Members of the University of Fraser Valley Cascades come together before a Nov. 17 game in Edmonton against the MacEwan University Griffins. All but one of the Cascades who are Sikhs is the child or grandchild of Canadian immigrants.Jason Franson/The Globe and Mail
At a smallish university in southern British Columbia, there is a basketball program remarkable for more than its victories and defeats.
Nine of the 16 players on the Fraser Valley Cascades are Sikhs. Two were born in India. All but one is the child or grandchild of Canadian immigrants. The other transferred from a school in California to play with his cousins.
They are quite good and quite tall. Sukhman Sandhu is 6-foot-10. Dhivaan Bhogal is 6-foot-8. Brothers Sukhjot and Navjot Bains are both 6-foot-6. Their American cousin, Sukhraj Bains, is 6-foot-4. “For this level, the makeup of our team is very unusual,” says Adam Friesen, the head coach. “There isn’t another one like it across the country.”
Sukhman Sandhu, who is 6-foot-10, has an unusually accurate shot for such a big player.Jason Franson/The Globe and Mail
Cascades head coach Adam Friesen discusses strategy during a break in the Edmonton game.Jason Franson/The Globe and Mail
Its composition is largely a reflection of the demographics of the Greater Fraser Valley. Abbotsford and Surrey, two of the municipalities within it, have among the highest concentrations of South Asians in Canada.
Two of Mr. Friesen’s assistant coaches, Harp Grewal and Manny Dulay, are also Sikhs.
“It is representative of where we come from, but it shows the growth of basketball in different cultures,” Mr. Friesen says. “It is amazing how popular basketball is in the Indian community.”
Mr. Dulay and his wife, Harleen Sidhu, operate a basketball-training academy in Surrey. A majority of the youths that attend are Indo-Canadian. Mr. Dulay grew up in the Fraser Valley and played for the Cascades for five years. In his final season, he made 78 three-point baskets, more than any player competing at the Canadian university level.
Ms. Sidhu, who grew up in Surrey, was the first woman of Indian descent to play basketball in NCAA Division I – the highest level of intercollegiate athletics in the United States. She is 6-foot-2 and played for the University of Nebraska for three years. In her second season, she was part of a team that won a Big 12 Conference championship and made it to the Sweet Sixteen of the NCAA tournament. “I don’t even debate who the better one among us was,” Mr. Dulay, 24, says. “I know she was.”
The Cascades have finished in the top 10 in U Sports (formerly Canadian Interuniversity Sport) three times over the past six years. They are currently 4-4 and have won three games in a row, the first against the University of Alberta, the country’s sixth-ranked team. The team plays in the Canada West Conference with the Universities of Alberta, British Columbia, Calgary, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Winnipeg and 10 other schools. They are a curiosity to fans of opposing teams, who are surprised to see a group of towering Sikhs trot out onto the court for pregame warmups. The Cascades are one of the tallest teams in their conference.
Last weekend, they won twice in Edmonton against MacEwan University. In the first game, the 6-foot-10 Sandhu, who has an unusually accurate shot for such a big player, made two three-pointers early on in a 94-79 victory. Mark Johnson (24 points) and Sukhjot Bains (15) led the Cascades to a hard-fought 84-80 win in the second.
Sukhjot Bains gets his knee taped by the trainer before the game against the Griffins.Jason Franson/The Globe and Mail
Sukhjot Bains drives toward the hoop against Abdullah Shittu of the Griffins.Jason Franson/The Globe and Mail
Navjot Bains, Sukhjot's brother, goes up for the shot. He is in his fifth season of college basketball.Jason Franson/The Globe and Mail
Sukhjot, who was born in India but came to Canada with his family when he was two years old, is their best player. In 2013-14, he was the top high-school player in British Columbia, averaging 28.5 points, 13.6 rebounds and 3.8 assists per game. He spent one season at a college preparatory school in New Jersey and two years at a junior college in Wyoming before he was recruited to play last season for NCAA Div. I Wisconsin-Green Bay.
He enjoyed it, but decided to return to B.C. this year to be closer to his family. “I played on a number of teams over the last few years and was the only Indian,” Sukhjot says.
He enrolled at the University of Fraser Valley, where his sibling, Navjot, is in his fifth season of college basketball. “When I started here, there were only three or four Indian dudes, but now it has transitioned to where we are the majority,” Navjot says. “Back in the day, there weren’t too many of us. Now, in Surrey, it is the go-to sport for a lot of Sikh kids.”
Navjot and Sukhjot warm up on bikes together. 'Back in the day there weren’t too many of us,' Navjot says of Indian basketball players. 'Now, in Surrey, it is the go-to sport for a lot of Sikh kids.'Jason Franson/The Globe and Mail
Mr. Dulay, who played for the Cascades from 2012 to 2017, says he was one of two Sikhs on the team in his first season and the lone Sikh in his second. The following year, there were three, and there were six in his final season.
He helped talk Navjot, who played for two years at the University of Northern British Columbia, into transferring to Fraser Valley.
“We are starting to see a shift in recruiting Indo-Canadians because as a culture, we preach staying together and family,” Mr. Dulay says. “We listen and believe in hierarchy and respect authority figures. Adam [Friesen] recognized that and said, ‘These are the kind of guys we want.’”
The Cascades season continues this weekend with games against Northern British Columbia at the Envision Financial Athletic Centre in Abbotsford. No matter if they win or lose, they will remain a remarkable team with an exceptional makeup: nine Sikhs, six of whom are 6-foot-4 or taller, playing college basketball at the top level in Canada.
“We are definitely motivated to win because of that,” says Parm Bains, a sharp-shooting guard who shares the same last name with three teammates but is unrelated. He, Sukhjot and Navjot Bains and Sukhman Sandhu all played for the same high-school team in Surrey. “We are really proud to represent our community.”
Parm Bains drives to the hoop against the Griffins. The Cascades won the game 94-79.Jason Franson/The Globe and Mail
Marty Klinkenberg