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Every so often there is a great cult figure that arises in college basketball. Think Bryant “Big Country” Reeves, Dennis Dembo, Marshall Henderson or, more recently, Doug “the ‘Stache” Edert from Saint Peter’s. Nigel Dixon too, for that matter.
The next one may be on his way and he’ll be a Wisconsin Badger: Gus Yalden.
A 6-9, 240 lb. big man, the first thing you notice about the Gus Bus is the caboose: he’s carrying some extra weight.
Thing is, it doesn’t seem to faze him. He is not overly athletic, but he has very quick feet and hands and thinks the game fast.
He’ll probably end up playing at a considerably lighter weight and it could be that if he drops 20-30 lbs, or at least converts it to muscle, he’ll be even more difficult to defend.
But on top of that, he’s an excellent passer: the Gus Bus may win out, but people are also calling him Baby Jokic after Nikola Jokić, the superb passing Denver Nugget.
Like Yalden, Jokić is not a phenomenal athlete and he’s a bit awkward. But also like Yalden, you give guys like that a place to stand and they can leverage the entire game.
Actually, the guy who he most resembles may be Loyola’s Cameron Krutwig and if you recall, Krutwig became a superb pain in the ass to everyone. That guy radically exceeded his physical gifts.
If any of you live in the Asheville area, you can catch Yalden in action at the Asheville School, arch rival of Christ School where the Plumlee Brothers went, in the fall.
As for the rest of us, we’re pretty sure he’s going to make a splash.
- Social media reacts to Wisconsin landing 2023 four-star prospect Gus Yalden
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- 4-star recruit and Appleton native commits to Badger basketball’s 2023 class
- Badgers land four-star center Gus Yalden
- Badger basketball: Wisconsin lands pledge from in-state 4-star forward/center
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