UB men’s basketball center Brock Bertram announced in a tweet Thursday that he will return to the program for his sixth and final season with the Bulls, adding some additional height and depth to the frontcourt.
In October, the NCAA’s Division I Council granted athletes who participated in winter sports in the 2020-21 season an additional year of eligibility, as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Bertram averaged 3.1 points, 4.6 rebounds and 1.1 blocks per game last season. The big man was sidelined for all non-conference play in 2020-21 due to a foot injury, but he still made a difference defensively, totaling 20 blocks in 18 games.
The Apple Valley, MN native’s return will solidify the Bulls’ strong interior presence, which is further reinforced by juniors Josh Mballa and Jeenathan Williams, sophomore LaQuill Hardnett, and incoming freshman Kuluel Mading, who committed to UB last week.
And although every frontcourt member is at least 6-foot-7, Bertram still towers over the opposition at an impressive 6-foot-11. With the departures of guards Jayvon Graves and Savion Gallion, the Bulls’ frontcourt remains almost entirely intact, leaving only a backcourt gap for head coach Jim Whitesell and his staff to address this offseason.
Hunter Skoczylas is the assistant sports editor and can be reached at hunter.skoczylas@ubspectrum.com and on Twitter @HunterSkoczylas
Hunter Skoczylas is the sports editor for The Spectrum. In his free time, he can be found looking up random sports statistics, jamming to Fleetwood Mac and dedicating his Sunday afternoons to watching the Buffalo Bills.
