BYU Basketball added some serious athleticism with the signing of Brazilian forward Bernardo Da Silva. The 6-foot-9, 205 pounds Da Silva boasts a 7-foot-2 wingspan.
Da Silva grew up in Rio de Janeiro and has prepped at the prestigious Wasatch Academy the past few seasons. A 3-star recruit according to ESPN, he also had scholarship offers from Oregon State, Utah State, Grand Canyon, SUU, Florida International, Southern, Cal State Fullerton and CS Bakersfield.
Da Silva’s measurables are nearly identical to Gavin Baxter’s. Baxter is the same height, has the same wingspan and is officially listed at 210 pounds. Baxter has already shown off his impressive athleticism on both ends of the floor early in the season, including four blocks in BYU’s last game versus Northwestern State.
Da Silva isn’t nearly as polished as Baxter was coming out of high school — Baxter was a 4-star prospect and top 150 recruit — but he has the raw tools and elite-level coaching at Wasatch Academy. It may take a couple seasons for Da Silva to develop consistency to become a high-level contributor on both ends of the floor, but he could quickly do some of the things that we are seeing Gavin Baxter do right now; i.e., defend, block shots and rebound.
BYU rarely — if ever — has gotten athletes with the raw measurables that Da Silva has, and now the Cougars will have two elite athletes on the roster beginning next season in Da Silva and Baxter. BYU fans may need to be patient with Da Silva, but his high ceiling could bring huge rewards in future seasons.
Da Silva joins Shengzhe Li and Nate Hansen as the third and likely final signee of the 2019 class.
Here’s what Dave Rose had to say about Da Silva: “Bernardo is a versatile player that can score at all three levels. His size and mobility will really help us on both ends of the floor.”