Manute Bol dead at 47.

[PittsburghSucks]

http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/news;_ylt=AnrtfcKK14pT6Yuq4GJS7ek5nYcB?slug=ap-obit-bol

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP)?Manute Bol, a lithe 7-foot-7 shot-blocker from Sudan who spent 10 seasons in the NBA and was dedicated to humanitarian work in Africa, died Saturday. He was 47.

Bol died at the University of Virginia Hospital in Charlottesville, where he was being treated for severe kidney trouble and a painful skin condition, Tom Prichard, executive director of the group Sudan Sunrise, said in an e-mail.

?Sudan and the world have lost a hero and an example for all of us,? Prichard said. ?Manute, we?ll miss you. Our prayers and best wishes go out to all his family, and all who mourn his loss.?

Bol played in the NBA with Washington, Golden State, Philadelphia and Miami, averaging 2.6 points, 4.2 rebounds and 3.3 blocks for his career. He led the league in blocks in 1985-86 with Washington (5.0 per game) and in 1988-89 with Golden State (4.3 a game).

?Manute?s impact on this city, our franchise and the game of basketball cannot be put into words,? 76ers president and general manager Ed Stefanski said in a statement. ?He ? was continually giving of himself through his generosity and humanitarian efforts in order to make the world around him a much better place, for which he will always be remembered.?

Bol joined the NBA with Washington in 1985 and played three seasons there. He returned to the team briefly toward the end of his career. The Wizards lauded him as a ?true humanitarian and an ambassador for the sport of basketball.?

?Despite his accomplishments on the court, his lasting legacy will be the tireless work and causes he promoted in his native Sudan and the cities in which he played,? the club said in a statement.

After the NBA, Bol worked closely as an advisory board member of Sudan Sunrise, which promotes reconciliation in Sudan. .

Bol was hospitalized in mid-May during a stopover in Washington after returning to the United States from Sudan. Prichard said then that Bol was in Sudan to help build a school in conjunction with Sudan Sunrise but stayed longer than anticipated after the president of southern Sudan asked him to make election appearances and use his influence to counter corruption in the county.

He said Bol had undergone three dialysis treatments and developed Stevens-Johnson Syndrome, a condition that caused him to lose patches of skin. Prichard said the skin around Bol?s mouth was so sore he went 11 days without eating and could barely talk.

Prichard said it?s believed Bol contracted the skin disease as a reaction to kidney medication he took while in Africa.

Janis Ricker, operations manager of Sudan Sunrise, said Saturday the organization will continue its work building the school in Bol?s home village in southern Sudan. She said Bol?s goal was to build 41 schools throughout Sudan.

[infrared41]

Whenever Manute Bol's name comes up I think of the story about how he lost two teeth because they got caught in a basketball net. It's a shame to see he was suffering. It looks like he did some good things after basketball.

[TruColor]

RIP Manute. Such a great story. I followed that guy's career from the time he was at the U. of Bridgeport through the NBA.

I actually saw these two play together live:

The Bullets used to run a play where the two of them (Manute and Muggsy Bogues) would stand next to each other on one side of the court. Used to make the crowd laugh.

[dfwabel]

As much success he made from leaving the Sudan to making a name for himself in America, he was sadly stricken with numerous issues after his NBA career ended. Broken neck, kindey issues, financial peril were just three. All of which were in the attempt to better the people of his nation. RIP Mr. Manute.

[Sport]

I met him once. In Athens, Ohio of all places. He was speaking at Ohio University about the humanitarian work that he was doing. I happened across his crew and had the fortune of watching him get up out of a chair. I walked over and introduced myself and asked if he was enjoying his time in Athens. He shook my hand and said that he was. That was the extent of it, but I'll remember that for a long time. The guy, apart from parlaying a freakish height into an NBA career, was pretty sharp witted and used his fame to help others. You gotta admire that.

[rmackman]

Manute did a lot for basketball and even more for Sudan. It's too bad one of the good guys had to go down. R.I.P. Manute.

[Breakwood]

RIP Manute. Such a great story. I followed that guy's career from the time he was at the U. of Bridgeport through the NBA.

