The Curious Case of Bol Bol
There are perhaps no players in the 2019 NBA draft class that are more interesting or as unique of a prospect as Bol Bol of Oregon. There are also perhaps no players in the 2019 NBA draft class that are more polarizing than Bol.
Bol Bol is listed 7-2 or 7-3, and the son of former NBA player Manute Bol (who was 7-7). He also has a 7-8 wingspan and a monstrous 9-8 standing reach.
Likely Bol’s best skill is his shooting for his size, which is pretty much unprecedented for a college freshman. In the Nike EYBL in high school, Bol shot 45/54 (83.3%) from the line and 22/45 (48.9%) from three. These would be amazing shooting numbers for a high school senior that was 6-3, much less one that was 7-3. He continued this incredible shooting in 9 games in college prior to his season ending due to a foot injury, by shooting 28/37 from the line (75.7 percent) and 13/25 from three (52 percent). He has a low release point, so can’t really shoot over guys his size, but they’ll be so few guys his size in the NBA that this isn’t too much of a problem.
He also moves incredibly for his size and has fantastic coordination.
Plays like these for someone who is 7-3 are transcendent. Plenty of guards in this draft would struggle to complete a move like that. Bol’s footwork is fantastic, and he’s very creative as a finisher near the rim. Obviously he doesn’t have as good of ball handling or shooting ability as Kevin Durant, but at a young age he has that type of combination of movement, handle and shot for being so tall.
Because of his shooting and athleticism for his height, Bol’s offensive potential is pretty enormous. His play is reminiscent of Kristaps Porzingis, who is considered to be one of the top young stars in the NBA. He often struggles offensively to get close to the rim on post ups and is forced out to jump shots or longer hook shots mostly because of how thin he is. He also has a lot of room to improve as a passer as he’s not very good at keeping his head up and finding the open guy from double teams, averaging only 1.0 assists to 2.0 turnovers in his 9 college games. But outside of these weaknesses, he has a very good chance to be a good to awesome offensive player in the NBA.
His defense is another story. That’s surprising, because it’s very difficult to have a 7-8 wingspan, great lateral movement for your size, and still not be a great defender at the college level. But that’s exactly the case for Bol Bol. His effort on the defensive end is very poor, as he’s constantly out of position, getting beat off the dribble or not contesting shots. He struggles with conditioning as well, and he often had to play in shorter spurts at Oregon. His motor is very inconsistent, and his thin body allows bigger players to back him down in the post. He definitely needs to get stronger to improve at the NBA level.
Despite all of this, I still think Bol can at least be an average defender in the NBA. His shot blocking ability is fantastic, as he led the Nike EYBL in blocks and averaged 2.7 in a little less than 30 minutes per game for Oregon while only fouling 1.7 times per game. This ability to avoid fouls while still contesting and blocking shots will be very valuable in the NBA. Even if he does everything else defensively at a below average level, he will still be very playable at the center position defensively simply due to his shot blocking. He also should be a very switchable defender in the NBA if he just puts in decent effort on the defensive end, as his lateral movement is awesome for a guy so tall and long. His weight doesn’t worry me that much, as post play in the NBA is not what it used to be. He also rebounded really well at the college level (9.6 rebounds per game), and while he won’t have the same height and length advantage in the NBA, he’ll at the very least be able to hold his own as a rebounder.
Bol’s other major concern is his foot injury that has cost him the rest of his freshman season. Foot injuries for 7-0 and taller guys, especially guys in the 7-3 or above range, tend to be problematic and could lead to chronic injuries in his lower body or a future career ending injury. Bol Bol is similar to Zion Williamson in one way, in that we have haven’t seen a prospect quite like either of them. That’s why I think arguing for or against Bol as a prospect is more of a philosophical debate than anything else. A lot of times I think those of us in the NBA draft community tend to nitpick prospects after looking at them all year long and examining each one of their flaws and potential risks very closely. For example, Luka Doncic was heavily criticized for his lack of explosion and elite athleticism and therefore many people tended to underrate him as a prospect despite his unprecedented skill level for someone his age. In the same way, guys like Isaiah Thomas, Dirk Nowitzki or Malcolm Brogdon were said to be “too small” or “too soft” or “too old.” I think we have to analyze prospects in their whole form, and sometimes put aside major flaws and weaknesses whena player has transcendent abilities. We should focus on their strengths more than their weaknesses.
