The 2019 B.C. Boys AAA Basketball’s most valuable player will be taking his career south of the border.
North Delta Huskies star Suraj Gahir announced Friday he has made a verbal commitment to attend Cal Baptist University in September 2020.
Located in Riverside, the Lancers recently made the transition to the NCAA Division One level and play in the Western Athletic Conference. Their roster already includes former Walnut Grove standout Ty Rowell.
“It has always been a dream of mine to play NCAA D1 basketball. I am proud to carry on this dream as I have committed to Cal Baptist University for the fall of 2020,” said Suraj via his twitter account.
The smooth-shooting 6-foot-3 guard led the Huskies to the provincial title back in March — the first hoop championship for a Delta school in 29 years.
Gahir drained the decisive basket with 11.9 seconds remaining in a 46-44 victory against Vernon. That was on the heels of semi-final heroics against Duchess Park one night earlier when his three-point bank shot with 2.6 seconds left was the difference in a 62-61 win over Duchess Park.
In his Grade 11 season, he earned first team tournament honours in leading Huskies to a third place finish at provincials.
He is a product of the DRIVE Academy. Rowell also came through the Richmond Olympic Oval-based program.
Gahir will prepare for his transition to university basketball by playing at the Prep level for Westside — an independent school based out of Yaletown.
“Suraj is a selfless player who is all about the team. We are excited to see his growth over this 2019-20 season,” said Westside program director James Blake.
“He has been coached at a high level by local developmental coaches Pasha Bains and Karn Sharda since he was in grammar school and we couldn’t be happier to add someone of his ability and character to our program.”
