Bul Kuol

Last updated

Bul Kuol
Bul Kuol Cairns Taipans 2022.jpg
Kuol with the Cairns Taipans in 2022
Sydney Kings
Position Shooting guard / small forward
League NBL
Personal information
Born (1997-01-10) 10 January 1997 (age 27)
Sudan
NationalitySouth Sudanese / Australian
Listed height201 cm (6 ft 7 in)
Listed weight94 kg (207 lb)
Career information
High school Lake Ginninderra (Canberra, ACT)
College
NBA draft 2022: undrafted
Playing career2015–present
Career history
2015–2016 Canberra Gunners
2021 Knox Raiders
2021–2024 Cairns Taipans
2023 Le Mans
2024–present Sydney Kings
Career highlights and awards

Bul Kuol (born 10 January 1997) is a South Sudanese-Australian [1] [2] professional basketball player for the Sydney Kings of the National Basketball League (NBL). Born in Sudan, he moved to Australia when he was nine years old and grew up in Canberra. He played college basketball in the United States for five years, four at California Baptist and one at Detroit Mercy. He joined the Cairns Taipans in 2021 and played three seasons for the club. In 2023, he had a stint with Le Mans of the French Pro A.

Contents

Early life and career

Born in Sudan, [2] [3] [4] Kuol grew up in a small village next to a military base that backed on to the jungle. [5] He and his family also spent time living at Kakuma, the world's biggest refugee camp located in Kenya. [6] He moved to Australia in 2006 when he was nine years old, [2] [3] [4] when his uncle, mother, three brothers and two sisters fled from war-torn South Sudan. [5] Kuol's father stayed in Africa to look after the rest of their family. [5]

Living in Canberra, Kuol took up basketball as a 13-year-old after a growth spurt forced him to give soccer away. [5] He attended Lake Ginninderra Secondary College and led the school to back-to-back Australian Schools Championships. He also led the Australian Capital Territory (ACT) team to a fifth-place finish at the U20 National Championships, averaging 15.6 points and 8.1 rebounds per game. [3] [4]

Kuol debuted in the South East Australian Basketball League (SEABL) for the Canberra Gunners in 2015, averaging 6.0 points and 1.6 rebounds in 18 games. The following year, he averaged 8.6 points, 3.7 rebounds and 1.5 assists in 22 games for the Gunners. [7] [8]

College career

As a freshman at California Baptist in 2016–17, Kuol played in all 31 games and averaged 3.0 points and 2.2 rebounds in 14.0 minutes per game. [3]

As a sophomore in 2017–18, Kuol played in all 34 games for the Lancers with 32 starts and averaged 6.7 points and 4.0 rebounds per game. He earned Academic All-PacWest honours. [3]

In the 2018–19 season, Kuol played in 10 games to begin the season – California Baptist's first season in Division I – and then did not play again after 17 December [9] due to a back injury. [10] He made seven starts and averaged 6.3 points per game. [3]

Kuol was considered a redshirt junior in the 2019–20 season, playing in 16 games for the Lancers from 2 January onwards. [11] He averaged 5.6 points and 3.1 rebounds in 18.4 minutes per game. [3]

After graduating from California Baptist, Kuol transferred to Detroit Mercy in May 2020. [12]

In the 2020–21 season with the Titans, Kuol finished 13th in the Horizon League in regular-season scoring with 15.5 points per game, including 16.4 points in conference games. He scored in double digits 17 times in his 20 regular-season games with four 20-point outings and was subsequently named third-team All-Horizon League. [4] On 26 December 2020, he scored a career-high 28 points in a 77–75 overtime loss to Oakland. [13] On 5 February 2021, he set a new career high with 29 points in an 82–72 win over Purdue Fort Wayne. [14] He scored a team-high 20 points against NKU in the quarterfinals of the Horizon League tournament. [4] He started all 22 games for the season and averaged 15.6 points, 4.8 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 1.3 steals. [15] [16]

Professional career

In April 2021, Kuol joined the Knox Raiders of the NBL1 South. [17] In nine games, he averaged 18.2 points and 4.9 rebounds per game. [18]

