7'4" College Hoops Recruit John Bol Dwarfs New 5'4" Teammate While Recreating Iconic Photo Of Manute Bol, Muggsy Bogues
Believe it or not, John Bol has no relation to Manute Bol or Bol Bol. The four-star prospect in the college basketball recruiting Class of 2024 hails from the same country, South Sudan, and has the same last name, but has no direct ties to the famous NBA family.
Bol, who stands 7-foot-2, 190 pounds, is a top-30 recruit and the No. 4-ranked player at his position. He plays center, obviously. Although his height is the first thing that catches your eye, he can move much better than you would expect from a big man.
A large part of that has to do with Bol's soccer background. He grew up playing soccer from the age of six and only began hooping in 2019 while living in Nairobi with his brother.
His trajectory has been on a steep upward swing ever since, especially after moving to the United States!
Bol first played for St. Louis Christian Brothers and broke the school's all-time record for blocks in only his sophomore season. While his height was a big part of his success, the inexperienced 7-footer quickly transitioned to the American game and became a crucial piece on both ends of the floor.
He's a quick-twitch rim protector who moves well laterally, can play at the top of the box, is never out of the play defensively, and is always a scoring threat in the paint. Even when he looks beat initially.
From there, Bol transferred to Sunrise Christian Academy in Kansas for 2022/23 and also plays for MOAKAN Elite on the Nike EYBL Circuit. His stock only continued to rise.
Now, with only his senior season ahead of him, Bol has a decision to make. Where is he going to play college basketball?
Bol originally committed to Florida in June over Michigan, Missouri, and Nebraska, among others, and then de-committed a few weeks later. His agent said on July 27 that his client was considering Georgia Tech, Ohio State, USC and UTSA moving forward.
And then things went in a completely different direction.
John Bol committed to Ole Miss on Monday.
Bol visited Oxford over the weekend. While in Mississippi, he and walk-on sophomore guard Cam Brent recreated an iconic NBA photo.
Brent is just 5-foot-4 and goes by "Muggsy," as in Muggsy Bogues — the shortest player to ever play in the NBA. Bol is 7-foot-2 and shares a last name with Manute — one of the tallest players to ever play in the NBA.
Manute and the real Muggsy played together in Washington. Brent and John Bol will play together in Mississippi.
Their nearly two-foot height difference led them to pay homage to the NBAers who came before them. It turned out great.
Bol is going to tower over his teammates in Oxford. Just not in the same way that he will tower over Brent.
Can you imagine if Chris Beard runs a lineup with Brent as the 1 and Bol as the 5? We can dream!