bros, they have improved considerably. Under the tutelage of Kiski School head coach Daryn Freedman, the brothers have improved several parts of their game. Leading the school to a 16-4 record this season, Sim averaged 16 points and 14 rebounds per game and his strenghts on the court include a surprising three-point range, strong passing, and the ability to finish strong around the basket. Tanveer, who averaged 12 and 11, possesses a smooth 15 to 17foot jumper, has quick feet and soft hands, which are key attributes to low-post success.

As American college sports website Rivals.com reports, some of the best colleges and coaches could be coming after the Bhullars very soon.

"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."

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.

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.

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."

It is definitely exciting to see the attention these boys are getting from top NCAA basketball colleges. They have an experienced coach in Daryn Freedman who has worked with several Division 1 schools and with NBA teams New Jersey Nets and Philadelphia 76ers.

But the best part of their story has been the potential interest of superstar coach John Calipari of Kentucky. Calipari is the same guy who has coached the last two NBA rookie of the years, Derrick Rose and Tyreke Evans. He is the same guy who has been the coach of the consensus top pick in the NBA Draft on June 24th, John Wall. He is the same guy who recently made the cover of SLAM magazine with Wall and other players of the Kentucky team. And he's the same guy who is now being linked to coach the Cleveland Cavaliers (and keep LeBron James in Cleveland).

The Bhullars' current coach Freedman spent eight years as an assistant to Calipari. "He was my mentor, my coaching idol," Freedman says - some assume Kentucky has the inside track.

Wherever Sim and Tanveer end up, these are exciting times for basketball fans in India. Both the brothers dream of playing in the NBA.

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."

For a big country like India, there will be nothing bigger in basketball than these giants. Let's hope that the Bhullars are guided and coached well so that they can make a difference in college basketball in the States, and eventually fulfil the dream of every Indian fan by one day playing in the NBA. I'm going to ignore the fact that they are actually now Canadian.

Here is a video of the Bhullars sure to get more than a few fans excited...

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The Giant Bhullars

I'm not a big fan of claiming second (or third, fourth, whatever) generation Indians. I mean, if a Indian couple goes to Canada and has children who then get a Canadian passport, then they're Canadian. End of discussion.



That said, much kudos to the 6 feet 3 and 5 feet 11 Punjabi parents who went to Canada and had two sons, who at the ages of 16 and 14, are 7'4 and 7'2, respectfully. And apparently, they can ball! The Bhullar brothers from Toronto were covered by Stephen Brodzinski on SLAM Online a couple of months ago. I read about Sim and Tanveer Bhullar of the Kiski School in this article by Chris Harlan (Pittsburgh Tribune-Review today. Here is an excerpt:

The brothers from Toronto enrolled at the private Saltsburg academy before this school year, looking for a place where they could develop their basketball skills with hopes of reaching the NBA. Their parents — who are 6-3 and 5-11 — are from India. They stayed behind in Canada.

The Bhullar brothers each average double figures in scoring. Sim Bhullar starts at center with Tanveer as his replacement, though the two are sometimes used together. Both are athletic and skilled, with Tanveer patterning his game after San Antonio Spurs star Tim Duncan.
"I want to make it to the NBA," Tanveer said. "That's the final goal."

Go India, I guess. There's a billion people waiting to claim the Bhullar brothers success, just like we did Norah Jones, Kal Penn, Russell Peters, and Apu Nahasapeemapetilon.