Slam Dunk: Indo-Canadian Basketball Player Ishan Sharma Commits to the University of Virginia 

Indo-Canadian basketball player Ishan Sharma feels he will “fit in well” at the University of Virginia, “both on and off the court.” And that’s one of the main reasons why he committed to the university’s basketball team for the 2024 recruiting class. The 6’5″ shooting guard is about to begin his senior year at Fort Erie International Academy in Fort Erie, Ontario.

CavsCorner.com, a website about Cavaliers’ football and basketball recruiting, says Sharma joins the Cavaliers “after a strong summer with UPLAY Canada on the Nike EYBL Circuit where he shot 44.8 percent from deep.” He has represented Canada in FIBA tournaments. BVM Sports notes that “with his shooting skills and defensive abilities, he could be a valuable asset for the Cavaliers.”

According to Jerry Ratcliffe, who has been covering UVA Athletics for more than four decades, Sharma is “a catch-and-shoot guard who can fire off the dribble and create his own shot when defenders overplay him. He has a high basketball IQ and makes good decisions on using ball screens.”

Speaking to CavsCorner.com, Sharma said he was particularly impressed with the University of Virginia coaches. “Coach Bennett, Coach (Orlando) Vandross and Coach (Johnny) Carpenter really recruited me hard and they have just been really consistent with me,” he said. “Everybody is really humble there and that really stood out to me.” He said he really sees himself “fitting in well, both on and off the court. He recalled meeting the players and said he “really enjoyed with what they had to say,” and added that the program will “help me become the best player and person I can be.”

The young player represented Canada in the 2021 FIBA U16 Americas and the 2022 FIBA U17 World Cup when he averaged 10.5 points, 3.4 rebounds and 1.6 assists per game. During his UPLAY team’s five-game stint at Peach Jam, Sharma was 16 of 36 from behind the arc and scored 28 points in one game, going 8 of 14 from the field, including five 3-pointers. He had a game-high 34 points vs. The Rock School (Florida) in the Lighthouse Classic Prep Challenge.

Sharma started playing basketball when he was around four or five years old. He played recreational basketball for the first time when he was in 3rd grade, for the local team in Milton called Halton Basketball. From there he “just worked really hard playing for them for a long time,” he told prospectiveinsight.com. But then “COVID happened,” and he found his way to UPLA. That’s where he got “some exposure, and  met some people who have helped me get to where I am today.”

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Sharma’s older brother, Aryan, also plays basketball. He currently plays in the Canadian Elite Basketball League for the Montreal Alliance. The younger brother shared ”the best advice,” his older brother gave. “No matter who’s in front of you, no matter what the situation is, what kind of game it is, whether the game seven or it’s a preseason game to always look at who your opponent is and just go for the kill every single time, no matter who or what circumstances.” 

Sharma told the website that his “biggest strength” is his “ability to shoot the ball in catch-and-shoot situations, off-the-dribble situations, live-ball situations and also creating my own shot when defenders overplay me.” Ice has “a high IQ for the game,” and he plays with “a lot of skill.” This allows him to “use ball screens as well and make decisions off being a primary ball handler or secondary ball handler and just making the right read every time I touch the ball. So those are my strengths.”

He wants to use basketball as a platform “to inspire people, especially young kids who are of Indian descent or South Asian descent that maybe look at me and see something that they want to do and see that it’s possible. Maybe they can see me and just realize that I can do as well and that’s all I can hope for, to be honest, at the end of the day.”