Sim Bhullar declares! Will he become the first Indian-origin player in the NBA?

One step closer, y'all!

Yes, the rumours which have been flying around for the past 10 days are now true and confirmed. According to New Mexico State, 7-foot-5 sophomore Sim Bhullar, born in Canada to parents from India, has officially declared for the 2014 NBA draft, foregoing his two remaining years of college eligibility. If he is drafted by an NBA team on June 26, 2014, Bhullar could become the first player of Indian-origin in history to have a place on an NBA roster.

Sim Bhullar is a big young man; this news is bigger.

You probably already know Bhullar's story by now: The 21-year-old giant was born in Toronto to parents who had immigrated from Amritsar, India. Sim and his younger brother Tanveer (also a giant) grew up and didn't stop growing. They made a name for themselves at the Kiski School in Pennsylvania, at the Huntington Prep School in West Virginia, and one by one, both joined New Mexico State to play for the Aggies in NCAA Division 1. Sim was named the 2013 and 2014 Western Athletic Conference (WAC) Tournament MVP and led the league in blocks (3.37 per game) and shooting percentage (64.8). Last year, he had a major breakout, capturing the imaginations of fans domestic and across the oceans. He helped the Aggies reach the NCAA tournament both years and finished this season with averages of 10.2 points and 7.2 rebounds. His team had a 50-21 record over the past two years for a 70.4 winning percentage.

"I have always dreamed of playing professional basketball and I have decided to officially pursue this by entering my name into the NBA Draft," said Bhullar. "I want to thank my family, friends, coaches, and teammates for all their support during this decision making process. Most importantly I want to thank all the Aggie fans who have followed and cheered us on. The support and love I received here has made my time in Las Cruces an amazing college experience. Aggie Up."

Now that he has declared, Bhullar has a real chance of becoming the first to cross a threshold never crossed yet in the world's greatest basketball league. Indians (or South Asians in general) - despite our massive diaspora across the planet - haven't exactly turned the basketball world on fire. Despite the big numbers, Indians are generally underrepresented at the highest levels of the game (here is a short short-list of every Indian-origin player to ever play NCAA D1 basketball) and back home in India, we are still some steps away from having that one international game-changing talent. Bhullar may not be Indian by nationality, but he is Indian by ethnicity; his progress has been followed by the diaspora closely for several years, and a lot of brown-skinned people - from various corners of the world - will be pumping their fists or doing some bhangra if Bhullar's name is called on draft night.

There are some who have questioned Bhullar's declaration, and the reasons for the criticism are understandable. Despite his awesome size, talent, and potential, Bhullar is still an unfinished product. He has barely been in game shape for the NCAA in the last two years, and at this point, he is nowhere close to being in shape to handle the speed of the NBA. Additionally, by declaring now, he will lose the opportunity to play for New Mexico State with younger brother Tanveer. Tanveer was a redshirt freshman last season and thus never suited up for an official game in Aggies colours next to his brother. The combo of 7-5 Sim and 7-3 Tanveer, two big bad Indians dominating everything in sight, would've been pretty awesome.

Additionally, another year in college would've improved Sim's game and raised his profile among NBA scouts a little more. Currently, DraftExpress ranks him 96 among prospects, although his declaration may raise his standing significantly. Bhullar and his camp must obviously believe that he can impress NBA scouts at and teams at pre-draft camps enough between now and the end of June to be drafted. Some might say that this decision was made too soon, but if Bhullar believes it's the right time (with his market value on the rise) let's just wait and see if it is.

If I had to predict, I'll probably say that the best-case scenario for Bhullar is that he gets picked late in the second round of the draft, somewhere between 45-60. Every NBA team could use a 7-5 behemoth off the bench to be a monster on the defensive end who creates matchup problems on offense in limited minutes. Additionally, NBA teams could also see the 'Indian' marketing angle, and the potential of reaching out to a whole new set of people never before represented in the league.

