Bolomboy was born in Donetsk, Ukraine. He left to the USA being 4-year old together with his parents (Congolese father, Russian mother) and obtained American citizenship. He went to Weber State university after the school and graduated as a local legend and all-time leading rebounder of the Big Sky Conference. During his senior year Joel averaged 17.9 points and 12.8 rebounds, he was named Defensive Player of the Year in his conference, his college team went to the playoffs for the second year in a row. Bolomboy was selected by the Utah Jazz with 56th pick of the 2016 NBA Draft.
The Army Men newcomer played 18 NBA regular season games (1.7 points, 1.5 rebounds, 5.1 minutes) and 2 NBA playoff games (2.0 pints, 1.0 rebounds, 4.5 minutes) for the Utah and Milwaukee. He got much more time in the G-League – 54 games for the Salt Lake City Stars and the Wisconsin Herd. His averages are 16.4 points, 11.2 rebounds, 1.5 assists, 0.7 steals, 0.9 blocked shots in 33.7 minutes. The player who was not famous with his long-range shots in college also made 39.4% of his three-point attempts.
Dimitris Itoudis, CSKA head coach:
We’ve been following Joel for quite a long time. It is important that he wishes also to play for Russian National Team and develop as a player in CSKA environment. We got the player who can cover power forward and center positions. His determination, desire to work and willingness to improve are very important. Certainly Joel needs time to adjust to European basketball after playing in NCAA, NBA and G-League, to understand all CSKA demands, but we are here to help him make this step. We are happy to have him on our team and we are looking forward to working together.
Joel Bolomboy, CSKA center:
I’m very excited to join the CSKA club. Growing up as a kid it was always a dream to play for the NBA or also the great CSKA Moscow because of my family history. Now I will finally have a chance to do so. It means a lot to me because my mother is from Russia and we have roots here. I look forward to this experience, learning a lot and growing as a young player on and off the court and to this new journey in my career. I also look forward to being a part of a great organization, coaching staff and team!
