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After sitting out last season with a heart condition, Baylor basketball has let the world know Jo Acuil has been given an additional year of eligibility, and will now be eligible this season and the following:
Baylor F Jo Lual-Acuil Jr. has been granted a 6th year waiver by NCAA, allowing him to compete in 2016-17 & 2017-18. #SicEm pic.twitter.com/5kJHTLWs8a
— Baylor MBB (@BaylorMBB) September 23, 2016
Acuil is a skilled big man with great shot blocking tendencies and the ability to put the ball on the floor. I did a preview of him earlier, and I think he’ll be a force in the middle of the zone.
The Acuil news is also great because it gives the Bears another skilled big man for the 2017-2018 Bears. The 2017-2018 team, especially if Motley returns, has the potential to be incredibly special.
With Acuil set to return, if the Bears do not lose anyone besides Motley and Wainright from this team, they’ll be down to one available scholarship for this class. That should leave the Bears attention squarely focused on Ikechukwu Obiagu, one of the top big men in the 2017 class.
The 2017-2018 Bears may be looking at this starting lineup: Fifth year senior Manu Lecomte, fifth year senior Al Freeman, junior King McClure, senior Terry Maston, and sixth year senior Jo Acuil. That would truly be a Scruff’s Squad, Cricket’s Crew, or whatever alliterative name an advertiser would liketo have ODB use. But all joking aside, start buying into the hype train of the 2017-2018 Bears, and in the meantime, appreciate that with Wainright and Motley still around this year- and maybe Motley will return for the senior tour of 2018- the Bears could make a run this year.
2016 may not be a time filled with great news, but this surely is. The NCAA did something right and gave Acuil another year.