Bul Kuol
Bul Kuol (born 10 January 1997) is a Sudanese-Australian professional basketball player for the Cairns Taipans of the National Basketball League (NBL). Born in Sudan, he moved to Australia when he was nine years old and went to school in Canberra. He played two years in the SEABL for the Canberra Gunners before playing college basketball in the United States for five years, four at California Baptist and one at Detroit Mercy. In 2021, he played for the Knox Raiders in the NBL1 South before joining the Taipans. Early life and career. Born in Sudan, Kuol grew  up in a small village next to a military base that backed on to the jungle. He moved to Australia in 2006 when he was nine years old, when his uncle, mother, three brothers and two sisters fled from war-torn South Sudan. Kuol's father stayed in Africa to look after the rest of their family. Living in Canberra, Kuol took up basketball as a 13-year-old after a growth spurt forced him to give soccer away. 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. Kuol debuted in the 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. 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. 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. 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 due to a back injury. He made seven starts and averaged 6.3 points per game. Kuol was considered a redshirt junior in the 2019–20 season, playing in 16 games for the Lancers from 2 January onwards. He averaged 5.6 points and 3.1 rebounds in 18.4 minutes per game. After  graduating from California Baptist, Kuol transferred to Detroit Mercy in May 2020. 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. On 26 December 2020, he scored a career-high 28 points in a 77–75 overtime loss to Oakland. On 5 February 2021, he set a new career high with 29 points in  an 82–72 win over Purdue Fort Wayne. He scored a team-high 20 points against NKU in the quarterfinals of the Horizon League Tournament. He started all 22 games for the season and averaged 15.6 points, 4.8 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 1.3 steals. Professional career. In April 2021, Kuol joined the Knox Raiders of the NBL1 South. In nine games, he averaged 18.2 points and 4.9 rebounds per game. On 13 August 2021, Kuol signed a two-year deal with the Cairns Taipans of the National Basketball League. 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. On 5 February 2022, he scored 26 points with eight 3-pointers in a 102–94 win over the Brisbane Bullets. He was named the NBL Rookie of the Year.