Bol Bol

[Ball4life32]

I obviously said MOST, not all, as I heard at least 3 others on that forum that were Bol detractors.

I couldn't give a rat's *** about defensive stats, they get pumped up by blocks and rebounds on the sports reference page. You can trash them on him.

Ok I never said you said all hawks fans though...

Then what makes Bol bad at everything defensively except blocks?

Poor lateral movement, lack of defensive awareness, and weak frame. If you want to get better as a team you likely have to avoid Collins on the perimeter as much as possible on defense, and drafting Bol would not avoid that. So it's just cumulative.

If you don't buy Collins as a long term piece, then sure, draft Bol, but from the way it looks, the team does.

I don’t believe he has poor lateral movement for his size and his frame can improve as he gets stronger.

If you think Collins is a C going forward then yes Bol is maybe not a fit defensively. But a potential efficient 20+/10 guy with rim protection and solid defense while being able to shoot the 3 would help any team in the league.

[Illmatic12]

Sam Vecenie breakdown on Bol:

[observer1995]

Ok I never said you said all hawks fans though...

Then what makes Bol bad at everything defensively except blocks?

Poor lateral movement, lack of defensive awareness, and weak frame. If you want to get better as a team you likely have to avoid Collins on the perimeter as much as possible on defense, and drafting Bol would not avoid that. So it's just cumulative.

If you don't buy Collins as a long term piece, then sure, draft Bol, but from the way it looks, the team does.

I don’t believe he has poor lateral movement for his size and his frame can improve as he gets stronger.

If you think Collins is a C going forward then yes Bol is maybe not a fit defensively. But a potential efficient 20+/10 guy with rim protection and solid defense while being able to shoot the 3 would help any team in the league.

Collins is not a C going forward but he's a guy in which you need to draft someone that has PF like ability at C on D to hide his deficiencies, as while he can play on the perimeter offensively, he'll NEVER be able to be average on defense out there.

[observer1995]

I'll just leave this right here and agree to disagree with the Bol truthers:

Weaknesses
Bol is still rail thin (despite having gotten bigger) and needs to add a lot more muscle to hold his own at the top level. He can get pushed out of the paint too easily and needs to do a better job of establishing and holding position in the lane.

He doesn't have great change of direction and kind of lumbers up and down the court. This can be a big problem on defense when he's forced to guard in space. His defensive awareness can be lacking at times and his top effort isn't always there.

Does he have the will to be great and a real love of the game? He'll have to play with more fire and intensity to reach his full potential.

Will injuries always be an issue? The greatest ability is availability.

Needs to develop his post game and not fall in love with the outside shot.

[clyde21]

a lot of bad takes there ^

but let me focus on their issue with 'lateral movement'...I'm not really sure where it comes from. It's not based on any of the film I've watched. obviously he's not a guard out there moving laterally but his combination of athleticism+length is absolutely ridiculous and if you're going to doubt how much ground he's gonna cover even moving laterally I'm not sure what you're looking at it.

does this look like he moves terrible laterally?





when you're talking about a 7'2" guy with a 7-7 wingspan that can move like that, talking about his 'lack of lateral mobility' is nonsense. it's insane how much ground he covers quickly and it's the reason why he had an ELITE defensive rating and the same block rate as what everyone had as a rim protecting extraordinaire last year in Mo Bamba.

the way he flips his hips is uncanny for a guy that tall. not even Porzingis is that efficient in his movements.

[MemphisX]

Spoiler:

so at 7'2

running the court:


elite secondary jumpS:


guarding the perimeter:


that can do turnaround fadeaway Js like this:


block shots like this:


and put the ball and floor like this:




and this guy is supposed to be a non-athlete?

real talk, if this guy was 3 or 4 inches shorter he'd be drawing comps to KD, and that's not being hyperbolic.

I'm usually not big on highlights, but... wow. He's a freakin phenom. Holy... it's not just underrated athleticism, he's also got the swag and aggression needed to excel in the NBA.

oh and btw...that's a guy that shot 52% from 3 and 76% from the line before he got injured.

people who are acting like this guy isn't an absolute ELITE prospect are fooling themselves. the only question marks with him are his frame, lack of strength and obvious injury risk, but if those weren't there, he'd be the #2 guy behind Zion bar none.

