Manute Bol: Remembering a gentle giant in earnest, on his birth anniversary

Bol (#10) in his college days

How many times do we hear the term “Gentle Giant” being used today? Not many, in fact virtually not at all if you disregard sensationalization. But one who could lay claim to that was Manute Bol. Not just by virtue of him being one of the two tallest players (7 feet 7 inches) in NBA history, but also by the light of his admirable legacy.

Born to a Dinka triblal elder in war-torn Sudan in 1962, Bol started out in football, but couldn’t continue in the sport because he was too tall. He joined the Sudanese military for a pittance and played basketball there. It was during this time that an American university basketball coach, Don Feeley saw him playing in the Sudanese capital of Khartoum and persuaded him to go to America.

The move seemingly paid immediate dividends, as the San Diego Clippers (now the LA Clippers), drafted him in the 5^th round of the 1983 draft. But unfortunately, the NBA deemed Bol ineligible to be drafted and he spent a year trying to play for colleges in America, initially unsuccessfully as his poor english impeded his qualification.

Bol finally found his place in the University of Bridgeport, where he averaged 22.5 points, 13.5 rebounds and 7.1 blocks per game in the 1984-85 season and his team routinely played to sold-out audiences after his inclusion. Bol was drafted as the 7^th pick in the 2^nd round by the Washington Bullets (now the Wizards) in 1985. In a 10-year career, Bol played for the Washington Bullets, the Golden State Warriors, the Philadelphia 76ers and the Miami Heat.

Bol’s uniqueness would traverse his playing style as well, as he became the only NBA player to ever record more shots blocked than points scored. As an obvious Center, he would end his career as one of the greatest shot-blockers to ever step onto the hardwood, with his foremost record being the number of career blocks per 48 minutes, which stood at an astounding 8.6.

But the Sudanese warrior is equally memorable for his life away from basketball, as summed up by “The Round Mound of Rebound”, Charles Barkley: “If everyone in the world was a Manute Bol, it's a world I'd want to live in. He's smart. He reads The New York Times. He knows what's going on in a lot of subjects. He's not one of these just-basketball guys.”

The NBA Superstar’s heart matched his size, as he made it his life’s mission to ameliorate the condition of his homeland, Sudan. He said that he donated much of his NBA earning towards charitable causes in the land of his birth. He was accorded royalty status in the Sudanese refugee camps he frequently visited. He even turned down the post of Sports Minister offered to him by his national government because he didn’t want to convert to Islam, as stipulated by the brass.

It has been 5 years since the tallest man with the biggest heart in the NBA moved on to a better place, but the memories of his benevolence will endure for generations. From the tale of his slaying of a lion with a spear to protect his family’s cattle, to donating almost $3.5 million for the rehabilitaion of Sudanese refugees, Manute truly embodied what his name meant – “True Blessing”.