On 13 August 2021, Kuol signed a two-year deal with the Cairns Taipans of the National Basketball League. [19] He entered the 2021–22 season having been told he was not guaranteed to be part of the rotation or receive any minutes, but due to numerous injuries to his back-court teammates, he was thrust into the line-up and quickly became one of the Taipans' most important players thanks to his defensive intensity and energy. He subsequently put himself in the Rookie of the Year discussion. [20] On 5 February 2022, he scored 26 points with eight 3-pointers in a 102–94 win over the Brisbane Bullets, [21] becoming just the third player in Taipans history to record eight 3-pointers in a game. [22] For the season, his 64 3-pointers set an NBL record for most 3-pointers by an Australian rookie and he became the first rookie in NBL history to finish inside the Top 5 for 3-pointers in a season. [22] He also finished the season with a team-high 26 starts and recorded the team's second-most minutes played over the season. [22] He was subsequently named the NBL Rookie of the Year. [23]

On 16 May 2022, Kuol recommitted to the Taipans for the 2022–23 season. [22] He averaged 10.3 points and 3.7 rebounds per game. [24]

On 28 February 2023, Kuol signed with Le Mans of the French Pro A for the rest of the 2022–23 season. [24]

On 9 June 2023, Kuol re-signed with the Taipans for the 2023–24 NBL season. [25] He averaged a career-best 12.7 points, 1.7 assists and 0.5 blocks per game, to go with 3.1 rebounds and 0.7 steals. [26]

On 30 April 2024, Kuol signed a three-year deal with the Sydney Kings. [26]

National team career

In 2022, Kuol was selected to play for the South Sudanese national team in the FIBA World Cup Qualifiers. [1] [27] He played for South Sudan in further qualifiers in February 2023. [24]

Kuol missed the 2023 FIBA World Cup due to a wrist injury. [28] He was named in South Sudan's final roster for the 2024 Olympics. [29] [30]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nathan Jawai</span> Australian basketball player (born 1986)

Nathan Leon Jawai is an Australian professional basketball player for the Darwin Salties of the NBL1 North. Standing at 209 cm, he plays at the power forward and centre positions.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lucas Walker</span> Australian basketball player

Lucas Walker is an Australian basketball player for the Illawarra Hawks of the NBL1 East. He played 10 seasons in the National Basketball League (NBL) between 2010 and 2020. He played college basketball for Montana State University Billings and Saint Mary's College of California before joining the Melbourne Tigers in 2010. After five seasons with Melbourne, he had stints with the Adelaide 36ers, Perth Wildcats, Cairns Taipans and Sydney Kings. He won an NBL championship with the Wildcats in 2017.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cody Ellis</span> Australian basketball player

Cody Gordon Ellis is an Australian basketball player for the Warwick Senators of the NBL1 West. After four years of college basketball for the Saint Louis Billikens, Ellis had a five-year stint in the National Basketball League (NBL) with the Sydney Kings and Illawarra Hawks.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tom Jervis</span> Australian basketball player

Thomas Lachlan Jervis is an Australian professional basketball player who last played for the Rockingham Flames of the NBL1 West. He played college basketball for Bevill State Community College and Troy University in the United States before debuting in the National Basketball League (NBL). He won two NBL championships with the Perth Wildcats between 2013 and 2016. After two seasons with the Brisbane Bullets, Jervis returned to the Wildcats in 2018 and won his third championship. He retired from basketball in 2019 but made a comeback in January 2021 to re-join the Wildcats. Jervis is also well known for his time spent in the State Basketball League (SBL) with the East Perth Eagles, having played for them every year between 2009 and 2016, helping them win their maiden championship in 2014.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Anthony Fisher (basketball, born 1994)</span> Australian basketball player

Anthony Fisher is an Australian former professional basketball player. He played the majority of his career in the South East Australian Basketball League (SEABL) and Queensland Basketball League (QBL), playing for the Ballarat Miners (2011–2015) and Cairns Marlins. He was a member of the Marlins' championship-winning team in 2016. He also had stints in the National Basketball League (NBL) with the Perth Wildcats and Cairns Taipans. After four years as a development player and extended squad member of the Taipans, he earned a full-time contract with the club in 2019.

Shaun Bruce is an Australian professional basketball player for the Sydney Kings of the National Basketball League (NBL). He is also contracted with the Logan Thunder of the NBL1 North. He began his NBL career in 2012 as a development player with the Cairns Taipans, before earning a full-time roster spot in 2013. In 2016, he moved south to join the Brisbane Bullets. After half a season with the Adelaide 36ers in 2019, he joined the Kings.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Majok Deng</span> South Sudanese-Australian basketball player

Majok Machar Deng is a South Sudanese-Australian professional basketball player for the Tasmania JackJumpers of the National Basketball League (NBL). He played college basketball in the United States for Indian Hills Community College and Louisiana–Monroe. He debuted in the NBL for the Adelaide 36ers in 2016. After three seasons for the 36ers, he joined the Cairns Taipans in 2019 where he spent four seasons.

