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Long Beach State Basketball: Temidayo Yussuf could be key to success

By Jason Burgess

CHAPEL HILL, NC - NOVEMBER 15: Temidayo Yussuf #4 of the Long Beach State 49ers drives against Justin Jackson #44 of the North Carolina Tar Heels during the game at the Dean Smith Center on November 15, 2016 in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. (Photo by Grant Halverson/Getty Images)
CHAPEL HILL, NC - NOVEMBER 15: Temidayo Yussuf #4 of the Long Beach State 49ers drives against Justin Jackson #44 of the North Carolina Tar Heels during the game at the Dean Smith Center on November 15, 2016 in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. (Photo by Grant Halverson/Getty Images) /
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Senior Temidayo Yussuf could be key to a Long Beach State basketball turnaround this season. How might he perform?

It has been three years since the Long Beach State 49ers have finished above .500. If they are able to get over that hump in 2018-19, senior forward Temidayo Yussuf will be a big reason why. The 6-foot-7, 265-pound center from Oakland, California was not a highly-recruited player, receiving only interest from mid and low-major schools. He arrived at Long Beach State after committing to the school in the fall of 2013.

The redshirt-senior spent most of his first season in a reserve role but did find his way into the starting lineup 10 times. His most productive stint came in a three-game run just after Thanksgiving. While the team played in the Wooden Legacy, head coach Dan Monson inserted Yussuf into the starting 5 and the young forward responded in his second start with a 16-point, six rebound effort in a loss to Washington. He followed that up in his next game with 15 points and five rebounds as the 49ers beat Xavier.

In their first game following the Wooden Legacy, Yussuf recorded his first double-double (11 points, 10 rebounds) in a win over Nevada. He would spend the rest of his first season playing fluctuating minutes but still finished the season averaging 3.5 points and 2.6 rebounds. He shot 48% from the field in his first year but only 52% from the free throw line and his opponents knew of his struggles from the line, he took nearly as many attempts from the line (75) as he did from the field (78).

After showing flashes of promise in his first year, he was looking forward to making an even bigger contribution as a sophomore. Unfortunately, Yussuf suffered an injury in the pre-season. He was able to return for one game but he re-aggravated the injury and missed the remainder of the season, earning a medical redshirt season.

In 2016-17, Yussuf returned to become a fixture in the starting lineup for LBSU, appearing in all 34 games, starting 28. He finished the season with averages of 9.4 points and 4.6 rebounds while also improving his Achilles heel, free throw shooting, to 59%, making more free throws in 2017 than he attempted in his first season.

A closer look at his game logs shows he used the early portion of the schedule to get his feet back under him after not seeing game action in over a year. Once conference play began, Yussuf really took off. He registered double-figure points in 12 of 16 league games and scored a career-high 25 in a win over UC-Santa Barbara. His in-league stats jumped up to over 13 points and six rebounds per game and he led the conference in field-goal percentage at 57%.

Last season, the big man improved his free throw shooting again, bumping his percentage up to 61% and he was a bit more aggressive on the glass, grabbing just over six a game. As a junior, he started 18 of 29 games and hit double figures in 12 of them. He notched double-doubles in three games, a season sweep of Cal Poly and a win over Cal-State Fullerton.

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Coach Monson always challenges his team during the non-conference portion of the schedule and 2018-19 will be no different. The 49ers have matchups with UCLA, Arizona State, Mississippi State, and USC (among others) before the start of league play. The team finished 9-7 and fifth in the Big West last season, and if LBSU is to challenge the teams ahead of them, Yussuf will have to be a consistent force, night-in, and night out.