The Brampton Guardian
August 14, 2009
BRAMPTON -Working hard in school and on the basketball court has paid off for Manny Sahota.
The St. Marguerite d’Youville Male Athlete of the Year has accepted a grant-in-aid financial package to attend prestigious Cornell University. As a member of the Ivy League Cornell does not offer athletic scholarships but does provide aid packages. Sahota has a package valued at close to $50,000 (US) per year.
Besides getting the benefits of a Cornell education he will also be attending the school which is the two-time defending Ivy League champion and has played in the last two NCAA tournaments (March Madness).
Sahota will be returning to d’Youville for one more year of high school with his commitment to Cornell beginning in the fall of 2010.
The 6-foot-6 Sahota is excited about the chance to attend Cornell. He gives thanks to his parents Gurpal and Kulbip, who immigrated to Canada with their two sons in 1997. He said they taught him the importance of keeping up his studies.
“My parents really pushed me,’’ he said. A grandfather Gian Singh, who stays with the family part of the year when not in India also had a big influence on him.
“My grandfather is the hardest worker I know,’’ said Sahota. Besides his athletic achievements Sahota also received a science award at d’Youville this past school year. He said he is undecided as to what his major will be at Cornell.
His interest in basketball started with a brother Jaspreet who used to play at Chinguacousy Secondary. Manny watched his brother play and decided to try the sport also and said he loves it.
“It’s hard to explain. I have a passion for it,’’ he said.
Although he has often been the tallest player on his teams he has a good outside game and will play the small forward at Cornell.
He has had the opportunity to play plenty of high caliber basketball. D’Youville has one of the top high school programs in the province under coach Carlo Zoffranieri. The Panthers play a heavy tournament schedule each year and this past season won the Region of Peel Secondary School Athletic Association (ROPSSAA) Tier 1 title and made it to the quarterfinals of the Ontario Federation of Schools Athletic Association (OFSAA) 4A tournament last winter.
At the club level he plays for coach Mike George with Team Takeover Canada, formerly known as CIA Bounce. During the summers the team plays at a number of tournaments in the U.S. This past summer the team was away for a 14-day road trip, which Sahota feels should help him adjust to being away from home when he goes to Cornell.
While a number of his teammates through the years decided to leave their Canadian high schools to attend prep schools in the U.S., Sahota said his parents preferred he stay at home.
Sahota attended a camp at Cornell last summer and he said he felt right at home at the school and is comfortable with head coach Steve Donahue and assistant Nat Graham. The school was also impressed with him and came up with a package for him after that.
Cornell is undergoing a major rebuilding from its championship teams with 10 newcomers in the line-up next season but is still considered one of the top teams in the Ivy League. The roster this season includes three Canadians, two of them from Toronto.
Sahota is going to continue to work to be ready for playing at Cornell.
“I just want to work on all aspects of my game,’’ said Sahota.
No comments:
Post a Comment