Bol Bol

[getrichordie]

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I'm surprised no one is talking about Bol Bol had a season-ending foot injury at Oregon. One of the main concerns with Porzingis coming in was how injury-prone he might be due to his physical makeup. I'm sure the same concerns were had about Bol Bol. And when you pair that with the fact that intel showed he didn't love the game, well, that's pretty damning.

To be more thorough, Bol Bol suffered a navicular fracture which there isn't a ton of precedent for in the NBA. According to the article I will post below, only a handful of players in the league have ever suffered the injury and while most recovered fine, Ilgauskas ended up calling it quits due to career-long pain in his foot and we've seen Embiid miss 215 games due to this injury. Also, due to Bol Bol's team opting for surgery, he wasn't able to attend any pre-draft workouts.

So basically, all NBA teams had to go on with Bol Bol was college (limited) + HS tape + intel + medical reports. So given the information available at the time, we shouldn't be surprised that he was drafted where he was...

https://www.forbes.com/sites/jefffeld/2019/01/09/bol-bols-navicular-injury-has-a-curious-precedent-but-not-one-that-will-affect-his-draft-stock/#2460fc9b7d27

Hindsight is always going to be 20/20 and it is so damn easy to start saying things now that he looks good, but where was all this talk when he was drafted?

[clyde21]

Hindsight is always going to be 20/20 and it is so damn easy to start saying things now that he looks good, but where was all this talk when he was drafted?

right here?

[clyde21]

No one is expecting Bol Bol to do anything at this point


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not sure what changed, if you were expecting him to 'do anything' before the draft you still are now, and vice versa

He was your #2 BPA in this draft, right?
Send a CV to Wizards/Suns, fit there

imma keep bringing this one back specifically

[elias808]

In two games:

36.3% from the field.
27% from 3.
50% from the line.
4.5 TO/GAME

Bol has a ton of potential, but this feels similar to "Summer League hype".

[clyde21]

In two games:

36.3% from the field.
27% from 3.
50% from the line.
4.5 TO/GAME

Bol has a ton of potential, but this feels similar to "Summer League hype".

is this supposed to be a bad thing? if he's shooting 50/40/80 like he's capable of doing he'll be dropping 30 points a game soon

[elias808]

In two games:

36.3% from the field.
27% from 3.
50% from the line.
4.5 TO/GAME

Bol has a ton of potential, but this feels similar to "Summer League hype".

is this supposed to be a bad thing? if he's shooting 50/40/80 like he's capable of doing he'll be dropping 30 points a game soon

You could use that same logic for ANY player. Doesn't make it sound logic.

[clyde21]

In two games:

36.3% from the field.
27% from 3.
50% from the line.
4.5 TO/GAME

Bol has a ton of potential, but this feels similar to "Summer League hype".

is this supposed to be a bad thing? if he's shooting 50/40/80 like he's capable of doing he'll be dropping 30 points a game soon

You could use that same logic for ANY player. Doesn't make it sound logic.

no, you can't, this is specifically about a young player literally playing his 2nd organized game since Dec 2018

do you expect him to shoot his normal percentages already or something? unless you expect him to shoot sub 40% his entire career, your point is a non point.

[getrichordie]

I'll be surprised if Bol Bol is an NBA player.

Bol is trash he just doesnt clear the athletic threshold to be in the league, i would be shocked IF he ever alpints anything

I feel like he's going to be an injury waiting to happen in the NBA.

I am with the people that say he has a lot of bust factor to him...and I can't point my finger on it either.

[clyde21]

I'll be surprised if Bol Bol is an NBA player.

Bol is trash he just doesnt clear the athletic threshold to be in the league, i would be shocked IF he ever alpints anything

I feel like he's going to be an injury waiting to happen in the NBA.

I am with the people that say he has a lot of bust factor to him...and I can't point my finger on it either.

you took my quote from early in the thread in a 25 page thread?

sometimes i legit feel like you're trolling with your posts

[clyde21]

^ why didn't you quote this instead?

Bol's shooting is real, shot 45% from 3 in EYBL and followed it up by shooting 52% from 3 at Oregon (albeit 9 games). oh, shot 77% from the FT, too.

i mean, you have a 7-3 big with a 7-7 wingspan who can shoot 50% from 3, can put the ball on the floor, has a pull up, spot up and post game, who also had a similar block rate to Hayes while committing less than half the fouls.

yes, the risk is there (weak frame, injury concerns) i get it, and there is some real bust potential there...but I really really don't know how you let a guy like this drop outside the top 3 or 5...in today's NBA no less.

if I am Griff, I'm staying pat and taking Bol #4. 2 picks there means I can afford to take a risk here, and if it works, having a Zion/Bol front court is just absolutely bonkers and theoretically they are a perfect fit.

