Manroop Clair is transferring from Seattle University – an NCAA Division I school in the Western Athletic Conference – and will have two years of U SPORTS eligibility remaining. “It’s a great opportunity, it’s like a second chance I’m getting,” said Clair, who will be pursuing a Master’s degree at UBC. “I’m very grateful to Kevin Hanson and the UBC staff for helping me get here. I’m very grateful to my aunt for helping me also.”

VANCOUVER – The University of British Columbia Thunderbirds men’s basketball program has landed Indo-Canadian hoops star from Surrey who had been playing in the US Collegiate basketball.

UBC said in a press release this week that they were proud to announce the signing of sharpshooting guard Manroop Clair of Surrey, B.C.

Clair is transferring from Seattle University – an NCAA Division I school in the Western Athletic Conference – and will have two years of U SPORTS eligibility remaining.

“He’s coming back a very mature basketball player,” said UBC head coach Kevin Hanson. “He’s one of the best three-point shooters this province has ever produced, so we’re looking forward to having him come in.”

“It’s a great opportunity, it’s like a second chance I’m getting,” said Clair, who will be pursuing a Master’s degree at UBC. “I’m very grateful to Kevin Hanson and the UBC staff for helping me get here. I’m very grateful to my aunt for helping me also.”

The 6-foot-2 guard played two full seasons for Seattle. In 2015-16, Clair appeared in 31 games, averaging 21.5 minutes, 8.3 points and 1.5 rebounds per outing. Clair notched a career-high 22 points on Dec. 6, 2015 against Mississippi Valley State. He led the team in three-point makes and attempts (69-184), nearly six attempts per game, shooting 37.5 percent from beyond the arc. He was also successful on 85.7 percent of his foul shots.

In his sophomore season (2014-15), Clair averaged 8.9 minutes played and 3.1 points in 16 games.

Clair made three appearances for Seattle during the 2016-17 campaign and graduated with his Bachelor of Arts degree in Interdisciplinary Liberal Studies, with a minor in Business.

This Indo-Canadian player began his post-secondary career at the University of Hawaii, a member of the NCAA’s Division I Big West Conference, where he played in 25 games with six starts. Clair saw time at both points and shooting guard, and averaged 2.4 points, 1.0 rebounds, 1.2 assists and 11.5 minutes played per appearance.

“I bring a scoring mentality and leadership,” remarked Indo-Canadian sportsperson Clair. “I think I can help on and off the court. I’ve lived away from home since I was 16 years old, so now I can give back and help our team and program get better.”

Hanson says Clair has had a great journey to get to this point.

“He’s proud of what he accomplished down in the NCAA. It was time for him to come home,” said Hanson, who is the second-winningest coach in Canada West conference history.

“I’m thrilled to have him with us. He’s going to bring us experience and dead-eye three-point shooting. He has a great ability to come off ball screens to make plays, so we’re very excited to have him as an addition to our team. We are a young team, we were trying to find experienced players so getting a D1 returnee was crucial for the continued development of our program.”

In high school, Clair played for Burnaby South Secondary before moving south to attend Huntington Prep in West Virginia, graduating in 2012. At Huntington, he was part of a team that ranked sixth in the country by USA Today.

Clair’s signing adds to the UBC men’s basketball recruiting class, which also includes previously announced high school graduates Jack Cruz-Dumont and Lincoln Rosebush.