Bol Bol Falls to Second Round, King and Wooten Sign Undrafted

A long night of wait ends for Bol Bol last weekend as the former Oregon Ducks’ Basketball player goes in the second round of the 2019 NBA Draft, and his two teammates sign as undrafted free agents.

Oregon Ducks’ center, Bol Bol, goes 44th overall to the Denver Nuggets after acquiring his rights from the Miami Heat. For a player of his caliber, he deserved to have his name called earlier in the proceedings.

Projected to be a top-10 pick in this year’s NBA Draft, an injury to Bol significantly hurt his draft prospects. The big man was limited to only nine games his freshman season at Oregon after a bone fracture.

On the court, Bol led Oregon Basketball oin points, rebounds, and blocks through nine games. At 7’3″, his ball handling skills appeared effortless and could shoot from any areas on the court. Under the rim, his wingspan quickly grabbed rebounds and barely left the floor to put down a dunk.

More from Autzen Zoo

• Oregon football: Ducks and Coach Prime playing it cordial leading up to Saturday
• Oregon Basketball: Non-conference slate features Michigan coming to Eugene
• Oregon football: Ducks find complete game effort in win vs Hawaii
• Oregon Ducks must get run game going against Hawaii
• 8 Pac-12 teams represented in Associated Press Top 25 after Week 2

But his health raised red flags amongst scouts and teams scouting Bol during the year. His injury came during the non-conference slate of the Ducks’ schedule during practice. After coach Dana Altman announced Bol would not return, Oregon’s expectations of a Final Four appearance dwindled.

Bol enrolled in classes to remain with the team, rehabbing and putting his focus on the upcoming draft. Regardless of Oregon’s season, Bol intended to be a one-and-done and go pro.

Unfortunately, not being able to play Pac-12 games did not give executives much to evaluate Bol, only a small sample size from his collegiate play and in high school. A guaranteed lottery pick in the first round could have happened if Bol did not get hurt.

Before the draft, Bol held a workout session for different teams to ensure no limitations affected him from his injury. The fear amongst his camp was his draft stock was plummeting due to the concerns on his work ethic.

Athleticism is not an issue for Bol, but his frame and conditioning will be two concerns with the grind of an 82-game schedule. He may see limited minutes to ensure he is fully healthy. Hopefully, Bol’s foot does not have long-term repercussions and what could be a promising career.

He put it best after being drafted, he wants to prove people wrong and gets a great opportunity in Denver.

The son of former NBA player, Manute Bol, the Golden State Warriors were a possible destination for Bol. Given the needs of the Warriors, Bol became intriguing as he fell down the draft board. Instead, the Warriors acquired the rights of Alen Smailagic from the New Orleans Pelicans who was playing for the Santa Cruz Warriors of the G-League. Golden State developed him in Santa Cruz and have big aspirations for Smailagic in the coming years.

As for Bol’s former teammates, Louis King, and Kenny Wooten, the two must look elsewhere to continue their basketball careers. Both King and Wooten played significant roles in the Ducks making a Sweet 16 appearance.

Detroit is the next stop for King after agreeing to a two-way deal with the Detroit Pistons.

King became a force during the second half with his offensive contributions to help Oregon Basketball win the Pac-12 Tournament. He averaged 13 points and five rebounds per game in his only season with the Ducks. A knee injury sidelined him at the beginning of the year and took some time to adjust with the pace of Altman’s system.

New York is the next destination for Wooten after agreeing to a deal with the Knicks. The big man is getting a chance to make the team, but his offensive skills will be under evaluation. Wooten must improve on his shooting and ball handling.

Wooten turned into the next Jordan Bell with his ability to block shots and play strong defense. His offense did lack on occasion but made up by making defensive plays at critical junctures of the contests.

For both King and Wooten, riding the momentum of strong performances from the conference tournament and NCAA Tournament did not give them a great indication of going to the next level. Perhaps one more campaign at Oregon may have changed their fortunes for next year.

Congratulations to Bol on being selected in the 2019 NBA Draft and best of luck to him, along with King and Wooten, on successful basketball careers in the NBA.