As you saw, CBC sophomore John
Bull is quite literally a head
above the rest in height and stats.
Imagine a love so strong for a sport
that you uproot your life and take
a leap of faith across the world.
Tonight we share John story
of hope and perseverance.
That's only getting started.
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CBC sophomore center John Bull
is hard to miss. He's 7 foot
two and still growing well.
I think I got my heart promise from
my great great granddad he was.
He was 818 foot one. Crazy, I know
he's in his first high school
basketball league ever, but you
wouldn't be able to tell by the statute
that numbers are unreal for
somebody 1617 years old.
You know, almost averaging
close to a triple double, he's
at 1711 and 9 blocks in one game.
His path to get here took a leap of
faith and a trip overseas job moved
from his hometown of South Sudan to
Saint Louis over the summer with two
goals in mind, the first ticket,
a strong education despite already.
Speaking 5 languages with their 4.0.
When I came here like the first
time I went to class like it was
all easy like I found it very easy
because you was give you like you
just got points for attending class.
You know I'm saying like that's crazy.
How do you get points for
just like coming to class
and the 2nd
of course to play basketball.
My dream seems like the day that
I noticed that I can actually
play this sport like I was like.
I wanna take it to a different level,
but this wasn't always the case.
I want to play basketball.
My first love was for soccer.
You know that I used to play soccer a lot.
Once John hits seven feet before he was 15,
he decided to try out his footwork on the
court and this was just four years ago
when I just like started, you know?
Playing it like just throwing it like pound.
I was pounding so bad like I was terrible.
You know I'm saying like I told you
it was like terrible at basketball.
So like dudes would be like I want him
in my team and I was like yeah Oh yeah,
like I wasn't like that.
Good that good but like when I
saw like how basketball made me
feel because I felt so good like I
felt like at least for once in my
life I felt like I was important.
You know, like I was needed someone
so I was like let me let me keep.
Coming every day because this
thing makes me feel good.
He eventually got the hang of it and
earned a high school scholarship.
But John learned quickly.
Basketball is played differently overseas.
It was a little bit tricky,
like when I first came here like it was
hard like it was hard, you know, like.
The basketball that I thought I
knew how to play back at home is
it was like completely different
with the one that I found you like.
Right here, like people play with more this
than you know body. So
we took preparation
into his own hands
and relied on the one thing he's
always done. Well, I studied every day
you've had a lot of success on the
court so far, averaging a double
double nearly a triple double in just
your first handful of games here.
Do you think about what that
means and how special that is?
Or do you just kind of go
out there and play the game?
I thought about it like that.
I just play so that my
team can win.
The most comparable player in Tatum's
tenure was someone half a foot shorter.
It was probably Jordan Barnett,
but I only had Jordan one year,
but I I never had nothing like this.
You know. Period in my 15
years of coaching, Tatum says.
With some weight and some practice,
John has the potential
to make it all the way.
And John's new goal is just that.
My ultimate goal will be
to play in the NBA League.
And that's still my goal.
Like we will be my love,
he just changed the game totally
at this high school level.
So just to see him put
them numbers up early.
I know how big of oppression
is gonna be down late.
John Bull went one for three from the
free throw line in his game on Thursday,
so he asked his coach if he could hit
the gym on his day off the next day
to get up to 2000 shots. Like I said,
a journey that's only getting started.