Bol was unable to give a documentation of his birth date, according to Cleveland State University basketball coach Kevin Mackey. On Cleveland State paperwork, Mackey entered the date as October 16, 1962, but suspected Bol was considerably older. Bol did not appear in a single game for Cleveland State. In an interview with The Plain Dealer in 1995, Mackey said, "I think he lied about his age. I think he was at least 30 years old." Bol's body was found in a Cleveland hotel room on July 4, 1993. He was wearing a Cleveland Cavaliers jersey with the number 40 on it. Police said there were no signs of trauma to his body and he had been dead for more than a month. A medical examiner determined he had been in good health up until his death at age 33. Bol was raised by his grandmother after his father died when he was young. He did not learn how to read or write until he started school at the age of 10. Bol initially wanted to be a doctor, but after watching Michael Jordan play basketball, he decided to try out for the Cleveland Cavaliers. He never played a game for them because he was too old. He finally made it to the NBA after leaving China when he was 24 years old. He played only one season before dying of cancer. In his only season, Bol averaged 7.7 points and 4.3 rebounds per game.