By Jackson Posey | Sports Writer
High Point forward Juslin Bodo Bodo has committed to Baylor, per multiple reports. The 7-foot, 250-pound big man won back-to-back Big South Defensive Player of the Year honors and led the Panthers to consecutive regular season conference titles for the first time since 2014-16.
“Juslin was just a monster today,” High Point head coach Alan Huss said after an overtime win against UNC Asheville in February. “He had eight offensive rebounds in 31 minutes. To convert on those plays so many times, to be able to finish and anchoring our offense with the lob threat that he was and the lob finishes was just tremendous.”
A rising junior, Bodo Bodo has two more years of remaining eligibility for the Bears. As a sophomore, he averaged 5.3 points, 8.4 rebounds and 1.4 blocks per game on 64.3% shooting — all representing slight steps back from his Big South Freshman of the Year campaign as the Panthers continued to stock the roster with talent. Still, his defense anchored the Panthers as they made their first-ever NCAA Tournament game.
High Point, a No. 13 seed, faced stiff competition in the first round — No. 4 Purdue won 75-63. (The Boilermakers wouldn’t bow out of the tournament until a two-point loss to Houston in the Sweet 16.) But for a while, it was close.
Just under the 8-minute mark, Bodo Bodo jammed a putback dunk to cut the lead to 59-56. A lob threat with a long wingspan, the sophomore center was able to exert vertical pressure against First Team All-Big 10 big man Trey Kaufman-Renn.
The analytics also say Bodo Bodo played a key role in the Panthers’ late comeback attempt, contributing a team-high game score (10.0) and box plus-minus (9.6).
The Yaoundé native continues a recent tradition of Baylor centers from the Cameroonian capital. Former Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year Jonathan Tchamwa Tchatchoua was born there, as was Yanis Ndjonga, who entered the transfer portal two weeks ago.
Bodo Bodo played his high school ball for Southern California Academy. A three-star, he was head coach Alan Huss’ only ranked recruit. But between a coaching change, a strong transfer class and a new defensive anchor at center, High Point jumped from 14-17 to 27-9 in Huss’ first season as head coach.
Bodo Bodo joins Wyoming guard Obi Agbim, Oregon State forward Michael Rataj and Omaha guard JJ White in Baylor’s transfer recruiting class, which led the Big 12 at No. 12 nationally before Bodo Bodo’s commitment. He’ll be the first Baylor 7-footer to receive regular rotation minutes since Jo Acuil in 2017-18.
