Edmonds-Woodway standout signs to play Division-I basketball

A Snohomish County boys basketball standout is taking his talents to the highest level of college hoops for the second straight year.

Edmonds-Woodway High School standout Mutdung Bol signed a National Letter of Intent on Wednesday to continue his basketball career at Eastern Washington University, marking the second time in as many years that a Wesco 3A/2A product has signed with an NCAA Division-I men’s basketball program. Marysville Pilchuck’s RaeQuan Battle joined the University of Washington last year.

“The head coach, Shantay Legans, he’s a really good guy, not just as a basketball coach but as a person,” Bol said. “He really believed in my game early and he just kept … boosting me up. Every time he would talk to me and call me, the love for the program became deeper and deeper and deeper. Even as other schools came in, there was a special place for Eastern.”

The three-time first-team all-league selection led the Warriors to a 15-8 record (10-4 Wesco 3A/2A) this season while averaging 18 points, seven rebounds, five assists and two steals per game. He was named to The Herald’s All-Area team for the second straight season for his efforts, which included multiple triple-doubles.

“Mutdung is an elite scorer at all three levels and has the ability to make a huge impact in our program for years to come,” Legans said in press release from the school. “Our Eastern family is ecstatic to add another young talent that will be a major contributor for years to come.”

Bol joins an EWU program that posted a 16-4 record in Big Sky Conference play on it way to a regular-season title. The Eagles were slated to enter the Big Sky Conference Tournament as the top seed before the college basketball season was cut short due to the coronavirus outbreak.

The dynamic 6-foot-4 guard chose the Eagles over offers from Portland State, Cleveland State, D-II Northwest Nazarene and some junior colleges. EWU was the first D-I program to offer the E-W product a scholarship, extending the invitation to Bol in June of 2018.

“When I first got the offer, man, it was one of a kind,” Bol said. “The first thing that came to my mind was my parents.”

Bol’s parents are refugees from Sudan. He said they moved to the U.S. to provide a better life and more opportunity for his family.

“For me to get that scholarship and just to get that opportunity to go play basketball and go and learn, it’s one of the biggest things,” Bol said. “It’s one of the biggest dreams they had for me.”

Dreams 2 Reality #COMMITTED pic.twitter.com/C5i5nywlMz— Mutdung Bol (@_MutdungBol) April 15, 2020

The wiry, uber-athletic Bol was a four-year varsity player at E-W. He scored over 1,000 career points for the Warriors, surpassing the benchmark with 10 points in a 63-48 victory over Everett on Jan. 8. His blend of length and athleticism made him a catalyst for the Warriors’ high-pressure defense and a constant threat to throw down thunderous dunks in transition.

“Man, he’s so diverse as a player,” E-W boys basketball coach Robert Brown said. “Everybody talks about how he can score the basketball, and I think at this level — in high school — the good players can always score. He has a great court awareness. He led us in assists. He probably was top one, two or three on our team in steals every year since his sophomore year. He led us in rebounds this year.

“… He understands other people have to do well and that it helps him to do well when other people do well. I think he’s going to be more of a point guard when he gets to college, and that will be great for him as well.”

Along with Bol’s talents, Brown said the Eagles are getting a high-character athlete with strong leadership qualities.

“He’s a great kid,” Brown said. “He wants the best for himself and his teammates, and he works hard to get it. He’s a natural leader. People kind of tend to follow him and gravitate towards him. He has a great personality, an infectious personality. I’m gonna miss him a ton because he’s worked his butt off to get to this point where he is. It’s just been a fun four years to have him around.”