Football DL Bronson Kaufusi Joins the Basketball Team

Bronson's first time on the court
in a Cougar basketball uniform

Bronson Kaufusi, a 6'7", 260 lb defensive lineman from the BYU football team, is making waves in a new sport: basketball. When I first heard that he was possibly joining the basketball team, I thought it was a joke. And when he first stepped onto the court against Loyola Marymount last Thursday, I thought it was even more of a joke. Seriously-- this guy can play basketball?! He looked like a grizzly bear, standing next to the likes of little Matty Carlino and Craig Cusick. Or perhaps more accurately, he kind of looked like a grizzly bear in headlights . . . for about 10 seconds. Then he kicked into football mode and did what he does best-- intimidated the opponent with his sheer size and grit. I half expected him to tackle the poor guy, but instead, he played pretty solid, legal defense in the paint, then got the ball in his hands on the other side of the court and scored on his first-ever attempted shot as a Cougar hoopster (and it wasn't a super easy one, either). During a blowout game with mostly lackluster cheers, the crowd went wild.

Bronson's first score as a
BYU basketball player

My first impression of Bronson on the basketball court is that he's HUGE. I looked up his football stats after the game and wasn't surprised--he had 23 tackles, 5.5 tackles for loss, 4.5 sacks, 1 pass breakup, and 1 fumble recovery during his freshman season on the football team this year. Dang.

I was also surprised to learn that he played both football and basketball at Timpview High School before his mission in New Zealand, and played both really well. He just doesn't look like a basketball player to me, but I'm glad he is. He's intimidating, he's got a solid base that's perfect for defense, and did I mention he's HUGE? :) Tyler Haws said, "He doesn't move on box-outs. You go to box him out, and it's like his feet are locked on the floor. He provides a big presence inside and gives Brandon a good guy to go against every day in practice."

I think, with a little more practice, Bronson Kaufusi could be a decent backup for Brandon Davies and Nate Austin, especially against teams with bigger guys who they are having a hard time defending. I'm not sure how many minutes he'll actually get, but I think he has a lot of potential and gives the BYU basketball team something they have been missing, at least to some extent -- SIZE. I know I wouldn't want to run into an angry Kaufusi in a dark alley . . . or on the basketball court.