[clyde21]

Bol is the 2nd best player in this draft in a tier of his own after Zion

or this one

[elias808]

is this supposed to be a bad thing? if he's shooting 50/40/80 like he's capable of doing he'll be dropping 30 points a game soon

You could use that same logic for ANY player. Doesn't make it sound logic.

no, you can't, this is specifically about a young player literally playing his 2nd organized game since Dec 2018

do you expect him to shoot his normal percentages already or something? unless you expect him to shoot sub 40% his entire career, your point is a non point.

Define "his normal percentages". IMO, thats a number that doesn't exist. As you said, his sample size is far too small to make judgement calls on. I absolutely agree, just taking the other side of the coin.

With a lack of tape its impossible to make an informed opinion on Bol. All we have to go by is two summer league games. While lots of people are pointing to some amazing highlights from a guy that's as tall/fluid as Bol, it also worth pointing out some awful shooting splits to add context to the said highlights.

[clyde21]

You could use that same logic for ANY player. Doesn't make it sound logic.

no, you can't, this is specifically about a young player literally playing his 2nd organized game since Dec 2018

do you expect him to shoot his normal percentages already or something? unless you expect him to shoot sub 40% his entire career, your point is a non point.

Define "his normal percentages". IMO, thats a number that doesn't exist. As you said, his sample size is far too small to make judgement calls on. I absolutely agree, just taking the other side of the coin.

With a lack of tape its impossible to make an informed opinion on Bol. All we have to go by is two summer league games. While lots of people are pointing to some amazing highlights from a guy that's as tall/fluid as Bol, it also worth pointing out some awful shooting splits to add context to the said highlights.

whatever his percentages will normalize to as he progress as a player, we'll see, but you referencing his percentages at this point after a couple of games and after a huge hiatus from org basketball is quite disingenuous

if he's already shooting where he needs to be shooting he'd already be an all star caliber player.

[getrichordie]

The point is that these were things said about Bol Bol. By you, clyde, and others.

[clyde21]

The point is that these were things said about Bol Bol. By you, clyde, and others.

my opinion completely changed on Bol very early, and he ended up #2 on my board. not sure how my opinion from nov 2018 is at all relevant here but you do you?

[nolang1]

There really is no defensible reason that he fell so far. The guy could have a ticking time bomb implanted in his leg that guarantees he only plays 4 seasons and he would still be worthy of at least a late R1 pick.

Exactly how I see it

Bol missed almost all of his freshman season with the same injury that caused Embiid to miss two years, and he/his agent were in control of who saw the medical information and who he worked out for. It seems obvious that once Bol fell past a certain point in the 1st round, they preferred the 2nd round to hit free agency sooner. It’s kind of strawmannish to argue that people should’ve at least had him as one of the 30 best players in the draft.

In terms of his actual play, people look at how skinny he is or how long his strides are and assume he’s a lot more agile than he actually is. If your position is defined by who you can guard, Bol is not only a pure 5 but one whose team has to play zone defense to get him on the court. In that regard, he has the same limitations that any other center prospect gets dinged for where he’s not really playable in certain matchups and you can cheaply acquire situational 5s in free agency.

In this last scrimmage, Jaxson Hayes (who is younger than Bol and capable of guarding on the perimeter) played for the team that won comfortably and scored the same number of points as Bol on 11 fewer field goal attempts and in 15-20 fewer minutes. I bring that up not to say Hayes is a way better prospect than Bol, but that even someone like Hayes saw his playing time diminish once the Pelicans got Zion back and started playing small with him at center. You already need to be one of the 5-10 best centers in the league to be notably better than whoever some playoff team can get for the midlevel exception, and that’s before factoring in the star forwards who can move up and be extremely effective as small ball 5s.

[EvanZ]

I'll be surprised if Bol Bol is an NBA player.

Bol is trash he just doesnt clear the athletic threshold to be in the league, i would be shocked IF he ever alpints anything

I feel like he's going to be an injury waiting to happen in the NBA.

I am with the people that say he has a lot of bust factor to him...and I can't point my finger on it either.

Was it worth it?

I had him 15 on my board, which is the only take that matters.

[getrichordie]

You went from saying he wasn't an NBA player at all to top 15... what the hell?

[pad300]

In the interests of this thread being more than "I told you so" and "Did Not" at this point, is there a lesson to be learned in comparing Poku and Bol Bol?

http://www.tankathon.com/players/compare?players=aleksej-pokusevski--bol-bol

[clyde21]

^i made the comp and asked the question a couple of weeks in the Poku thread, it seemed like a lot of the guys who are high on Poku were low on Bol this time last yr