One of the wilder stories in American high school hoops has unfurled here in St. Louis, and at the center of it is, well, a center.
His name is John Bol. No, he’s not related to Manute Bol, the well-known former NBA player. And while John also is from South Sudan, he’s a little shorter than Manute was.
See, John Bol is only 7 feet 2 — five inches shorter than Manute.
He is a sophomore at CBC.
He is astonishingly new to basketball — and to America, moving here 11 months ago.
“I know that he has an offer from Michigan,” said CBC coach Justin Tatum, a former CBC star whose long-standing, single-season school shot-block record recently was broken … by Bol. “I know Kansas has been in here and been involved. Illinois, SLU and Mizzou have reached out.”
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At 6:30 p.m. Monday, CBC begins district play by hosting Waynesville. The Cadets, No. 1 in the large school rankings, have two standouts in Rob Martin and Larry Hughes II. But Bol is, if anything, their most-intriguing player. At 7-2 and 200 pounds, Bol leads the area in total blocked shots (110, good for 4.2 per game) and is 13th in rebounding (9.2).
He also averages 10.3 points per game, but is a work-in-progress on the offensive end. That said, the progress already made is gobsmacking to those involved.
And as the story goes, it all happened because of 16 seconds of video footage.
So, Marcus Wilson played college hoops at Evansville, pro ball overseas and later was a hoops assistant at St. Louis U. He remains in the St. Louis area. One of his ventures is a nonprofit organization called Nurturing Potential International. In a phone conversation, Wilson spoke emotionally about his own upbringing — being the youngest of 15 kids in South Bend, Ind., “and going to bed hungry some nights.”
Wilson made a point to say that he helps non-athletes, too. He sponsored nine students this year in South Sudan and Nairobi, Kenya. He explained that they came from impoverished backgrounds, and he enrolled them in private schools in their homelands.
He also looks for basketball players. He has contacts with international scouts. And local coaches, such as Casey Autenrieth, who was the coach at St. Louis Christian.
And a scout sent Autenrieth — who shared with Wilson — the 16-second video of John Bol playing basketball.
“I'm like,” Wilson recalled, “if he just got off the ground as quickly as I think he just did on that lob, and if he was able to slide his feet as quickly as I think he just did, guarding that guard? I don't even care if he doesn't know any post moves. We can teach the rest. . . .
“Sure enough, that's what it was — a mobile 7-foot-2 kid that had never been taught any offensive post moves. And had just started playing basketball.”
Autenrieth wanted Bol for St. Louis Christian. He asked Wilson to be Bol’s mentor. Wilson and the international scout worked diligently — sometimes seemingly hopelessly — to get Bol to the United States. First they convinced the family and the vested local community in Juba, the capital of South Sudan. Then, after three tries, they pulled off international logistics of getting Bol officially able to move.
Finally, he arrived in St. Louis last March. Just as St. Louis Christian was permanently closing.
So, Wilson took steps become Bol’s guardian in St. Louis. They looked at different high schools. Wilson served as a father figure — Bol’s father, Wilson said, died during wartime in South Sudan. And Wilson became Bol’s personal coach. And trainer. So many long hours — hard hours — at the Bayer YMCA.
In the summer of 2021, Bol joined Bradley Beal Elite, a local basketball program. And in the fall of 2021, Bol enrolled in CBC. He is 17, but in the Class of 2024.
“It’s been a blessing to help other kids,” said Wilson, who always dreamed of doing so if he ever got the means. “And to have a kid who literally needed almost everything I could give? And then for him to have the talent that he does? . . . But one of his best skills is not physical. His best skill is his desire to learn.”
Speaking with Bol at a recent CBC practice, it was impressive how down-to-earth he was — and how comfortable he was. Again, just 11 months in the states. He comes across as a genuinely nice guy who is thankful for this surreal opportunity — and hungry to make the absolute most out of it.
“I usually intimidate a lot of people when we’re playing, just by showing up,” Bol said. “It does give me a little bit of confidence to know I can do certain things that certain guys can’t do. ... But I’m working on a lot of things right now, all-around — post moves and things on the offensive end to the defensive end. I want to tighten up a lot of things and gain some more knowledge in this game. I'll put some more things into my arsenal. .... I cannot wait to see what's ahead (for CBC). We’ve got six more games to go.”