That’s not to say that Bol should definitely be a top 5 pick in June, but in a very weak draft I think teams have to at least consider Bol somewhere in that second tier behind Zion Williamson. Personally, I have him in the 4 to 8 range on my big board.
Bol Bol is listed 7-2 or 7-3, and the son of former NBA player Manute Bol (who was 7-7). He also has a 7-8 wingspan and a monstrous 9-8 standing reach.
Likely Bol’s best skill is his shooting for his size, which is pretty much unprecedented for a college freshman. In the Nike EYBL in high school, Bol shot 45/54 (83.3%) from the line and 22/45 (48.9%) from three. These would be amazing shooting numbers for a high school senior that was 6-3, much less one that was 7-3. He continued this incredible shooting in 9 games in college prior to his season ending due to a foot injury, by shooting 28/37 from the line (75.7 percent) and 13/25 from three (52 percent). He has a low release point, so can’t really shoot over guys his size, but they’ll be so few guys his size in the NBA that this isn’t too much of a problem.
He also moves incredibly for his size and has fantastic coordination.
Plays like these for someone who is 7-3 are transcendent. Plenty of guards in this draft would struggle to complete a move like that. Bol’s footwork is fantastic, and he’s very creative as a finisher near the rim. Obviously he doesn’t have as good of ball handling or shooting ability as Kevin Durant, but at a young age he has that type of combination of movement, handle and shot for being so tall.
Because of his shooting and athleticism for his height, Bol’s offensive potential is pretty enormous. His play is reminiscent of Kristaps Porzingis, who is considered to be one of the top young stars in the NBA. He often struggles offensively to get close to the rim on post ups and is forced out to jump shots or longer hook shots mostly because of how thin he is. He also has a lot of room to improve as a passer as he’s not very good at keeping his head up and finding the open guy from double teams, averaging only 1.0 assists to 2.0 turnovers in his 9 college games. But outside of these weaknesses, he has a very good chance to be a good to awesome offensive player in the NBA.
His defense is another story. That’s surprising, because it’s very difficult to have a 7-8 wingspan, great lateral movement for your size, and still not be a great defender at the college level. But that’s exactly the case for Bol Bol. His effort on the defensive end is very poor, as he’s constantly out of position, getting beat off the dribble or not contesting shots. He struggles with conditioning as well, and he often had to play in shorter spurts at Oregon. His motor is very inconsistent, and his thin body allows bigger players to back him down in the post. He definitely needs to get stronger to improve at the NBA level.
Despite all of this, I still think Bol can at least be an average defender in the NBA. His shot blocking ability is fantastic, as he led the Nike EYBL in blocks and averaged 2.7 in a little less than 30 minutes per game for Oregon while only fouling 1.7 times per game. This ability to avoid fouls while still contesting and blocking shots will be very valuable in the NBA. Even if he does everything else defensively at a below average level, he will still be very playable at the center position defensively simply due to his shot blocking. He also should be a very switchable defender in the NBA if he just puts in decent effort on the defensive end, as his lateral movement is awesome for a guy so tall and long. His weight doesn’t worry me that much, as post play in the NBA is not what it used to be. He also rebounded really well at the college level (9.6 rebounds per game), and while he won’t have the same height and length advantage in the NBA, he’ll at the very least be able to hold his own as a rebounder.
Bol’s other major concern is his foot injury that has cost him the rest of his freshman season. Foot injuries for 7-0 and taller guys, especially guys in the 7-3 or above range, tend to be problematic and could lead to chronic injuries in his lower body or a future career ending injury. Bol Bol is similar to Zion Williamson in one way, in that we have haven’t seen a prospect quite like either of them. That’s why I think arguing for or against Bol as a prospect is more of a philosophical debate than anything else. A lot of times I think those of us in the NBA draft community tend to nitpick prospects after looking at them all year long and examining each one of their flaws and potential risks very closely. For example, Luka Doncic was heavily criticized for his lack of explosion and elite athleticism and therefore many people tended to underrate him as a prospect despite his unprecedented skill level for someone his age. In the same way, guys like Isaiah Thomas, Dirk Nowitzki or Malcolm Brogdon were said to be “too small” or “too soft” or “too old.” I think we have to analyze prospects in their whole form, and sometimes put aside major flaws and weaknesses whena player has transcendent abilities. We should focus on their strengths more than their weaknesses.
That’s not to say that Bol should definitely be a top 5 pick in June, but in a very weak draft I think teams have to at least consider Bol somewhere in that second tier behind Zion Williamson. Personally, I have him in the 4 to 8 range on my big board.
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