Do Not Compare Chris Bosh to Manute Bol!

For a big, I'd have to agree with Stephen A...Bosh is pretty soft. He's rather take the 17-footer than bang in the post. Not to say he isn't a very good player. He just needs to work on his strength and post game this summer (he'll have some extra time with an early first round exit).

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I wouldn't call Bol a basketball sideshow (although later in life he made appearances in other sports to raise money for charity). Rather, I would say that he was truly one of the classiest men to ever grace the basketball court.

According to Wikipedia, Bol blocked 397 shots during the 1985–1986 season, a rookie record. Bol tied for the NBA record for the most blocked shots in one half (eleven) and in one quarter (eight, twice), and he holds the all time NBA record for most blocked shots per minute, (.176). In a game against the Orlando Magic, he blocked four consecutive shots within a single possession.

He frequently visited Sudanese refugee camps, where he was treated like royalty. In 2001, however, after refusing to convert to Islam, he was held against his will by the ruling Islamic government, who accused him of supporting the Dinka-led Christian rebels, the Sudan People's Liberation Army. The Sudanese government refused to grant him an exit visa. Through intervention by friends in the United States, including Connecticut Senator Joseph Lieberman, Bol was finally able to return to the United States.

He established the Ring True Foundation in order to continue fundraising for Sudanese refugees. He has given most of his fortune (an estimated $3.5 million) to their cause. In 2002, Fox TV agreed to broadcast the telephone number of his Ring True Foundation in exchange for Bol's agreement to appear on their Celebrity Boxing show. After the referee goaded, "If you guys don't box, you won't get paid," he scored a third-round victory over former football player William "The Refrigerator" Perry. Later that year, Bol signed a one-day contract with the Indianapolis Ice of the Central Hockey League to raise money for the Sudanese, and also had a brief stint as a horse jockey for similar reasons.

More recently, Bol has been involved in the April 2006 Sudan Freedom Walk, a three-week march from the United Nations building in New York to the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C.. The event was organized by Simon Deng, a former Sudanese swimming champion (currently a lifeguard at Coney Island) who is a longtime friend of Bol. Deng, who was a slave for three years from the age of nine, is from another tribe in Southern Sudan. His Sudan Freedom Walk is especially aimed at finding a solution to the genocide in Darfur (western Sudan), but it also seeks to raise awareness of the modern day slavery and human rights abuses throughout Sudan. Bol spoke in New York at the start of the Walk, and in Philadelphia at a rally organized by former hunger striker Nathan Kleinman.

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Martin,

I think your missing the point. No one is arguing that Bol isn't a great human being. But as far as basketball went, most people were interested in him because he was 7' 7". He wasn't a great player and didn't score or rebound that much.


The comparison is a little weird. There are many other soft players (Charles Smith for one) who are better comparisons that Manute Bol.

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All of you users...how can you say that Chris Bosh is soft, I mean
how? Is it because he is the franchise player of a CANADIAN TEAM
which often results in no respect or even fair recognition. Chris
Bosh IS NOT SOFT because it has always shown in his career statistics,
that when he attacks the rim he is great as any star around the league like eg: LeBron,
Wade, Carmelo...and when he does go the rim, he doesn’t actually fake the call and wine if the referee doesn’t call it, a.k.a Iverson whom would usually do this and is known for this, while on the other hand Bosh actually tries to finish it strong with finesse and control for a
three-point play. Sometimes it would even result in a “sick, wicked, and nasty!” dunk as
Chuck Swirsky would say. Moreover it is shown that he is actually 3rd
best among the league and when it comes to sinking free-throws, Bosh sinks
them consistently at an 84% avg. Most importantly also, when it comes to crunch time he
wants to get the basketball so he can deliver points in order for
his team to win the ball game. Likewise his intensity and emotional
passion for the game of basketball is incredible because he gives the
coaching staff, his teammates, and especially the fans all his effort
and energy *everything he's got* Lastly Bosh doesn’t necessarily need
more strength or to have a huge body physique like Dwight Howard (Dwight Howard is simply amazing talent wise also) since
Chris has the heart of a true team player and his basketball IQ just
keeps growing every time he steps onto the court because he wants to
learn from every experience and mistake he makes.

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