Sim Bhullar is a 17-year-old from Toronto who has a verbal commitment to play for Xavier and was recently featured in the New York Times.

Bhullar's parents were born in India and coverage of his games appears in Toronto's Punjabi newspaper.

“I think it would be a blessing,” he said, “to be the first from an entire country to go to the N.B.A. and be a role model.”

Bhullar’s emergence would be a boon for increasing the popularity of the game in India, with a population about 1.2 billion, including five million who play basketball.

The NBA televises five games a week in India and is attempting to increase its popularity.

“Having a player from India in the N.B.A. is a question of when, not if,” said Heidi Ueberroth, the president of N.B.A. International. She added, “We have no doubt that the elite players from India will emerge.”

Even though Bhullar was not born in India, it is believed his presence at a high level of basketball would resonate there.

“Like Yao for China and Dirk for Germany, he’s along those lines,” said Paul Biancardi, an ESPN recruiting analyst, referring to Dirk Nowitzki of the Dallas Mavericks. “He could help populate the game and spark interest in that country. But first, he has to emerge here. And he hasn’t done anything yet.”