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Santa Clara, Calif. • Having made the surprising switch from college football to basketball last summer, thanks in part to a growth spurt while on his church mission, Corbin Kaufusi has just one regret.
The 6-foot-10 freshman center on BYU's basketball team, recruited to the school to play offensive line, wishes he could have gone up against his brother, outside linebacker/defensive end Bronson Kaufusi, a time or two before shelving the shoulder pads and helmet for shorts and sneakers.
"Maybe we did one one-on-one in the summer, but other than that, we are going to have to leave it for family home evening," Corbin said, laughing.
As it is, Corbin will have to be satisfied knowing that he's making a bigger impact on the court for the Cougars than Bronson did. In the 2012-13 season, while Corbin was knocking on doors in South Korea, the older Kaufusi brother helped rescue coach Dave Rose's club when it sorely lacked depth inside.
Corbin is not just a role player on this team, however, as the Cougars (1-1, 11-4) prepare to face Santa Clara (1-1, 6-7) on Thursday in a West Coast Conference tilt at the Leavey Center. He has averaged 20 minutes a game the past three, and is filling in nicely for the injured Nate Austin, who probably won't return from a hamstring tear until mid-January, at the earliest.
Rose said he's "absolutely" pleased with Kaufusi's development and contribution.
"Corb's minutes are not only to where he feels more comfortable, but the players, the team around him, I think they want him on the floor, which is a really good thing, a positive thing and should be a confidence builder both ways, a confidence builder for Corbin and for the guys playing with him," Rose said. "… There are just a lot of things he can do for us the more comfortable he feels out there."
Corbin got off to a slow start due to a sore knee, then sprained his ankle in Maui and missed the Eastern Kentucky game and played just one minute in the 91-81 win at Utah State. Lately, though, he has played better than any other frontcourt player. He had six points against UMass, five points and five rebounds against Gonzaga, and five rebounds and a big slam dunk against Portland.
"A big thing I need to improve on is just consistency," he said. "I feel like there are times when I play decently, and there are times where that drops off."
Many BYU fans believe the Kaufusi siblings get their athleticism from their father, Steve, a former BYU football player and the football team's current defensive line coach. But their mother, the former Michelle Garrick, also hails from an athletic family. Her brother, the late Craig Garrick, was an offensive guard on BYU's 1984 national championship team.
Steve Kaufusi was skeptical about the switch at first, when Corbin returned from Korea and began playing pickup basketball games in July — until he talked to Bronson.
"Bronson took him into the gym the second or third day after he got home to see what he's got, and he said, 'Dad, he has to play basketball. He's a vertical player, and he can really jump,' " Steve Kaufusi said. "Corbin came home and said, 'Dad, I think this is my niche. I want to play basketball.' After a month, he kept playing basketball, and I was like, 'Hey, it is your life. I will support you, no matter what you want to do.' So, I am excited for him."
The amazing thing is that Corbin didn't play basketball his senior year at Timpview High, due to an ACL tear he suffered early in the football season. He averaged 11.6 points a game as a junior and was on a 4A state championship team as a sophomore.
Corbin said the most difficult adjustment has been making the change from football shape — which prizes strength, size and bulk — to basketball shape.
"At first, it was, 'shoot, I can't lose weight,' " he said. "I had that mindset. But if it is going to help me run up and down the court, I gotta do it."
Twitter: @drewjay -
BYU at Santa Clara
P At the Leavey Center, Santa Clara, Calif.
Tipoff • 3 p.m.
TV • BYUtv Radio • 1160 AM/102.7 FM
Records • BYU 1-1, 11-4; Santa Clara 1-1, 6-7
Series History • BYU leads, 21-5
Last Meeting • BYU 89, Santa Clara 76 (Feb. 6, 2014)
About the Broncos • They are 8-3 at home against BYU, but have not defeated the Cougars since they've been in the West Coast Conference. … They come off a 57-40 road win at Pacific in which Matt Hubbard scored a career-high 15 points and Jared Brownridge added 14. … Guard Brandon Clark leads them in scoring with a 16.2 average, and Brownridge chips in 15.2 ppg.
About the Cougars • They lead the nation in scoring at 88.1 ppg. … Guard Kyle Collinsworth is the only player in the country in the top 100 in rebounds (88th), assists (31st) and steals (40th). … Tyler Haws has scored 2,275 points in his career and is 10 away from tying Devin Durrant for fourth on the school's career scoring list. … They will stay in the Bay Area and play at San Francisco on Saturday.