Semaj Christon, a point guard from Winton Woods, has verbally committed to Xavier's class of 2012.

He will join shooting guard Myles Davis, power forward James Farr, center Sim Bhullar and reclassifying power forward Jalen Reynolds.

Christon will spend the next year prepping at Brewster Academy (N.H.) with Reynolds.

The 6-foot-3, 175-pound player chose XU over Georgetown, Illinois and Providence. Christon said he was most impressed with the Musketeers coaches, who “believed in me” and were straightforward during the recruiting process.

“Chris Mack was honest all the time, and he cared enough to come to my (AAU) games. For a head coach to come to my games is kind of big for me,” Christon said.

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.”