Nathan Adam Sobey is an Australian professional basketball player for the South East Melbourne Phoenix of the National Basketball League (NBL). He is also contracted with the Ipswich Force of the NBL1 North. He played college basketball for the Wyoming Cowboys before debuting in the NBL in 2014 for the Cairns Taipans. He was a member of the Australian Boomers team that won bronze at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.

Atem Kuol Atem Bol is a South Sudanese basketball player for the Ipswich Force of the NBL1 North.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mirko Đerić</span> Australian-Serbian basketball player

Mirko Đerić is an Australian-Serbian professional basketball player who last played for the Cairns Taipans of the National Basketball League (NBL).

Dillon Stith is an American-Australian professional basketball player for the Casey Cavaliers of the NBL1 South. He is also contracted with the Cairns Taipans of the National Basketball League (NBL). He played college basketball for Saint Vincent College before moving to Australia in 2015 to play in the Big V. After one season with the Melbourne Tigers, he played four seasons for the McKinnon Cougars between 2016 and 2019, winning Big V MVPs in 2017 and 2019 and leading the Cougars to the championship in 2019. He played two seasons with Melbourne United of the NBL between 2019 and 2021.

Tad Dufelmeier Jr. is an Australian professional basketball player for the Dandenong Rangers of the NBL1 South. He played college basketball in the United States for Salt Lake Community College and Concordia University Irvine.

The 2021–22 NBL season was the 23rd season for the Cairns Taipans in the NBL, and their first under the leadership of their new head coach Adam Forde.

Kuany Ngor Kuany is a South Sudanese-Australian basketball player who last played for Kauhajoen Karhu of the Finnish League and FIBA Europe Cup.

Anyiarbany "Jackson" Makoi is a South Sudanese-Australian professional basketball player for the Cairns Taipans of the Australian National Basketball League (NBL). He represents the South Sudan national basketball team in international competition.

Mitchell Clarke is an Australian professional basketball player for the Bendigo Braves of the NBL1 South. He played five seasons with the Perry Lakes Hawks in the NBL1 West before joining the Perth Wildcats of the Australian National Basketball League (NBL) in 2021, where he spent two seasons with their extended squad. He played for the Bendigo Braves in 2022 before returning to the Hawks in 2023. After a season with the Reading Rockets of the English National Basketball League, he re-joined Bendigo in 2024.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Marshall Nelson</span> Australian basketball player

Marshall Lance Nelson is an Australian-Belgian professional basketball player for the Willetton Tigers of the NBL1 West. Debuting in the State Basketball League (SBL) in 2014 for the Perth Redbacks, Nelson went on to play three seasons of college basketball in the United States and has played in Sweden and Iceland. He has had two stints in the National Basketball League (NBL), first with the Illawarra Hawks as a development player between 2017 and 2019 and then with the Cairns Taipans as an injury replacement during the 2021–22 season. He played his sixth season with the Redbacks in 2021 and helped them win the SBL championship in 2017. In 2022, he helped the Rockingham Flames win the NBL1 West championship and NBL1 National championship.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ben Ayre</span> Australian basketball player

Benjamin Ayre is an Australian professional basketball player for the Wellington Saints of the New Zealand National Basketball League (NZNBL). He is also contracted with the South East Melbourne Phoenix of the National Basketball League (NBL). He played college basketball in the United States for Skagit Valley College and Newman University before joining the Adelaide 36ers of the NBL as a development player in 2019. He played briefly in Lithuania for BC Mažeikiai in 2020 and in 2022 had a breakout stint with the Cairns Taipans.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Michael Harris (basketball, born 1999)</span> Australian basketball player

Michael Harris is an Australian professional basketball player for the Warwick Senators of the NBL1 West. He is also contracted with the Perth Wildcats of the National Basketball League (NBL).

Lat Nai Mayen Nai is a South Sudanese-Australian professional basketball player for the Wellington Saints of the New Zealand National Basketball League (NZNBL). He is also contracted with the Adelaide 36ers of the National Basketball League (NBL). He played college basketball for three different colleges between 2018 and 2022, finishing with a two-year stint with the Nebraska Cornhuskers. He began his professional career with the Cairns Taipans of the NBL in 2022.

