Taipans Warn Keen Kuol to Pull Back on Workouts

Cairns Taipans recruit Bul Kuol can’t wait for the NBL season to begin – so much so that his own team is telling him to not overwork himself in training.

“He actually came to the gym two hours before everyone else and put some shots up,” Taipans coach Adam Forde said, via The Cairns Post.

“I had to explain to him how player load management works and when you’ve been sitting in a room for two weeks and do too much, it just increases your chance of injury.

“Bul wants to do more, and that’s great, that’s why we recruited him and he’s hungry to show his worth, but he has to understand that we know what he’s capable of doing and now it’s about us making sure we manage these guys correctly, so we don’t add him onto that injury list and suddenly he’s one of the guys on the other court that’s on our return-to-play.

“He’s enthusiastic and he’s happy to be here naturally, we just want to make sure that we’ve got him peaking at the right time of the year, and not too soon.”

Kuol’s excitement to hit the court deepened while he was in hotel quarantine as the 24-year-old indulged in NBA highlights. The forward started using anything he had at his disposal to ensure his basketball skills stayed sharp.

“I had a tennis ball and I would pretend that was a basketball,” Kuol said.

“I hope the wall that was on the right of me was an elevator wall because I was throwing the basketball at the wall and all kinds of stuff, so I probably annoyed a lot of people when I was there.

“It’s so good to have the ball in your hands and just shoot hoops again because when you’re stuck in that quarantine room you’re watching NBA highlights, you’re watching your favourite players play and you just want to go shoot.”

It has been about six weeks since Kuol played a game as the former Knox Raider felt the brunt of the NBL1 South season being cancelled due to the pandemic.

Kuol raised eyebrows while playing for the Raiders this season, averaging 18.2 points and 4.9 rebounds per game.

As he prepares for his inaugural NBL season, Kuol is placing no individual expectations on himself, instead narrowing his focus on doing what he can to help the team win.

“I don't want to put pressure on anything by saying this is what I have to do,” he said.

“I just love playing basketball and whatever coach wants me to do, I'll do it to the best of my ability. No expectations, just coming in and playing the game that I love to play.”

Kuol also revealed he has known Cairns teammate Kouat Noi since 2013 and is looking forward to forming a strong connection with him.

“I've known him and kept up with him for the past seven years or so and it's nice to actually be on the same team after so long and now I actually get to know him and build a relationship with him,” Kuol said.