UCLA888
Joined: 10/29/22 Posts: 408
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Posted Tue, Apr 01 7:12 am
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7' tall and 7'5 wingspan - Juslin Bodo Bodo who recently entered the portal...
AND we need rebounding more than anything else (as our two starters at F/C last season only averaged 8.6 reb/game combined) and this guy rebounds like no other at 8.4 reb/game in just 21.7 min/game (see X post below)
OK so Aday Mara is not who we thought he was character-wise but this guy who idolizes NBA players like Luc Mbah a Moute and is from the same hometown with Luc and Alfred Aboya is a perfect Cronin guy and is the BEST per-possession rebounder in college basketball according to Evan Miya, the stat guru.
https://x.com/EvanMiya/status/1906083099076870453
PLUS you must read his story, going from NO basketball nor English ability a few years ago, to watching Japanese Anime subtitles to learn English in nearby Castaic, California to Defensive Player of the Year in the Big South League this past season.
The Long Road: A Juslin Bodo Bodo story (link below)
https://www.theviewpointnewspaper.com/news-2-0-57/the-long-road%3A-a-juslin-bodo-bodo-story
From the article:
"Education is a key principle amongst Bodo’s parents and his eight siblings, and once his mom and dad were certain that Bodo would be receiving a high-class education and that he would not just be playing basketball in the United States, they agreed to let their second to youngest son’s basketball journey continue across the waters.
The destination Bodo landed at was Southern California Academy in Castaic, California, an over 8,000-mile trip from his home in Cameroon."
Remember when Mick at the beginning of his tenure said bringing back the great Bruin players was most important to honor the 4 letters and he did just that. He needs to go back to that concept and bring guys like Luc and Alfred into the locker room to advise and assist getting these guys from Africa and elsewhere as they are legends overseas along with the UCLA name.
Even if Juslin's just a backup center this coming season, he shouldn't cost that much in NIL and who knows, he might just start as long as he can defend the paint and improve his FT% a bit. Yeah, I know another guy from mid-major conf (he did OK against Purdue) but this guy looks and feels different from the others and will root for him wherever he ends up.
BTW, I'm back on a limited basis after a hiatus from posting. Had a bunch of medical issues and SoCal fire issues on top but all is good now. 
Go Bruins! |
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