ROELAND PARK, Kans. -- Each time five-star sophomore Bol Bol takes the floor all eyes are focused on him.
He’s easy to spot at near seven-feet tall, and if that wasn’t enough to draw attention, everybody knows him has the son of former NBA player Manute Bol.
While Bol has NBA bloodlines, he’s looking to carve out his own legacy and make sure people notice him for what he can do, and not for his name.
After playing junior varsity for most of his freshman year due to transfer rules, Bol was essentially playing the fourth varsity game of his career Wednesday night. He and his Roeland Park (Kans.) Bishop Miege teammates suffered a bit of an upset two-point loss to Kansas City (Mo.) Hogan Prep, but Bol certainly showed flashes of why he’s currently ranked No. 10 overall in the class of 2018.
Though he scored just two points in the first half, Bol came on strong during the second half to finish with 16 points, four rebounds and three blocks. What stood out was his ability to run the floor, slick passing for a young player his size and deft shooting touch.
He is still quite skinny and has to continue to develop his post game, but it’s easy to see why Kansas, St. John’s (head coach Chris Mullin was a close friend of Bol’s father), Oklahoma, Iowa, Kansas State and Creighton have been in and why the Red Storm, Sooners and Jays have already offered scholarships.
IN HIS COACH’S WORDS: L.J. Goolsby is the program director of Bol Bol’s summer program KC Run GMC, he sees lots of long-term potential with his player.
“Right now he’s getting acclimated still to being a varsity level player. He hadn’t had a chance to play much yet, but now he’s getting his feet wet each and every other game and getting more comfortable.”
“He’s very skilled and multi-dimensional for his size. His ability to shoot the ball with great touch and handle the ball is impressive. He’s got to get stronger and that’s something that he’s trying to work on. He’s got to work on that and his post game.”
RIVALS REACTION: Scouting Bol is an interesting process. There are many wow moments where you see the talent and ability that few players in his class have. There are also times where he floats too much to the perimeter and doesn’t have the impact that he is capable of. All in all, Bol is progressing nicely and his ceiling for improvement remains quite high.
WHAT’S NEXT: There is no rush for Bol to make any kind of decision or cut down his list. It is reasonable to expect that he takes his time with things and that there won’t be any real movement with his recruitment for at least the next year or so.
