New York Knicks draft target Bol Bol — son of former NBA center Manute Bol — may see his draft stock drop following season-ending surgery.
Oregon Ducks center Bol Bol — and potential New York Knicks draft target — has a left foot injury and alerted reporters he would miss the rest of the season in preparation for the 2019 NBA Draft. Shams Charania of The Athletic reported the development on Twitter.
Oregon’s Bol Bol — a projected top NBA draft pick — says he has a season-ending left foot injury. Bol Bol will begin rehabilitation for the 2019 NBA draft.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) January 3, 2019
Bol averaged 21 points, 9.6 rebounds, and 2.7 blocks per game for Oregon this season. He has not played since Oregon’s (9-4) win against San Diego on Dec. 12. He was a five-star recruit and McDonald’s All-American out of Las Vegas’ Findlay Prep. His father, the late Manute Bol, played center in the NBA for ten years with four different teams.
And if the younger Bol has his sights set on the draft, plenty of teams will be interested. On top of leading the Ducks in scoring and rebounding, he has great size at 7-foot-3, 245 pounds. This isn’t a surprise, given his father was 7-foot-7.
Just where Bol Bol is drafted, however, remains to be seen. NBADraft.net has him going fourth overall to the Chicago Bulls in its latest mock draft, and that was put together on Dec. 30, after he was injured. Jeremy Woo of Sports Illustrated also has Bol as a lottery pick, albeit falling to ninth to the Atlanta Hawks.
This foot injury combined with his size and build will undoubtedly lower his draft stock, but Bol still has a high ceiling. Playing at Oregon means he is accustomed to playing at a faster pace, which only helps in today’s NBA.
If his foot is healed come draft night, expect Bol to make whichever team drafts him very, very happy.
