Florida basketball: Gators in top eight for elite, 7’2” center

Florida basketball, like pretty much every basketball team, doesn’t make as much noise on the recruiting trail as football.

Significantly smaller rosters mean significantly less news. Except for last night.

The Gators made the top-eight list for elite center John Bol last night.

Other schools that made the cut include UCONN, USC, Texas, and others. The only other SEC school on the list is Missouri.

John is a 4-star across the recruiting industry and is a consensus top-4 center in the 2024 recruiting class.

Bol, who is originally from South Sudan, arrived in the US in March of 2021 and immediately made a name for himself on the court.

His first time playing basketball was in 2019 in Nairobi, and he immediately realized he was something special.

In his first season at St. Louis Christian Brothers, he broke the school record for blocks and is clearly an elite defensive player.

It only makes sense, he’s 7’2”.

Bol credits his defensive ability to his time playing soccer when he was younger.

"“I can easily move my feet. Seven-foot guys usually cannot move well or slide their feet. But when it comes to me, that’s actually easy. Before basketball, I started playing soccer when I was six years old. So, when I switched to basketball, it was easy for me to guard people. I have a motor that I bring to the court every single day. I talk a lot on the defensive end.”"

Bol said this to Joe Tipton of On3 and is very confident in his abilities.

His offensive game will come with time, but for now, all these schools want him for his size, defense, and upside.

Right now, On3 says that Michigan and Missouri are pretty neck and neck at the top of Bol’s recruitment, with Florida in 3rd place.

Hopefully Todd Golden and the Gators can make some progress as his recruitment continues.

Keep up with Florida basketball at Hail Florida Hail.