All eyes were on Manute Bol in the 1985-86 season. The 7-foot-7 Sudanese was selected by the Washington Bullets/Wizards in the second round of the 1985 Draft and due to his enormous height, everyone was excited to see what impact could Manute have on the court.
Although his height is impressive, there were other factors to consider about Bol. At the top of the list was his weight of only 180 pounds. Hence, the Bullets coaching staff had to bulk up the Sudanese-American if he were to survive in the physical games the NBA had back then.
"When we first drafted him and I spent lots of time with him, his eating habits were poor. I guess his stomach was too small for his size, and he would pick on his food and eat like a bird," Bullets assistant coach Fred Carter shared with NYT.
Carter was given the tough task of helping Bol gain weight. There was progress, but the next question was whether Manute would be comfortable playing with the extra pounds.
When Bullets general manager Bob Ferry took a chance on Bol, the intent was obvious. He wanted a good rim protector and Nute was perfect.
But at his height, other smaller centers were likely to resort to something to offset the handicap. That meant putting a body on the Sudanese national to make sure he is pushed out of his comfort zone. Bol was aware of this and worked on it, knowing it was not only for him but the team.
"I found it takes a lot of hard work to take care of your body, but I knew I had to do it if I was going to help myself and my team," the then-23-year-old big man said to the LA Times.
In his prime, it was obvious that the Bullets relied on Bol to swat shots. It was his signature move, making it tough for opposing players to score near the basket.
Bol had a decent rookie season, mostly on the defensive end. He averaged 5.0 blocks along with 6.0 rebounds per outing. He chipped a bit of scoring in, although his 3.7 points per game average was hardly significant.
By the time his first NBA season ended, Bol figured prominently in the defensive-related awards. He was second in the Defensive Player of the Year race and was part of the NBA All-Defensive Second Team. Nute was also the blocks leader leader that year.
What his first year showed is that Bol was a defensive asset. But to survive in the NBA, he had to work on other departments such as scoring and passing.
Of the two, Manute hinted he could focus on his passing skills next. He alleged that he was a good passing big man , although he failed to back up his talk.
"I don't want to be a guard, but I can pass the ball like other big guys," the second-year player said at the time via UPI.com. "I'm a good passer."
Washington eventually gave up on developing Bol, trading him to the Golden State Warriors in 1988. From that point moving forward, the 7-foot-7 center became a journeyman, also having stints with the Philadelphia 76ers and the Miami Heat .
Bol stood tall, but his NBA career never really took off, regardless of where he played. He had his moments, particularly in his second coming with the Warriors in 1994.
Then-Warriors coach Don Nelson appeared to have found the way to put Bol to use. He was contributing on both ends of the court before a season-ending knee injury snuffed all that.
That would be Bol's last NBA run, taking his act to other leagues such as the Continental Basketball Association. He tried to play overseas but never carved a name for himself. He would end his pro basketball run in 1998 due to rheumatism.
