Bol Bol

Top Prospect Bol Bol Ruled Out For Rest Of Season

4:59pm: Projected first-round pick Bol Bol has confirmed he will miss the rest of the season, writing on social media, “Playing for my dream school under my favorite Coach Altman has been the Best part of my life and sadly it has come to end sooner than I would Like, but thank you for all those who rocking with me & all Oregon fans.” 

Bol Bol underwent surgery on Thursday to repair a non-displaced fracture of the navicular bone in his left foot, according to The Athletic’s Shams Charania, who adds that he’s expected to miss at least 8-10 weeks and return to full basketball activities this summer.

12:38pm: Oregon center Bol Bol may not return this season for the Ducks, according to Matt Prehm of 247Sports.com, who hears from sources that Bol is dealing with a stress fracture in his left foot. According to Prehm, a final decision has yet to be made, but multiple sources say they don’t expect Bol to get back on the court in 2018/19.

“I would be completely shocked if Bol played the rest of this year,” one source told Prehm. Another source indicated that the 19-year-old, who has already sat out Oregon’s last four games, will definitely miss at least the next couple weeks and is “highly doubtful” to appear in any games beyond that.

Bol, a 7’2″ freshman, was off to a great start this season for Oregon, averaging 21.0 PPG on .570/.520/.757 shooting through nine games. The versatile big man also contributed 9.6 RPG and 2.7 BPG.

In their most recent 2019 mock draft at ESPN.com, Jonathan Givony and Mike Schmitz had Bol coming off the board at No. 5. Jeremy Woo of SI.com, who updated his big board earlier today, ranked Bol ninth, citing concerns about the youngster’s “rail-thin build” and “oft-questioned work ethic.”

Health concerns would only increase the uncertainty surrounding Bol’s stock, so it probably makes sense for him to play it safe and avoid the risk of aggravating his foot issue further by rushing back for Oregon.

And-Ones: 2019 Draft, Age Minimum, Team USA

After attending a handful of summer events involving top prospects, ESPN’s Jonathan Givony and Mike Schmitz (Insider link) have updated their 2019 NBA mock draft. While Duke freshman R.J. Barrett continues to be viewed as 2019’s top pick, he’s joined in the top three this time around by a fast-rising teammate — Givony and Schmitz have Duke forward Zion Williamson at No. 3 in their latest mock.

Other new names in ESPN’s top 10 include Kentucky freshman wing Keldon Johnson and Oregon freshman center Bol Bol. Johnson excelled in the Wildcats’ exhibition games in the Bahamas, though the ESPN duo was also impressed by Johnson’s teammate PJ Washington, who “looks to be in much better shape” than he was last season. As for Bol, he had a strong showing at the Nike Basketball Academy, as Givony detailed earlier in the month.

Here are a few more odds and ends from around the basketball world:

  • Although the NBA’s draft eligibility rule related to a player’s minimum age won’t change within the next couple years, it seems highly likely to be altered or eliminated at some point. Tom Ziller of SBNation.com explores a few possible alternatives to the current rule.
  • In a step toward the elimination of the one-and-done rule, the NBA, NCAA, and NBPA reached an agreement with USA Basketball, announcing today that Team USA will expand its Men’s Junior National Team program to include additional training camps and year-round player development programming. The program will include approximately 80 top high school prospects, or about 20 per high school class. Here’s the official announcement from USA Basketball, along with more details from ESPN’s Brian Windhorst.
  • Players on two-way contracts who spend the maximum allowable number of days with their NBA clubs in 2018/19 will be able to earn up to $385,612 this season, tweets cap expert Albert Nahmad. That’s still well short of the NBA rookie minimum ($838,464), but greatly exceeds the standard $35K G League salary.
  • Shane Rhodes of Basketball Insiders examines some potential surprise teams for the 2018/19 season, suggesting that the Bulls, Mavericks, Pistons, Clippers, and Suns are candidates to exceed expectations.