What Bol Bol’s season-ending foot injury means for the 2019 NBA Draft

Bol Bol has played his last game in an Oregon uniform. The Ducks’ five-star freshman center has missed the last four games with a foot injury that will to keep him sidelined for the entire season, according to 247 Sports. Bol confirmed the news on social media.

This is a massive blow for an Oregon team that had aspirations of making an NCAA tournament run coming into the season. While the Pac-12 continues to struggle as a whole, the Ducks are just 9-4 with a loss to Texas Southern in the non-conference portion of the schedule. It’s possible only one Pac-12 team will make the NCAA tournament, and Oregon’s chances of being that team would take a huge hit without their 7’3 center.

NBA GMs are also disappointed by this news. Bol was considered a sure-fire lottery pick and a potential top-five selection in June’s NBA draft before the injury. He has rare shooting touch for a player with historic length (reportedly a 7’8 wingspan) with intriguing shot blocking instincts. Some team will still take a chance on Bol’s upside, but a foot injury is scary for a player that already had questions about his mobility at the next level.

Bol’s injury is merely the latest hit for a 2019 NBA draft class that continues to look uninspiring after Zion Williamson. It’s possible three top-10 picks won’t play another minute this college season.

NBA teams only got to watch Darius Garland for four games this season before he tore the meniscus in his left knee. The injury required surgery and is expected to keep him out for Vanderbilt the rest of the season.

In a weak point guard crop, Garland was supposed to be in contention for the first player taken at the position. He’s a shifty 6’2 lead guard who stands out for his shooting ability both off the catch and on pull-ups. NBA teams wanted to see him continue to evolve as a passer and playmaker before the injury.

It’s possible that Garland is still a top-10 pick due the lack of impressive lead guards in this class. Murray State sophomore Ja Morant is currently the favorite to be the first point guard off the board.

USC freshman wing Kevin Porter Jr. looked like he would be the breakout freshman for the year for the first month of the season. The hype train has been derailed because of a vague quad injury, which has sidelined Porter since a win over Missouri State on Nov. 20.

Porter did play four minutes in USC’s Dec. 1 showdown against powerhouse Nevada, but hasn’t played since.

Porter likely did enough in November to secure his place in the lottery. There’s even been top-five buzz for him. Should he really return for USC if he’s not 100 percent? We’ve seen college football players expected to be taken atop the NFL draft make similar decisions.

If Porter doesn’t return, NBA GMs will have to bet on his potential as a 6’6 shot-making wing with creativity around the basket even with questions about his playmaking ability and injury history.

Coming into the college season, the consensus was that this draft class wasn’t as strong as the last two years. That thought has only been hammered home after underwhelming starts to the season for Duke’s R.J. Barrett and Cameron Reddish and North Carolina’s Nassir Little. Add in the injury issues popping up for three other potential top-10 picks, and the 2019 draft is leaving us with more questions than answers.

The only thing we know about the 2019 draft is Williamson is the big prize, and Barrett is the favorite to go No. 2. After that, it’s anyone’s guess.