About Us

Manny is a Brampton, Ont. native who has been playing basketball competitively since middle school. He attended St. Marguerite d’Youville while playing on the reputable Nike CIA/Bounce club team which has featured star athletes including Tristan Thompson, Andrew Wiggins, Jamal Murray and many more.

Mannny attended Cornell University (NCAA) of the Ivy League in Ithaca, New York on a full scholarship and finished his university career as a 3 year captain at the University of Toronto. Having competed at a high level and played the sport his entire life, Manny is excited to develop upcoming basketball players and help kids maximize their potential through ZOR.

Coach Jadranko has been playing sports since he was 11 years old. He specialized in health, physical education and sports. Jadranko has been elementary and high school teacher since 1983. He was playing professionally basketball in Europe for 17 years. Jadranko started coaching in 1987 and has done it on many different levels: elementary school, high school, university, rep and pro levels, boys and girls, men and women.

The Mississauga “Wolverines” Juvenile Girls Basketball Team won United States Regional Championship Title with coach Jadranko in Syracuse, NY in 2012 as only Canadian team to win it. Jadranko’s coaching philosophy centres around three core principles: commitment, selflessness, and team unity. His core values focus on being open and honest with his players while holding them accountable for their efforts. Coach Jadranko focuses on embracing the process of growth, which entails the need to focus on how to get better every day in order to succeed later. His teams focus is built on developing fundamental basketball skills, team-oriented basketball, offensively playing with spacing, ball movement, player movement, and with a primary emphasis on defense.

"There is no greater satisfaction than seeing character growth in students that you have mentored. Knowing how much teachers have moulded me into the person I am today, I want to have that same influence for future generations. Through basketball I do not only want to see the growth of players on the court but growth in their character and personality in order to prepare them for their future goals and aspirations."

Harvinder Dhillon is currently completing a BSc at York University, double majoring in Kinesiology and Health Science & Mathematics for Education. Growing up in Brampton, Ontario, he began playing basketball and studying the gameplay of his favourite players from a very young age. He has been volunteering and coaching high school students since the beginning of his undergraduate degree. After completing his BSc, Harvinder wishes to pursue a bachelor's of education in order to become a secondary school teacher.

"I learned at a very young age that hard work, dedication, and patience are the keys to success in sports and life. Eating healthy food, being a good student academically, displaying good sportsmanship on and off the basketball court, and spending many hours working on your game, are so important in our life not just as a basketball player but also as a person building positive character and personality. Being a positive influence on young people and making an impact in their lives is what coaching is all about. I bring a wealth of experience and knowledge to our ZOR Sports Academy Programs and look forward to building a great basketball environment, together with our dedicated coaching staff and leadership."

Born and raised in Brampton. Basketball has been Harraj's favourite sport growing up and he tried emulating his favourite players anytime he stepped on the court. Harraj went on to play high school football and was a consistent honour roll student having won awards for outstanding academic achievement in different subject areas (e.g. math, French, chemistry). His commitment to discipline allowed him to be successful in both athletics and academics.

Currently, Harraj is working towards becoming a Police Officer so that he can positively influence the community. Through ZOR, I influence the kids to not only be good basketball players, but I teach them how to be disciplined and manage themselves on and off the court so they can excel in all facets of their lives.

I was born in India but moved to Canada quite young and have lived in Oakville, Ontario ever since. I began my basketball career on a whim in grade school. All the guys were playing, and it looked like a fun sport. Little did I know, this sport would become an integral part of my life. Playing for my Elementary school team and winning my first Championship is what kickstarted my basketball career. I attended Garth Webb Secondary School and became the starting point guard on its first ever female basketball team. After reaching the Halton Finals in my freshman year and experiencing a devastating loss, the team re-appeared and won Halton Championships in my sophomore year. During High School, I also played for Oakville Venom and participated in various local, US and AAU Tournaments. After high school, I attended the University of Toronto Mississauga and was selected to be part of the inaugural Women’s Varsity team, where we competed in both the Eastern and Western Divisions. As a brand-new program, we made it to qualifiers and quarterfinals, respectively, on two occasions but were unable to proceed further.

Basketball is a sport I wholeheartedly love playing and being a student of. So, deciding to coach, transitioning from student to teacher, was after much contemplation. The first reason being the lack of South Asian female representation I saw whilst my time playing in the GTA. I want male and female athletes to feel comfortable and connect with their coaches, see someone who looks like them and know they can excel at this sport. The second reason, I wanted to pay tribute to all my previous coaches, take their lessons, tricks, wisdom and teach it to the future generation of basketball. Thirdly, I want young athletes to understand the emotional, mental and physical relationship one develops with a sport. And lastly, BECAUSE ITS FUN! At the end of the day if my athletes go home with a smile or a lesson, I have done my job as a coach.

Sam Bhachu is currently coaching with ZOR in both the NCAA and NBA programs. Sam grew up in Mississauga/Oakville where he played basketball at the rep level for clubs in both cities. Basketball has always been a prominent part Sam's life which is why he chose to combine his educational background in business with his passion for the game by pursuing a career in the professional sports industry. Sam recently completed a year-long fellowship with the Toronto Raptors during the 2017-18 season as the inaugural winner of the Wayne Embry Fellowship program where he gained first-hand experience in all areas of the Raptors basketball operations (player development, scouting, public relations, coaching, team travel, G-league operations, and more). Sam is also involved with the NBA's Basketball Without Borders Camp which hosts the top international high school prospects around the world each year. Sam is a strong believer in using basketball as a learning tool for success in all areas of life, both on and off the court.