Bol’s A.A.U. team, KC Run GMC, which is based in Olathe, Kan., allows him more freedom to play how he wants: more long jumpers and slashing drives to the basket.

“You see his size and skill set and think he would not be as agile as he is, but he’s pretty gifted in that regard,” said Run GMC Coach L. J. Goolsby. “We had no idea that he was that good of a shooter. There’s work to be done, and he has a long ways to go. He actually does have a good post game when he uses it.”

Still, Bol struggles to find his place in basketball, the game his father wanted him to play but the son first pushed away. In practice, Zych’s most frequent commands to his would-be star are “Sprint!” and “Keep working!”

Bol does, sort of.

“He’s not his dad,” Zych said. “He’s Bol Bol. He’s this piece of clay. How this piece of clay ends up being a statue is up to him. We’re just some of the people that are going to help mold this person.”

Bol’s immediate goal is to get out of Zych’s doghouse and into the varsity rotation. He also has talked to his mother about attending a more basketball-focused prep school next year. In the meantime, Bol counts the days to summer when he returns to the A.A.U. circuit, with its bigger cities and better players.

He is a boy, after all, one who often looks at a photograph he posted on Instagram. He is with his father in the hospital. He misses him.

“Pray every day to be with this man in heaven,” it reads.