Joe Soriano
O.J. LewisMourning A Tragedy
June 20th 2010 18:00
Manute Bol died at the age of 47. He was a 7-foot-6 NBA star from Sudan. He played 10 seasons, but was mostly known as a humanitarian. Bol died at the University of Virginia Hospital in Charlottesville. Bol was being treated with a skin condition and severe kidney problems.
“Manute’s impact on this city, our franchise and the game of basketball cannot be put into words,” 76ers president and general manager Ed Stefanski said in a statement. “He … was continually giving of himself through his generosity and humanitarian efforts in order to make the world around him a much better place, for which he will always be remembered.”
"Despite his accomplishments on the court, his lasting legacy will be the tireless work and causes he promoted in his native Sudan and the cities in which he played,” the club said in a statement.
The center played with the Washington Bullets from 1985-1988. He then moved on to the Golden State Warriors for the '88 and '89 seasons. His last team was the Philadelphia 76ers. Manute logged three full seasons in Philly. He spent 1993 with three teams. The Heat, Bullets, and Sixers. 1994 was his last season, which he spent in Golden State.
Bol weighed 200 pounds and was born in Gogrial, Sudan. He went to the University of Bridgeport after attending high school in Ohio. He had one year of college. He was the seventh pick in the second round of the 1985 NBA Draft. Bol was selected by the Bullets.
Manute Bol played all 82 games of the season in 1986 with the Bullets and 1990 with the Sixers. In 1985 (Wizards and his rookie year) and 1988 (Warriors), Manute led the league in blocks and blocks per game. (397 blocks and 5 per game in '85 and 345 and 4.3 in '88.)
From 1985-1992, Bol lead the league in block percentage. In the playoffs, he led everybody in blocks with 29 in 1988. In 1985 and 1988, he also led the playoffs in block percentage.
In his rookie year in 1985, Manute was on the All-Defense 2nd team. Manute Bol also posted the tenth best defensive win shares total in 1985 with 4.2. In 1985 he had the third best defensive rating with 98.9. Bol posted the 4th best total with 101.5 in 1986. His last time in the leader boards for defensive rating came in 1990,when he was tenth with a 102.1.
Defensive rating is the number of points allowed through 100 opponent possessions. Block percentage is the percentage of two point field goals the player blocked while on the court. So you can see that his career high marks of 10.8 in 1986 and 1988 were insane.
Bol will not only go down as one of the best shot blockers in history, he will also go down as one of the best people in history. He was an inspiration to all, especially Luol Deng. For those of you that don't know, Deng is also from Sudan.Remember Manute Bol as a player, but more so as the man he was.
Think about it, Bol averaged only 18.7 minutes per game in his career; yet he averaged an incredible 3.3 blocks per game. That means every six minutes he had a block. Incredible. Every player today struggles to get three blocks in forty minutes. If Bol had 40 a night, he would have six or seven blocks. Now that is a defender.
“Manute’s impact on this city, our franchise and the game of basketball cannot be put into words,” 76ers president and general manager Ed Stefanski said in a statement. “He … was continually giving of himself through his generosity and humanitarian efforts in order to make the world around him a much better place, for which he will always be remembered.”
"Despite his accomplishments on the court, his lasting legacy will be the tireless work and causes he promoted in his native Sudan and the cities in which he played,” the club said in a statement.
The center played with the Washington Bullets from 1985-1988. He then moved on to the Golden State Warriors for the '88 and '89 seasons. His last team was the Philadelphia 76ers. Manute logged three full seasons in Philly. He spent 1993 with three teams. The Heat, Bullets, and Sixers. 1994 was his last season, which he spent in Golden State.
Bol weighed 200 pounds and was born in Gogrial, Sudan. He went to the University of Bridgeport after attending high school in Ohio. He had one year of college. He was the seventh pick in the second round of the 1985 NBA Draft. Bol was selected by the Bullets.
Manute Bol played all 82 games of the season in 1986 with the Bullets and 1990 with the Sixers. In 1985 (Wizards and his rookie year) and 1988 (Warriors), Manute led the league in blocks and blocks per game. (397 blocks and 5 per game in '85 and 345 and 4.3 in '88.)
From 1985-1992, Bol lead the league in block percentage. In the playoffs, he led everybody in blocks with 29 in 1988. In 1985 and 1988, he also led the playoffs in block percentage.
In his rookie year in 1985, Manute was on the All-Defense 2nd team. Manute Bol also posted the tenth best defensive win shares total in 1985 with 4.2. In 1985 he had the third best defensive rating with 98.9. Bol posted the 4th best total with 101.5 in 1986. His last time in the leader boards for defensive rating came in 1990,when he was tenth with a 102.1.
Defensive rating is the number of points allowed through 100 opponent possessions. Block percentage is the percentage of two point field goals the player blocked while on the court. So you can see that his career high marks of 10.8 in 1986 and 1988 were insane.
Bol will not only go down as one of the best shot blockers in history, he will also go down as one of the best people in history. He was an inspiration to all, especially Luol Deng. For those of you that don't know, Deng is also from Sudan.Remember Manute Bol as a player, but more so as the man he was.
Think about it, Bol averaged only 18.7 minutes per game in his career; yet he averaged an incredible 3.3 blocks per game. That means every six minutes he had a block. Incredible. Every player today struggles to get three blocks in forty minutes. If Bol had 40 a night, he would have six or seven blocks. Now that is a defender.
Awards Cannot Sum Bol
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