You know what would be cool? If somehow, the Kings - the first/only NBA team owned by an Indian (Vivek Ranadive) - somehow get their hands on Bhullar. Ranadive has already been pitching hard for Kings to be 'India's team' and has taken various steps to reach out to the Indian audience. The Kings even featured a shooting shirt with their team name in Hindi for 'Bollywood Night' a few weeks ago. Having an Indian wear a shirt with किंग्स in the front makes perfect sense. Also, can you imagine Bhullar coming off the bench for DeMarcus Cousins? I'm already taking credit '#BoogieBhangra' which is going to break Twitter in a few months.

Anyways, we are obviously hoping that Bhullar not only gets drafted but also enjoys a decent NBA career. Any success for him will influence millions of other Indians playing basketball all around the world, without a role model from their own community at the highest level to look up to. Sim Bhullar could be that role model, and his presence among the world's best basketball players in the NBA will not only break a major barrier but also help encourages those million others to continue believing in their basketball dreams.

The Brains of Basketball: Interview with Krossover's Vasu Kulkarni

Every young basketball aspirant reaches a point when they have to make perhaps the most important career decision of their life: Do I keep on this tough and unlikely path of hoops to see where it leads me professionally? Or do I quit the game now and come back to 'real life', for a white collar profession with occasional pick-up hoops to keep the hobby alive?

When Vasu Kulkarni faced that moment, he did what few people do: he chose both options.

LA-born Kulkarni was raised in India but returned to the States after High School. An aspiring young player with hoop dreams - who actually learned the trades of his craft in Bangalore - Kulkarni wanted to stick with basketball even when doing that dream seemed to be getting out of reach. So he used the creativity he picked up on court and applied it off the court. In 2010, Kulkarni's company Krossover - featuring a service that breaks down game-tape to expose advanced data and analytics - went live. Four years later, Krossover has become a game-changer in the field, and Kulkarni's pet project is now working with America's top high school, college, and some professional coaches and breaking down hundreds of games every day.

Currently, Krossover is providing services for around 2000 clients in basketball, American football, and lacrosse, with a diversity of customers including the Cleveland Cavaliers, University of Kentucky, Georgetown, the D-League's Springfield Armor, Amherst College, and St. Anthony's High School. The 27-year-old Kulkarni's company is growing every day in their clients, services, and freelances contributors from across the US. Most importantly, Krossover's heart - or brain - is rooted to the love of the game, and with the purpose of making everyone involved in basketball a lot smarter.

I got a chance to interview Kulkarni, the CEO of Krossover, about the influence of India on his basketball addiction, the birth, growth, and ambitions of Krossover, and about bringing it all back to potentially contributing to hoops in India.

Hoopistani: So tell me about your background - you were raised in Bangalore?

Kulkarni: I was born in LA, but my family moved back to India when I was nine. I lived in Bangalore till age 18, and then came back to the States for college, and have been here since for the past nine years.

Hoopistani: And when did you start taking basketball seriously?

Kulkarni: I've always loved basketball. My earlier memory in life was watching Magic Johnson and Michael Jordan at the '91 Finals between the Lakers and Bulls on TV. Even when I was just a toddler, I must've watched a lot of hoops since my babysitter was a huge NBA fan! But I didn't play too much basketball in the States: I was an awful athlete, and in the US, I felt like a small fish in a big pond. Ironically, I had to go to India to really learn the game.

In India, I was one of the taller guys and suddenly became a big fish in basketball's small pond. I might have never picked up the game had it not been in India, where I started to improve a lot and made it to my High School team in Bangalore.

I moved back to the States to the University of Pennsylvania, and after playing well in India, I assumed that I could easily play D1 basketball. Of course, the reality was a lot different and more difficult than that. It took me a while to find my place playing basketball in the States, and I had learn the game in a more enhanced way again. In my senior year, I got a tryout with Penn's JV team and made it. That was - and still is - the highlight of my life. Playing for a team, having a locker room, wearing the jerseys, and hearing the national anthem before a game: it was a wonderful experience.

Hoopistani: Was that experience the building block for Krossover?

Kulkarni: Well, even after college, I wanted to remain involved in sports; nothing else could make me happy. I wanted to build a technology for sports teams. Wanted to do something in analytics. After some on-field research, and after taking some time figuring out our pricing scheme, I was able to develop what type of product basketball teams needed to use.

Hoopistani: The advanced stats and analytics revolution has taken over basketball in a big way in the last few years. But when Krossover started out, you must have been one of the first dipping your nose in the field.