References

  1. 1 2 "Kuol Not Wasting Surprise NBA Chance". NBL.com.au. 22 June 2022. Retrieved 23 June 2022.
  2. 1 2 3 "Bul Kuol". Taipans.com. Archived from the original on 1 January 2022.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "Bul Kuol". cbulancers.com. Archived from the original on 1 January 2022.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 "Bul Kuol". detroittitans.com. Archived from the original on 1 January 2022.
  5. 1 2 3 4 Gaskin, Lee (18 January 2014). "For Sudanese refugee Bul Kuol, basketball offers huge opportunities". smh.com.au. Archived from the original on 19 January 2014. Retrieved 1 January 2022.
  6. ↑ Moodie, Anthea (17 July 2023). "From a refugee camp to qualifying for the Basketball World Cup, the Cairns Taipan's Bul Kuol is at the top of his game". abc.net.au. Archived from the original on 19 July 2023.
  7. ↑ "Bul Kuol" . australiabasket.com. Retrieved 1 January 2022.
  8. ↑ "Bul Kuol". SEABL. Archived from the original on 1 January 2022.
  9. ↑ "Bul Kuol 2018–19". sports-reference.com. Archived from the original on 1 January 2022.
  10. ↑ Robin, Brian (4 November 2019). "Cal Baptist men's basketball tries to follow up last season's successful D-I debut". pe.com. Archived from the original on 1 January 2022. Kuol, one of the most versatile and athletic players in the conference, played only 10 games last year due to a back injury.
  11. ↑ "Bul Kuol 2019–20". sports-reference.com. Archived from the original on 1 January 2022.
  12. ↑ "Source. Cal Baptist grad transfer Bul Kuol has committed to Detroit". twitter.com/JonRothstein. 5 May 2020. Archived from the original on 1 January 2022.
  13. ↑ "Oakland gets first win, an overtime thriller against Detroit Mercy". detroitnews.com. 26 December 2020. Archived from the original on 16 May 2021. Retrieved 1 January 2022.
  14. ↑ "Davis carries Detroit over Purdue Fort Wayne 82-72". foxsports.com. 5 February 2021. Archived from the original on 1 January 2022.
  15. ↑ "Bul Kuol". sports-reference.com. Archived from the original on 1 January 2022.
  16. ↑ "Bul Kuol 2020–21". sports-reference.com. Archived from the original on 1 January 2022.
  17. ↑ "Bul Kuol returns to Knox after college stint". NBL1.com.au. 14 April 2021. Archived from the original on 1 January 2022.
  18. ↑ "Bul Kuol". NBL1.com.au. Archived from the original on 1 January 2022.
  19. ↑ "Taipans Complete Roster with Bul Kuol". NBL.com.au. 13 August 2021. Archived from the original on 1 January 2022.
  20. ↑ Pike, Chris (12 February 2022). "Bringing Defence, Energy Will Let the Rest Flow for Kuol". NBL.com.au. Archived from the original on 12 February 2022.
  21. ↑ "Kuol, Deng Fire Snakes to Big Win over Bullets". NBL.com.au. 5 February 2022. Archived from the original on 5 February 2022.
  22. 1 2 3 4 "Taipans retain both league award winners". Taipans.com. 16 May 2022. Archived from the original on 16 May 2022.
  23. ↑ "Jaylen Adams Crowned MVP". NBL.com.au. 27 April 2022. Archived from the original on 27 April 2022.
  24. 1 2 3 "Bul Kuol, final piece of the MSB puzzle". msb.fr (in French). 28 February 2023. Archived from the original on 2 March 2023. Retrieved 2 March 2023.
  25. ↑ "Kuol commits to Cairns". Taipans.com. 9 June 2023. Archived from the original on 9 June 2023.
  26. 1 2 "Kings make free agency splash with Bul Kuol signing". SydneyKings.com. 30 April 2024. Archived from the original on 30 April 2024.
  27. ↑ "Bul Kuol laps up whirlwind NBA opportunity en route to South Sudan". ESPN.com.au. 22 June 2022. Retrieved 24 June 2022.
  28. ↑ Pender, Kieran (17 August 2023). "'Where the real wins are': basketball's rising star Bul Kuol on the other World Cup inspiring a nation". theguardian.com. Retrieved 18 August 2023.
  29. ↑ Woods, Dan (8 May 2024). "Family behind Kuol's Olympic drive". NBL.com.au. Retrieved 9 May 2024.
  30. ↑ "South Sudanese NBL stars to make history". NBL.com.au. 24 July 2024. Retrieved 25 July 2024.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.