Surrey basketball player makes history after joining NCAA squad
A basketball player from Surrey, B.C., just made NCAA history.
Fleetwood Park Secondary alumnus Eesher Singh Sarai recently committed to Winthrop University in the NCAA’s Division I, making him the first turbaned Sikh player in college basketball’s top division.
The 6-foot-9 Sarai just completed his freshman season with Ellesworth College in Iowa. He averaged 11 points and six rebounds during Conference action.
His 1.25 blocks per game ranked second in the Conference, while his 59.5 per cent shooting from the field ranked fifth among all players. He was named to the Conference’s All-Defensive team.
Sarai is just the second turbaned Sikh player in NCAA Div. 1 history to play in the circuit. The only other was Illinois native Dipanjot Singh, who played for the University of Illinois–Chicago in 2009.
His ascension isn’t just a historic victory for the Sikh community, but it’s another footnote in Canada’s rise as a basketball force to be reckoned with.
Earlier this week, billionaire Mark Cuban invested in the Brampton Honey Badgers of the Canadian Elite Basketball League.
His main rationale? Canada’s rise as a basketball powerhouse.
“Canadian basketball is probably the most underappreciated in the world,” Cuban said. “The talent here is through the roof and getting better by the day.”
By making history earlier this week, Sarai is only adding fuel to that narrative.
The South Carolina-based Winthrop University is currently ranked 129th in the NCAA’s first division, and second in the Big South Conference.
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