Southern Illinoise University Athletics
Men's Basketball signs juco transfer Thik Bol
04/13/2016 | 12:00:00 | Men's Basketball
CARBONDALE, Ill. - Southern Illinois University men's basketball coach Barry Hinson announced today the program has signed forward Thik Bol (pronounced Teek Bowl) from Iowa Western Community College. The junior college transfer will have two years of eligibility for the Salukis.
A native of Sudan, the 6-foot-8, 205-pound Bol has ranked among the NJCAA's top shot blockers the last two years. Last season, he started 28 of 30 games for the Reivers and averaged 10.2 points, 7.5 rebounds and 3.3 blocked shots, which ranked third in the nation. As a freshman in 2015, Bol averaged 8.9 points, 8.5 rebounds and a nation-best 4.9 blocks. Iowa Western posted a 47-14 record during Bol's two seasons.
"He is just a tremendous shot blocker," said Reivers head coach Jim Morris. "He's just a bouncy, quick leaper, a good rebounder, and he's getting better offensively. There were about 20 schools recruiting him and all said they needed him as a rim protector. The Missouri Valley Conference is a very good level for him. He could probably use another 20 pounds, but he's a really good kid, zero maintenance, goes to school and does fine academically."
Bol played his high school basketball at Omaha Benson High School, where he averaged nine points, three rebounds and three blocks as a senior, on a team that was ranked No. 16 by USA Today. He then moved just across the Missouri River to play collegiately for Iowa Western.
"I've always said it's important to recruit kids who come out of well-established programs, and Jim Morris has developed some great players at Iowa Western," Hinson said. "For our program, we're always looking to get something that we don't have. We've not had anybody in our program with the ability to alter or block shots like this young man. He will have the opportunity to have an immediate impact on our program."
Hinson noted that SIU's leading shot blocker last season was forward Sean O'Brien with 29 blocks, while starting center Bola Olaniyan had five. As a team, the Salukis blocked only 63 shots in 2016, while Bol blocked 102.
SIU is coming off a 22-10 season and has one more open scholarship for 2016-17.
