Oregon Basketball: Impact of Bol Bol’s season-ending injury for the Ducks
By Zac Voynow
Bol Bol is out for the season with a foot injury and has already declared that he will leave for the NBA after this season. How bad does this affect Oregon Basketball?
Oregon Basketball has had a troubled start to the season, and their problems have just gotten much worse. Bol Bol, the 5-star true freshman is out for the season with a serious foot injury. Although he only played in nine career games for Oregon, the 7’2″ center put up dazzling numbers. He led the Ducks in scoring (21), rebounding (9.6), blocks per game (2.7). Bol is without a doubt Manute Bol 2.0, so I can’t wait to see what he produces at the next level. With teams no longer worrying as much about injuries in college, his draft stock shouldn’t fall too much due to the injury. I still expect Bol to be a top-10 pick in the 2019 NBA Draft.
But what does losing Bol mean for the current state of Oregon basketball?
It most likely means that Oregon has no shot at making the NCAA tournament. Oregon with Bol was already looking like a similar situation a few years ago with LSU and Ben Simmons when it comes to having a star recruit and missing out on the Big Dance. Quite frankly, they’ll be lucky to make the NIT at this rate. With Bol, Oregon was a bubble team at best, as they scored wins against Syracuse, San Diego, and Boise State with him. However, they suffered tight losses to Houston, Iowa, and Baylor.
Statistically, losing Bol means Oregon loses 21 points, 9.6 rebounds, and 2.1 blocks per game. To put that in perspective, that means Oregon is losing 29.1% of its points, 27.4% of its rebounds, and 67.5% of its blocks. Oregon also only has one other player averaging double-digit points (Payton Pritchard) and no one else that averages five or more rebounds per game. From an eye test standpoint, Oregon is losing their best player who affects the game just by being on the court.
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Even if Bol is having a tough game, his presence was enough to positively impact the game for his teammates. Now there will be a lack of offensive spacing and a lack of rim protection on the defensive end. While Bol may end up being a lottery pick for the 2019 NBA Draft, Oregon may be starting at back-to-back NIT bids.