Manute Bol hospitalized

Former Washington Bullet center Manute Bol, the 7'6" gentle giant from the Dinka tribe of Sudan, is in the hospital due to kidney failure and is reportedly "in a bad way."

Bol was a 2nd round draft pick of the Bullets in 1985 and he played with the team until 1988. He averaged 5 blocks per game in 80 games in 1985-86, and his 397 blocks is still an NBA record for a rookie. He left the team after the 1988 season and had stints with the Golden State Warriors [twice], Philadephia 76ers [twice] and Miami Heat. He returned to Washington in 1993-94 for two games to help develop the newly-acquired 7'7" Gheorghe Muresan. To this day, Bol is second in NBA history in blocks per game [3.34] and is the only player in NBA history to record more blocks than points.

This isn't Bol's first serious health problem. In 2004 he suffered a broken neck and other injuries when the taxi he was riding in hit a guard rail and flipped over.

We wish Manute a full recovery from his illness. I'll always have fond memories of his long, gangly arms swatting away shots or the awkward bend of his knees as he launched a hilarious 3-pointer. Bol became known as a good-humored practical joker, with 76ers teammate Charles Barkley being a frequent target of his pranks.

You can send your get well message to Bol at this Facebook page.

Enjoy this video of Bol and his many moments worth remembering.