Remember the original “Twin Towers”, consisting of 7’4 Ralph Sampson and 7’0 Hakeem Olajuwon on the Houston Rockets during the mid 1980’s?
Although they only played together for a few seasons, they were an impenetrable duo in the painted area, proving to be the model for positioning two 7 foot plus big men in the post.
Sampson and Olajuwon were the precursor to later “Twin Tower” emulators, like when the San Antonio Spurs once rode future Hall of Fame big men David Robinson and Tim Duncan to the 1999 NBA Title.
Some of today’s modern day versions of super tall duos include Tim Duncan and Tiago Splitter on the Spurs, Marc Gasol and Zach Randolph on the Grizzlies, and Dwight Howard and Omer Asik of the Rockets.
When it comes to college basketball, a new duo suiting up for the New Mexico Aggies may be the tallest pair of teammates ever on an NCAA hardwood.
While Kenny George, the 7’7 former big man for UNC Asheville, is the tallest player in NCAA Division I history, the Bhullar brothers will soon hold the record for tallest teammates in NCAA history.
Older brother Sim Bhullar (7’5) is the reigning tallest player in college hoops and constantly drew looks and was a fan favorite of Aggies fans for his immense size during his freshman season but he will now be joined by younger brother Tanveer (7’3), an incoming freshman to the program.
THD was once one of the first sites to bring the story of the Bhullars to the masses back in 2010, as we touted them as the high school ranks’ new Twin Towers, as we followed them from their roots in India, then playing for the fabled CIA Bounce in Canada, then to American high school ranks at Kiski School and Huntington Prep.
The 7’5 and 355 lb Sim was once a top 100 rated HS player but was forced to redshirt his freshman season with the Aggies. He came on strong last year averaging a respectable 10.1 points, 6.7 rebounds, and 2.4 blocks during the regular season but was especially dominant in the WAC Tournament and NCAA Tournament, averaging a double-double.
Look for the Bhullar brothers to form the new Twin Towers of NCAA Basketball next season. Check out a few pics of Sim Bhullar and his younger brother Tanveer…….
Allen Moll has been a lifelong NBA and NCAA College Basketball fan who watches and studies games religiously, and coaches youth basketball in his native Lehigh Valley region of Pennsylvania. Allen has also provided content to Bleacherreport.com, Upperdeckblog.com, Cleveland.com, CSN Philly.com, Buckets Magazine, in addition to being a tenured NBA and NCAA columnist for TheHoopDoctors.com.
