Posted on 24. Aug, 2011 by admin in Canada Spotlight

While the plan for 7-5 Toronto native Sim Bhullar was supposed to include him doing one more year at Huntington Prep and then attending Xavier University in the fall of 2012, circumstances which forced him to re-evaluate his options led to a change of heart Tuesday night.

According to his sister Avneet, "Xavier is a great program and we are so appreciative of all the time they spent recruiting my brother, however, Sim has some unique clearinghouse issues that have forced us to really examine the best course of action for Sim's future. At this time we feel more comfortable going forward with New Mexico State due to their experience with Canadians and eligibility. We feel that New Mexico State provides Sim the best chance to get on the floor playing college basketball in the quickest time frame possible."

While it was an extremely difficult decision for Sim to make, his focus now is on the opportunity ahead. "I'm excited to get to New Mexico State and finally have the college experience I've been thinking about for a long time. I'm grateful for my opportunity at New Mexico State and am excited to make the most of it. I'm going to go down there to focus on getting in shape and doing well in school."

Sim had an action packed summer which included a stint with the Canadian Junior Men's National Team. While the team didn't achieve the type of success they were hoping for collectively, Sim proved capable of playing at a high level on the world's biggest stage. He tallied 24 points and 14 rebounds in just 26 minutes vs. Korea and was tremendous vs. the United States. He scored 15 points on 7/10 shooting while pulling down 7 rebounds in just 24 minutes. Sim also participated in the Nike Global Challenge and the Nike EYBL. He finished 2nd in the EYBL in blocked shots and helped lead CIA Bounce to a division championship.

Sim will join Canadians Renaldo Dixon (Toronto, ON), Tyrone Watson (Hamilton, ON), Daniel Mullings (Toronto, ON), Christian Kabongo (Toronto, ON), and Hernst Laroche (Montreal, QC) on the Aggies roster. Associate Head Coach Paul Weir is a Toronto native who played at York University in the CIS and got his start coaching at Don Bosco Catholic High School in the Toronto area. Sim is very aware of the Canadian ties and thinks it will help his transition. According to Bhullar "Knowing some of the guys is definitely going to make it easier. It's a good feeling to know I won't be down there alone."

Bhullar will come out with the class of 2011 and enroll in classes at New Mexico State in the fall. New Mexico State finished 16-17 overall and 9-7 in the WAC last season.