The University of the Fraser Valley men’s basketball team has made a late-summer addition to the roster, landing Ontario transfer Zubair Seyed.
Seyed had a decorated prep career in his hometown of Cambridge, Ont. In 2017, he led his St. Benedict Catholic Secondary squad to the Ontario AAA provincial championship game where he turned in a 52-point performance – including 30 in the fourth quarter – to spark a rally which came up just short in a 72-71 loss.
The 6’0″ point guard began his post-secondary career at Ryerson University, and was part of a Rams squad which made it all the way to the 2018 U Sports national championship game where they dropped a 79-77 decision to the Calgary Dinos. For the season, he averaged 2.6 points in 10 minutes per game.
Seyed subsequently made a pair of stateside stops at Daytona State College (Florida) and Dixie State University (Utah) before electing to return to Canada to join the Cascades. In 2018-19, playing in the junior college ranks at Daytona State, he averaged 8.3 points, 1.9 rebounds and 3.7 assists while shooting 38.6 per cent from beyond the arc, and earned Mid-Florida Conference all-star honors.
UFV head coach Joe Enevoldson noted that with the Cascades having graduated a trio of high-scoring seniors in Parm Bains, Sukhjot Bains and Matt Cooley, there is an opportunity for a shooter like Seyed to come in and make an impact.
“We have a lot of shots to replace, and we’re bringing in a guy who’s proven himself to be a bucket-getter at several different levels,” Enevoldson said. “He’s been in a championship-level atmosphere at Ryerson, and hopefully he can bring that pedigree to our Cascades program.
“He can definitely shoot it, he can get to the rim, and he can finish with both hands. He’s also a solid student, and we’re really looking forward to seeing what he can do in Canada West.”
Seyed plans to pursue an arts degree at UFV.
A decision on whether the Cascades will compete in basketball this season will be made no later than Oct. 8. Competition will not occur prior to Jan. 1, 2021.
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