Jonothan Nicola, far right, with the Catholic Central Comets basketball team.
At the Ontario provincial high school basketball championships last month, coach Gus Gymnopoulos of Vaughan Secondary School wondered about one of the players on the opposing team, Catholic Central High School from Windsor, Ont.
Gymnopoulos had already scouted 6-foot-9 Jonathan Nicola, a 17-year-old who had attracted some attention after he arrived in Canada from South Sudan in November on a student visa.
To Gymnopoulos, Nicola didn't look like a teenager. Nicola was a raw talent and threw down several dunks. He was hard to guard near the hoop but he wasn't dominant on the court, as Vaughan Secondary defeated Catholic Central.
"He just didn't physically look like he was in 11th grade," Gymnopoulos said. "He just looked older."
The mysterious 17-year-old may in fact be much older. The story became a sensation on Wednesday when the news emerged of the high school basketball player who was billed in headlines as a 30-year-old.
Nicola was arrested last Friday by the Canada Border Services Agency and may be close to 30, reaching that mark later this year. He had used a date of birth of Nov. 1, 1986, for a previous application to enter the United States, according to a statement from Border Services on Thursday.
Border Services has alleged that Nicola misrepresented material facts in his application for a study permit to Canada, for which he submitted a date of birth of Nov. 25, 1998 – the basis of his age of 17 and short life at Catholic Central, in the classroom and on the court. A misrepresentation would make Nicola inadmissible to Canada, under the Immigration Refugee Protection Act.
Nicola arrived at Toronto Pearson International Airport on Nov. 23, a couple of days before the Nov. 25, 1998, birthday in the passport he presented.
According to Border Services, the differing dates of birth came to light when Nicola recently applied for a visitor visa to the United States.
Border Services used fingerprints to connect the recent application with the earlier application to the United States.
Nicola is being held at the South West Detention Centre, a maximum-security jail in Windsor. Border Services wants to put Nicola into an admissibility hearing before the Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada.
Nicola's detention was reviewed by the board this week. The board ruled that Nicola would remain in detention because "he presents a flight risk, as he is unlikely to appear for an upcoming admissibility hearing."
Another detention review is set for next Tuesday. A date for the admissibility hearing has not been set.
There have been cases in the United States and Canada of men in their early 20s masquerading as teenagers to play high school basketball – but in this case, a man potentially nearing 30 and looking to escape the strife of South Sudan, is much more spectacular, if the allegations are true.
Nicola hadn't previously played organized basketball and didn't spark undue attention. There were no official complaints about him lodged with the Ontario Federation of School Athletic Associations.
Nicola was an intriguing prospect, according to high school scout Tariq Sbiet of North Pole Hoops, who had seen him play and thought he could eventually make it to top-level U.S. college basketball.
Sbiet wondered about Nicola's age but was told by team coach Peter Cusumano that documents such as a birth certificate and student visa had been vetted. "We've seen guys who do look older and you don't know how old they are," Sbiet said. "You go based on what you're told. It sounded like he was enthusiastic about learning and a nice person, appreciative of his situation, coming from Sudan, wanting to work and get better."
Nicola was supported by the local community. The Detroit Pistons donated a bunch of size-16 shoes and clothing.
Cusumano is a veteran coach who is set to retire this spring. "Wish I could clear this up," he said through a message on social media, "but I am not allowed to talk." Sherrilynn Colley-Vegh, principal of Catholic Central, referred comment to a district spokesman.
The school is home to numerous international students. Stephen Fields, spokesman for the Windsor-Essex Catholic District School Board, said that the board relies on the government documentation that it is presented.
Cusumano was a mentor to Nicola and housed him as part of the Canada Homestay Network. A spokeswoman for the network said this is the first time in the organization's 21-year history that an international student has been involved with Canadian immigration authorities.
Nicola came to Canada through a series of connections. According to a Windsor Star feature in January, Nicola was spotted in South Sudan by Deng D'Awol. D'Awol had, earlier in his life, played youth basketball with a Canadian, Greg Dole, a son of a diplomat.
D'Awol and Dole both attended Upper Canada College in Toronto in the mid-1990s, according to records. D'Awol thereafter played low-level college basketball in the United States. Neither man responded to messages on Thursday.
The two men, according to the Windsor Star, were looking to send Nicola to a prep school in the United States when Dole suggested Cusumano and Catholic Central in Windsor as an option. (The Windsor Star also first reported this week on Nicola's arrest and alleged age discrepancy.)
In a January video on the Windsor Star's website, Nicola said it was difficult to obtain his visa to Canada, taking six months and several trips between his home in South Sudan and a Canadian embassy in Kenya.
"We are Africans," Nicola said. "It's really hard for us to come to Canada and stay. … It really took forever, but I'm really happy that I'm here."
David Ebner