CHANDIGARH: Harsimran Kaur, 17, has become the third Indian women to receive a National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I basketball scholarship from University of San Diego for the class of 2021, in a second feat within nine months of becoming the first non-Australian prospect selected from National Basketball Association (NBA) Academies’ Women’s Programme to attend NBA Global Academy at the Australian Institute of Sport (AIS) centre of excellence in Canberra.
The scholarship is a dream come true for Harsimran, but picking up a sport was like choosing between mother and father. Sumanpreet Kaur, her mother, represented India in volleyball, while Sukhdev Singh, her father, played basketball for his state.

“I am very excited but not more than my father. This is the dream we both had since I started playing basketball,” Harsimran told TOI from Kapurthala.
About the scholarship, the girl who stands 6-foot and 3 inches tall said: “It will be a new chapter for me. I am excited and a bit nervous going into a new environment and training with the best athletes, adjusting with new coaches and facilities. I look forward, though, to learning from all the players and coaches.”

In April 2019, she was one of the four Indian girls competing against top US junior cagers in the first NCAA Women’s Final Four Next Generation programme in Tampa. In February this year, she went to Chicago to participate in the Basketball Without Borders Global Camp during the 2020 NBA All-Star Weekend – where she was spotted by a scout of University of San Diego.
“They saw me playing and showed interest in me. I spoke to all the coaching staff and they convinced me to take the scholarship,” said Harsimran.

“It will be new experience as basketball in the US is different from India. Here if you are tall, you have to play center forward, a fixed position for me. I am not allowed to switch my position but in the US, the focus is on the overall growth of the player. I will get a chance to play at different positions, which will take my game to the next level,” she said.
Studying in Class XII, Harsimran has already decided what course she wants to take up at the university. She said, “I will be studying economics and business because I find both the subjects quite fascinating,” she said.

Harsimran’s ultimate goal is to play in the Women’s NBA, or WNBA. “It’s always been a dream,” she said. “It’s the highest standard of basketball and that’s where I want to be.”