Kulkarni: Well, Synergy were really the pioneers of advanced stats. They were ahead of their time, but no one else was really thinking about advanced stats or analytics four or five years ago. And a lot of other companies couldn't figure out anything new to do with basketball. We have been able to incorporate stats in basketball and a few other sports to make it useful in the same way as it is in baseball.

Hoopistani: With basketball though, unlike baseball, I feel there will always be room for a lot more creativity that can't be 'statified' the same way...

Kulkarni: Yes. As someone selling the product, I obviously want more stats, but as a fan of the game, I wish that the game remains much more than just numbers. When it comes down to it, basketball players are so crafty and creative that their tendencies can never be as predictable as baseball players, for example.

Hoopistani: Krossover got a major boost last year by adding the Cleveland Cavaliers as one of the clients...

Kulkarni: The deal with the Cavs has of course been a great boost for us: we breakdown every NCAA Division 1 game every day, so now, scouts from the Cavs can look at all of their prospects in depth. I think an advantage of Krossover is that it is really easy to use and so NBA scouts feel comfortable with it. The Cavs can use it to breakdown and analyze NBA players too and use the knowledge to make trades - like they did with Luol Deng a few weeks ago.

But the real value of our service comes from lower levels that the NBA, from the NCAA or from High School basketball. All of our NCAA clients closely examine the High School level games we breakdown - which are around 600 every day! So our service becomes great value for money for scouts instead of flying all over the country to watch all of those games.

Hoopistani: How many teams are you currently working with?

Kulkarni: We are closing in on around 2000 High School and College teams - 85 percent of our clients are High School teams. The US has the most organized senior sports programmmes in the world, so we have a potential for a lot more expansion, and we aim to get up to 10, 20, or even 30 thousand clients in the next two to three years.

Hoopistani: It's great to see the company grow so dramatically, especially since, I guess when it began the entire project was manned by you alone...

Kulkarni: In 2009, Krossover had one person on their staff-list: me. Then, there were two more. Two or three times, it seemed that things were going to die out and Krossover would never make it. But we survived and grew, and now we have grown to 40-50 people working at the New York office. But the chunk of the breakdown is provided by 2000 or so people who live around the country. These people are not employees but earn money for each game they break down by taking recording of games from their local teams. We will probably process breakdowns of 50,000 games this season.

Hoopistani: What are the objectives for growth in the future? Will you be looking to bring in more clients from the NBA?

Kulkarni: The NBA stuff is nice, particularly from a marketing standpoint, but to us, a High School team is just as valuable. We wanna change the way people think about the game. We want to get to 6000 teams - three times our current number - by the end of this year. After basketball, American football, and lacrosse, we will also be expanding to volleyball soon.

We've created an app called SIQ (sports IQ) to test the knowledge of fans via video quizzes, too. [Kulkarni described the app here in this video for Grantland last year].

Hoopistani: Lets bring the story to where it began. Have you been keeping track of basketball in India?

Kulkarni: I was back in India to take part in the Mahindra NBA Challenge in Bangalore, where we put together a team that won the whole thing! I feel that the level of competition in India is still low: any team off the street in the US could win a tournament like that in India. I've spoken to NBA people and others in India and feel that there is a lot of frustration about the slow bureaucracy and red-tape in the country. They need to pursue greater efforts in the grassroots - like the efforts of Subhash Mahajan in Karnataka. The aim should be all about getting kids in India passionate about that round orange ball.

India needs to invest its money on infrastructure; I feel that's what happened in China to support basketball there. I hope that one day the game can become a bigger part of the culture and way of life there.

Hoopistani: Do you think Krossover could ever contribute in basketball or other sports in India?

Kulkarni: We can make it happen anywhere if games are filmed with half-decent cameras. That's all we need!

Indian-Origin players to have played NCAA D1 Basketball

No Indian national has yet had the experience of playing basketball at the highest collegiate level in the world, the NCAA Division 1 in the United States. But that said, there is no shortage of our larger Indian diaspora - specifically Indians who grew up in North America - who have represented at that level in some shape or form. The world paid attention as Canadian-Indian Sim Bhullar had his breakthrough playing in the national-tournament for New Mexico State and went on to become the first Indian-descent player in the NBA. It's time we compile a list of all others before Bhullar who have played a little (or a lot) D1 ball in the past, or our still playing at that level in the present.