Bruh, i was as skeptical as anyone. Then i saw he shot 49% from deep in the eybl and was the mvp. He should be considered from 2 on down.

Like Zion, he is not really comparable to any current or past player. Not easily anyway. His skill set and body type don’t fit together.

[clyde21]

these are the plays that remind of KD offensively the way he sets up in the mid-range and post:





unblockable

[clyde21]

Spoiler:

I'm usually not big on highlights, but... wow. He's a freakin phenom. Holy... it's not just underrated athleticism, he's also got the swag and aggression needed to excel in the NBA.

oh and btw...that's a guy that shot 52% from 3 and 76% from the line before he got injured.

people who are acting like this guy isn't an absolute ELITE prospect are fooling themselves. the only question marks with him are his frame, lack of strength and obvious injury risk, but if those weren't there, he'd be the #2 guy behind Zion bar none.

Bruh, i was as skeptical as anyone. Then i saw he shot 49% from deep in the eybl and was the mvp. He should be considered from 2 on down.

Like Zion, he is not really comparable to any current or past player. Not easily anyway. His skill set and body type don’t fit together.

agreed on that last point...like Zion he doesn't really have a clear benchmark...Porzingis might be the closest.

[pcbothwel]

a lot of bad takes there ^

but let me focus on their issue with 'lateral movement'...I'm not really sure where it comes from. It's not based on any of the film I've watched. obviously he's not a guard out there moving laterally but his combination of athleticism+length is absolutely ridiculous and if you're going to doubt how much ground he's gonna cover even moving laterally I'm not sure what you're looking at it.

does this look like he moves terrible laterally?





when you're talking about a 7'2" guy with a 7-7 wingspan that can move like that, talking about his 'lack of lateral mobility' is nonsense. it's insane how much ground he covers quickly and it's the reason why he had an ELITE defensive rating and the same block rate as what everyone had as a rim protecting extraordinaire last year in Mo Bamba.

the way he flips his hips is uncanny for a guy that tall. not even Porzingis is that efficient in his movements.

I feel like you and I are on an island, and for the life of me I cant understand it.

Porzingis has a better frame and a slightly better athlete (Especially vertically).. so his defensive upside is certainly better.
But Bol is simply a more skilled basketball player and his offensive upside is in the Dirk / KD tier.

I've said my ideal scenario for my Wizards would be to get Bol at 4-8, and then trade our 2020 pick for a late lotto pick if Clarke is there and take him
- Let Wall sit, Beal lead, and Brown Jr., Bryant, Bol, Clarke, get 19/20 as a test run.
Then in 20/21:

Wall (Mavs Jason Kidd)
Beal (Ray Allen / Hornacek)
Brown Jr. (Josh Howard / Mashburn)
Clarke (Aaron Gordon / Shawn Marion)
Bol (Dirk-lite)

Sato, Bryant, Wing MLE off the bench

[VanWest82]

If you told me Bol Bol was going to recover fully and not be a health liability I'd say he's easily the 2nd overall pick in this draft. I like Morant and there's some reliability with Barrett's game which can't be ignored, but you can't convince me that this kid doesn't have the biggest upside after Zion.

Also, I've always enjoyed Oregon's court. Wish more schools experimented with that type of lay out. Charlotte's honeycomb court is nice too.

[Ruzious]

I'm more concerned with his foot problem than him being skinny. He's skinny, but it's more that he's built diffeently than most players. He's listed at 7'2 235 at 19 years old, so his weight's already up there with a lot of centers. He's not going to be as weak as most people seem to thing. Post games are way overrated in today's game - actually this century. Even for bigs, ball-handling and spin moves are more important than post moves. Some of these crticisms are silly. What 18/19 year old can you say doesn't have defensive awareness issues at times? He looks different, so people make poor assumptions about him.

