Manute Bol: RIP

People, Manute Bol has died at the age of 47. In my earlier life (pre Mrs. A), Tyler and I were Bullets season ticket holders during the Manute era. We got to see this:

Yes, seven feet seven inches and five feet three inches on the court at the same time. Bill Veck had nothing on Abe Pollin.

On the court, Manute was a shooting guard trapped in overly tall body. His favorite thing in basketball clearly was taking three pointers (something that his coach, Wes Unseld, didn't think very highly of), though he was also a prolific shot blocker.

Off the court, Manute did not have an easy life either before or after basketball. The Washington post has an excellent story on him here.