This post grew out of popular demand, demand to showcase that players with desi genes certainly have the potential to take the next higher step in hoops. I've been able to collect the names of the list through past research and experience and the aid of some very helpful readers. I thank Rahul Desai for the idea and for getting me started and Sunpreet Sher Singh for suggesting more names to add to the list.

I'm looking to add the names of all Indian-origin D1 basketball players to the list. Being slightly tanned, enjoying the occasional Tandoori Chicken, and having a man-crush on Aziz Ansari doesn't count; You gotta have some desi in your DNA. First generation, second generation, third generation, born in India or abroad, full India, half Indian, one-fourth Indian, whatever. Hopefully, a talented player from India will one day get the opportunity to represent the country at this highest college level, too.

The list isn't perfect and it definitely isn't complete. Please contact me to notify me of any errors and suggest any further names that I'm sure to have missed.

Indian-origin players to have played NCAA Division 1 Basketball (In last-name Alphabetic order)

• Pasha Bains (Clemson, Wyoming): 1998-2001
  
• David Bagga (Arizona): 2005-09
  
• Vishal Banipal (Idaho State): 2011-12
• Sim Bhullar (New Mexico State): 2012-14)
• Tanveer Bhullar (New Mexico State) 2013-
• James Blackmon Jr. (Indiana): 2014-
• Anikar Chhabra (Harvard): 1991-95
• Manroop Clair (Hawaii, Seattle): 2012-
  
• Sandeep Dhaliwal (Columbia): 2009-10
  
• Samer Dhillon (USC): 2013-
• Shaminder Gill (Washington State University): 2001-05
  
• Tony Gill (Pacific): 2012-
• Robin James (Rutgers): 1991-95
  
• Venkatesha Jois (Eastern Washington University): 2012-
• Sanjay Lumpkin (Northwestern): 2012-
  
• Arjun Ohri (New Jersey Institute of Technology - NJIT): 2009-12
  
• Timir Patel (Houston-Baptist): 2007-08
  
• Varun Ram (Maryland): 2012-
• Andy Saharan (University of California-Riverside): 2010-11
  
• Manny Sahota (Cornell): 2010-
  
• Sam Singh (Bradley University): 2004-10
  
• Dipanjot Singh (Univeristy of Illinois at Chicago): 2009-11
  
• Veer Singh (Seton Hall): 2015-
• Sai Tummala (Arizona State, Hawaii): 2013-
  

To learn more about some of these players, check out my in-depth feature and interview with Pasha Bains, considered by many to be the greatest Indian-origin player ever. Youngster Manroop Clair is also mentioned in that story. I've written a lot about Sim Bhullar and his brother Tanveer; here is my most recent feature recapping Sim's first season at New Mexico State. Here is an old Q-and-A with Timir Patel, and this is an even older post and video of Manny Sahota. I also spoke to Maryland's Varun Ram for this blog last year. 

Louisville wins 2013 NCAA National Championship in exciting final game

Down 12 points in the first half, and it seemed that America’s number one seeded college basketball team – Louisville – were going to end their magical year in disappointment. But like they had many times before, the Louisville Cardinals, under Coach Rick Pitino, brought themselves all the way back to outclass the Michigan and win the NCAA National Championship Final 82-76 on Monday in Atlanta. Scoring 22 points off the bench, Luke Hancock was named the NCAA Tournament’s Most Outstanding Player, the first substitute to ever win the award.

It was Louisville’s second consecutive double digit deficit and second consecutive win. After Hancock scored 20 points to lead them in a comeback win over Wichita State in the tournament’s semi-final round, he was once again the catalyst in the second half in the Final. Point Guard Peyton Siva added 18 for his side.

Michigan boasted star point guard Trey Burke, who had won several individual honours like the Naismith College Player of the Year Award, the Oscar Robertson Trophy, and the John R. Wooden Award in the lead up to the Final. Although Burke had a limited role in Michigan’s semi-final victory over Syracure, he rose to the challenge in the Final, scoring 24 points to keep his team in contention. Burke was aided by little-used sharpshooter Spike Albrecht, who rose to the occasion in the first half and chipped in 17 points in the game.