[clyde21]

I'm more concerned with his foot problem than him being skinny. He's skinny, but it's more that he's built diffeently than most players. He's listed at 7'2 235 at 19 years old, so his weight's already up there with a lot of centers. He's not going to be as weak as most people seem to thing. Post games are way overrated in today's game - actually this century. Even for bigs, ball-handling and spin moves are more important than post moves. Some of these crticisms are silly. What 18/19 year old can you say doesn't have defensive awareness issues at times? He looks different, so people make poor assumptions about him.

and even then, for a 18 year-old he has a wide array of post moves

[Stillwater]

His offense will never be a huge issue once his arsenal is sound despite the lower body/bad center of gravity, but his ability to establish position will to some degree impact his easy looks on the block until then. His ability to shoot over most everyone will bode well for sure, and his weak side defense is going to be something to behold. I do not have nearly as much confidence in his ability to defend on the perimeter quickly even though his defense will be adequate with that length in that situation he will get easily blown by, by faster more athletic players when he floats out there.
Overall his draft range with a solid medical report is as good as anyone sans Zion. Without it, the unanswered questions lower his stock quite a bit. Not suggesting he couldn't still go top 5 in that scenario, but it's probable he falls a lot with red flagged medicals.

[King Ken]

There is a lot of character and drive questions surrounding Bol as well. He will be an interesting player. Like Porter Jr last year. His value will be high and low depending on the eye of the beholder

[CP War Hawks]

Bol is a top 10 pick in this draft. Any low seeded playoff team thinking he'll fall to them are going to be dissapointed. He's always been my top center in this draft.

Way too long, too coordinated, too offensively skilled not to take in a draft filled with low potential prospects. His foot is concerning, same injury Jordan and Embiid had along with other players that didn't affect them while others couldn't overcome.

[clyde21]

There is a lot of character and drive questions surrounding Bol as well. He will be an interesting player. Like Porter Jr last year. His value will be high and low depending on the eye of the beholder

i doubt that he has 'drive' issues given how he has improved skill wise over the years...

this is the kind of stuff we hear about every big every year.

[Crives]

Is Bol a better version of Zinger with a scarier injury?

[oldshoolballer]

Bol is a top 10 pick in this draft. Any low seeded playoff team thinking he'll fall to them are going to be dissapointed. He's always been my top center in this draft.

Way too long, too coordinated, too offensively skilled not to take in a draft filled with low potential prospects. His foot is concerning, same injury Jordan and Embiid had along with other players that didn't affect them while others couldn't overcome.

It's going to be interesting I would love to see what Popovich could do with him I was shocked how accurate from 3pt he is over 50% and how good his handles are.Looking forward to see what he can do in the NBA.

[Illmatic12]

I'm more concerned with his foot problem than him being skinny. He's skinny, but it's more that he's built diffeently than most players. He's listed at 7'2 235 at 19 years old, so his weight's already up there with a lot of centers. He's not going to be as weak as most people seem to thing. Post games are way overrated in today's game - actually this century. Even for bigs, ball-handling and spin moves are more important than post moves. Some of these crticisms are silly. What 18/19 year old can you say doesn't have defensive awareness issues at times? He looks different, so people make poor assumptions about him.

Is it just me or are Bol’s feet way too small for his height ? I feel like he looks unbalanced somehow. You look at other 7+ guys like Embiid and Shaq , they have huge feet that properly distribute their weight over a larger surface area.

I think his dad was similar though and can’t recall Manute having many foot issues ?

[King Ken]

I'm more concerned with his foot problem than him being skinny. He's skinny, but it's more that he's built diffeently than most players. He's listed at 7'2 235 at 19 years old, so his weight's already up there with a lot of centers. He's not going to be as weak as most people seem to thing. Post games are way overrated in today's game - actually this century. Even for bigs, ball-handling and spin moves are more important than post moves. Some of these crticisms are silly. What 18/19 year old can you say doesn't have defensive awareness issues at times? He looks different, so people make poor assumptions about him.

Is it just me or are Bol’s feet way too small for his height ? I feel like he looks unbalanced somehow. You look at other 7+ guys like Embiid and Shaq , they have huge feet that properly distribute their weight over a larger surface area.

I think his dad was similar though and can’t recall Manute having many foot issues ?

I believe Manute had the same issue. It helps them with speed but seems to hurt them with strength and balance.

The game was played differently back then. These guys are doing much more with their bodies instead of just being tall or big