OGDEN — Joel Bolomboy was recruited by Florida State and Auburn, among others. But Weber State was the first to offer him a scholarship, and he loyally stuck with his commitment.

In two wins last week, Bolomboy averaged 21 points and 12 rebounds while becoming one of 10 finalists for the Kareem Abdul Jabbar Award given to the country's top center, joining Utah post Jakob Poeltl.

His hard work and playing hard has been a pretty good formula for success for Bolomboy, who has worked his way into a good position for an NBA career. Originally from Russia, Bolomboy will leave Weber State as the all-time rebounding leader in the Big Sky Conference, and the Wildcats' all-time leader in blocked shots.

"I always knew I had a chance, and the potential was there," Bolomboy told KSL Sports. "But for me to go through all this is kind of shocking."

Not bad for a young man who didn't play basketball until seventh grade.

"I played video games, and I was a regular teenager. I used to skateboard, watch TV," Bolomboy said with a grin. "It's tough, but at the time I was only 6-2."

Once he started playing basketball, Bolomboy had size and desire to be successful. But he didn't really know how to play the game.

"I was really raw, and I didn't have a skill set," Bolomboy said. "I was just long, lanky and athletic."

Weber State coach Randy Rahe saw a lot of potential in Bolomboy, noting four years ago that if he could teach the post player a few essentials, the sky was the limit for the 6-foot-9, 235-pounder who grew up in Fort Worth, Texas.

"He's come such a long way. I'm so proud of him," Rahe said. "When we first got him, he was 6-8, 200 pounds and he could jump out of the gym and rebound. But he really had no skill level, and didn't have a good feel for the game.

"Now to see him four years later, playing with skill level and feeling the game, the strides he's made have been remarkable. It's all because of him — he's a sponge, and he wants to be the best he can be. Every time you give him something, he lives in the gym until he gets it right."

The experience of four years of college basketball has done wonders for his game, Bolomboy admits.

"I think the biggest thing was experience, and getting a better feel for the game. I had to play more and more, work hard, and just play."

Bolomboy helped Rahe to the coach's 200th win Saturday night in an 87-78 home victory over Portland State. The former Utah State assistant coach won his 124th game in Big Sky play, which is the most in the history of the league.

"What it means: I've been here a long time," Rahe said of the 200-win mark. "I'm thankful the administration has allowed me to stay this long. We really like it here, I've had great players, and we have a great staff.

"We get great support from the community, and it's a team effort that we've been able to have such success."

Big Sky's all-time wins leader

Senglin helps Weber State down Portland State 87-78 for Rahe's 200th win

Jeremy Senglin scored 24 points and Weber State downed Portland State 87-78 on Saturday. Senglin was 7 of 14 from the field, helping the Wildcats (18-7, 10-2 Big Sky) stay a half-game behind conference leader Montana (16-8, 11-2), which beat Northern Arizona 85-67 earlier in the day. Weber State shot over 57 percent, including 9 of 22 from beyond the arc. Joel Bolomboy scored 19 points with 11 rebounds and Ryan Richardson added 14.

The native of Bancroft, Iowa, was named the ninth head basketball coach in Weber State history in March 2006 — and he's just excited the Wildcats kept him around after one season.

"I was hanging in there as long as I could," Rahe said with a laugh. "I've been really blessed. This is a great place; when the people at Weber State hired me, they took a chance on me. I wasn't the best candidate, but I take that as a great responsibility to try to get it back.

"We work hard, we don't win every game, but we just try to do things the right way and hope it all works out."

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