I actually saw these two play together live:

The Bullets used to run a play where the two of them (Manute and Muggsy Bogues) would stand next to each other on one side of the court. Used to make the crowd laugh.

I remember them playing together when the Bullets visited Toronto is the Raptor's inagural season. Bol didn't seem that big at the time...but I was sitting in the 500 level at the SkyDome at the time.

It's a shame, since he devoted so much of his time to very worthy causes.

[Brian in Boston]

I actually saw these two play together live:

I saw a similar pairing take the court during the United States Basketball League's inaugural season in 1985. Bol and Spudd Webb were teammates on the Rhode Island Gulls, based at Newport's Rogers High School.

[HedleyLamarr]

Today, we are all Bullets.

[Brendan]

Today, we are all Bullets.

You should try stand up.

[TFoA]

I forget who said it, but someone said something along the lines of "Most basketball players go broke wasting money. Manute Bol went broke building hospitals." He really did great things after basketball. For him to be this fondly remembered despite the fact that he really wasn't that good of a pro basketball player is amazing, but he was really great when it came to trying to help others. RIP.

[infrared41]

Today, we are all Bullets.

You should try stand up.

"Today we're all..." has become something of a tradition in these "so and so died so let's see who can internet grieve the most" threads. Someone had to fulfill the requirement for the thread. I'm sure Hedley is truly devastated by the loss and his heart and prayers are with Manute Bol's family and the entire Bullets/Wizards organization. Right Hedley?

[Sport]

Today we are all Heats.

[infrared41]

Today we are all Heats.

Wouldn't that be "today we are all Heat?"

[MattF]

Today we are all Heats.

Wouldn't that be "today we are all Heat?"

Today we are all Hot?

This is a tricky one

[Sodboy13]

I'm just in Heat. But that's neither here nor there.

For all the "mourning them because they're famous" threads that have come and gone here, it's important that this one get separated from the pack. Manute Bol died because he couldn't stop trying to help his homeland - a wartorn, brutal place which once imprisoned him for his religion for two years, and ended up giving him the disease which took his life. He may have been a freakshow on the court (or, that one night, on the ice,) but all indications are that he was nothing short of an amazing human being in the real world. The story of Manute Bol's life should be a required study for every NBA rookie before he lays out a good chunk of his signing bonus on a set of 24-karat twenty-twos.

[NJTank]

It is so sad that Manute died at sucha young age, he was trully great on and off the court, well not som much on, but he was fun to watch him swat away shots.

[OnWis97]

Today, we are all Bullets.

You should try stand up.

"Today we're all..." has become something of a tradition in these "so and so died so let's see who can internet grieve the most" threads. Someone had to fulfill the requirement for the thread. I'm sure Hedley is truly devastated by the loss and his heart and prayers are with Manute Bol's family and the entire Bullets/Wizards organization. Right Hedley?

Yeah, and I know that sometimes the whole "my heart goes out" and "I am so saddened" statements are disingenuous, but this thread has yet to get there. It would be nice if on a thread like this, people could just say "it's too bad", which they'd feel without weeping. And in exchange, we could live without the mocking of faux sorrow. Particularly when, in this thread, there really has not been any faux sorrow. Nobody here shed a tear over Bol's death...but it's still "too bad". It's a good time to remember the person...in this case, one of the good guys of sports.

[Cujo]

Manute Bol and Gary Coleman. Gone too soon.

[HedleyLamarr]

Today, we are all Bullets.

You should try stand up.

"Today we're all..." has become something of a tradition in these "so and so died so let's see who can internet grieve the most" threads. Someone had to fulfill the requirement for the thread. I'm sure Hedley is truly devastated by the loss and his heart and prayers are with Manute Bol's family and the entire Bullets/Wizards organization. Right Hedley?

Whenever you watch Bullets games on TV or listen to their games on the radio, or have ever bought a Bullets game ticket or Bullets apparel, you become part of the Bullets family, that stays with you until the day you die.

I am mourning, I am grieving, and all that shee-ot....