Louisville’s Coach Pitino – who was named to the Basketball Hall of Fame on Monday – rounded up a memorable week with this win. He became the first coach to win national titles at two different colleges, with his last one coming with Kentucky back in 1996. Pitino also briefly worked in the NBA with the New York Knicks and the Boston Celtics in the 80s and late 90s before returning to college basketball with Louisville in 2001.

This was also Louisville’s third ever National Championship victory. The result was even sweeter for the team after they lost guard Kevin Ware to a horrific leg injury in the Elite Eight game against Duke. Pitino was able to instill a true sense of toughness and passion amongst the other players to fight for Ware and celebrate a championship together. Although fourth-seeded Michigan were able to have an impressive offensive start to the game, Louisville returned to their stifling defense to shut off their opponents and end the game as champions.

Kentucky wins 2012 NCAA Championship

One of the greatest college teams assembled on paper would’ve remained just that – ‘on paper’ – if they didn’t truly live up to their potential and capture the biggest win in college basketball. The University of Kentucky Wildcats did just that on April 3rd, 2012 by defeating Kansas University Jayhawks 67-59 in the final to capture the NCAA Men’s Championship. In the process, Kentucky won their 8th-ever national championship but the first for revolutionary coach John Calipari. The final featured the top two most successful basketball programmes in NCAA history.

Click here to read full article

Kemba Walker & some UConn brilliance

Now, I will be the first to admit that I don't know right from left when it comes to NCAA basketball in the States. Since barely any games or promotion is done in India, it is only out of curiousity that I know anything at all about it. It is important for me, for instance, to know where the world's best basketball player in the NBA came from, or what kind of challenges and competition they had in their younger years.

But otherwise, there is very little other interest. Yes, I know, as those who swear about college ball will say, that the games are perhaps more exciting sometimes. Most teams are closely matched, the atmosphere in the games are excellent, and the players seem to try harder. But I'm not completely sold on it. I hate the idea of 35-second shot clocks, shorter three-point lines, and lots and lots and lots of really bad offense.

Still, every once in a while, a story comes out that even the least interest ones can't help but follow. The story this year, I believe, has been of University of Connecticut (UConn) point guard Kemba Walker. A solid but generally unspectacular player in his first season, he improved in year two, and by the time he was a Junior, he became one of the best players in the country, making the biggest plays all year and leading his team to a National Championship title. His clutch play, and leadership has already become stuff of legend. And his buzzer-beaters have taken YouTube by storm!

Walker is a slashing quick guard, known for this ball-handling ability and accurate jump-shot. At 6 foot, he may be a tad bit undersized, but in today's NBA, a league that favours the confident, fast small men, he could blend in easily.

UConn capped off a fairytale run in the NCAA tournament by leading the Huskies past Kentucky in the Final Four, and then beating Butler 53-41 in an ugly, high-on-defense-low-on-offense game in the Final to win the National Championship on April 4th. It was the UConn Huskies' third championship in the last 11 years. Jeremy Lamp also played a crucial role in the second half of the Championship game. Walker was named the NCAA Tournament's Most Outstanding Player.

His only shortcoming was being snubbed for the Naismith Men's College Player of the Year award, which went to another small guard, Jimmer Fredette of BYU. "The Jimmer", who has also had an outstanding season, may have shown his brilliance when it came to individual scoring, but in my opinion, this award should've been Walker's all along.

Now, to judge how successful college players will be in the NBA, I rely almost exclusive on my favourite scouting website, DraftExpress. At this point, Walker, if he goes pro, as been ranked as the 6th overall pick in the 2011 draft. From afar, it seems to be a year without any guaranteed future pro superstars, but I'll be rooting for Kemba to fight amongst the likes of Kyrie Irving, Harrison Barnes, Derrick Williams, Perry Jones, and Brandon Knight.

And for my interest in college ball? Let's hope someone can figure out to show more of the NCAA tournament games in India next year. Maybe, just maybe, I'll start to warm up to it.

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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