Chris Beard, Rebels land commit from John Bol, the No. 4 center in the nation in 2024 class
OXFORD, Miss. — Ole Miss head coach Chris Beard is wasting no time in making his mark on the Rebels’ basketball program, receiving a huge commit Monday from Overtime Elite (Atlanta) 2024 center John Bol.
The 7-foot-2 Bol is ranked as the No. 4 center in the country and the No. 34 overall recruit in the 2024 class, and if he arrives in Oxford with that ranking, will have the distinction of being the highest-rated recruit in Ole Miss history.
COMMITTED‼️✅💯#gorebels@OleMissMBB @CoachWilson5 @TXRecruited pic.twitter.com/9qoAr4OmX3
— John Bol (@JohnBol_7) July 31, 2023
Bol, who decommitted from the Florida Gators on June 30, took an official visit to Oxford this past Saturday. He will join fellow 2024 recruit guard Jason Jackson who committed to the Rebels in May.
Bol, originally from South Sudan, stands 7-foot-2, weighs 205 pounds and has a wingspan that measures nearly 8 feet. He speaks five languages (including Arabic, English and Swahili) and reports are that he has learned about basketball by watching Kevin Garnett highlights on YouTube.
“He’s one of the most mobile big men I’ve ever watched, especially for his size. (He) just runs extremely light on his feet,” 247Sports analyst Travis Branham said when describing Bol. “I was watching him (in Louisville) and there was a ball thrown into the corner, (Bol) was underneath the rim and took one step, and was able to not only contest it, but block the shot.”
“It was like one of those Zion Williamson contests,” Branham added. “That similar ability to just cover so much ground and not only contest, but block a shot on the perimeter from underneath the basket basically.”
Just take a look at some clips of Bol:
JOHN BOL IS CRAZY ATHLETIC!! Ole Miss has themselves a future star!! 🔥⭐️
(via @CoachWilson5, @OleMissNoProb) @JohnBol_7 @OleMissMBB pic.twitter.com/iusAIPuSgI
— Hoops Nation (@HoopsNation_1) July 31, 2023
7'0 5 Star John Bol has a 7'9" WINGSPAN 🤯 pic.twitter.com/GlF7Q5mbBQ
— Ballislife.com (@Ballislife) July 1, 2022
In an interview with On3, Bol talked about the relationship the Ole Miss coaches have built with him.
“Coach (Al) Pinkins has been recruiting me for a long time and we have a great relationship. Coach ,(Chris) Beard was talking to me some when he was at Texas, too. He’s a great coach. They did really good at building that relationship with me. I love the SEC and Oxford is really nice.”
John Bol to On3
Bol, who has a 7-foot-9 wingspan, chose Ole Miss over numerous offers, including those from: Texas, Florida, Illinois, UConn, Wake Forest, Missouri, USC, Michigan, Mizzou and Ohio State.
Hotty Toddy!
Evelyn Van Pelt
Evelyn has covered sports for over two decades, beginning her journalism career as a sports writer for a newspaper in Austin, Texas. She attended Texas A&M and majored in English. Evelyn’s love for Ole Miss began when her daughter Katie attended the university on a volleyball scholarship. Evelyn created the Rebel Walk in 2013 and has served as publisher and managing editor since its inception.
