NBA Notes : A Beefier Bol: Washington’s Manute Adds Some Bulk to 7-Foot-7 Frame

Manute Bol, the 7-foot-7 Washington center who set an NBA record for blocked shots by a rookie last season, is adding some bulk to his bony frame.

Bol recently spent six weeks in New Orleans with body-building guru Mackie Shilstone, who gained some fame for helping turn Michael Spinks from a light-heavyweight into a heavyweight. Shilstone put Bol on a nutritional, as well as a physical, training program.

Bol, who started last season weighing 198 pounds, now is up to 230. He also has increased his flexibility by 40% and added 10 inches to his vertical leap.

“When I first looked at Manute, I had to shake my head and look again,” said the 5-8, 138-pound Shilstone. “But Manute turned out to be the perfect student. I never had to tell him anything twice. Everything I said was gospel.

“By the end of the six weeks, Manute became quite sentimental about the whole thing and told me, ‘Mackie, I don’t want to let you down. No one is going to push me around anymore.’ ”

“I feel good about myself now,” Bol said. “I feel strong. Everybody has always said things about my weight, saying how skinny I am and that I couldn’t play in the NBA. Now I won’t have to hear that.”

New Jersey’s Darryl Dawkins had this to say about teammate and All-Star forward Buck Williams: “Buck’s the hardest-working guy I’ve played with. If he had my mouth, he’d probably be the best-known player in the NBA.”

After being traded from Detroit to Utah this summer, 6-foot-6 Kelly Tripucka suggested that guard might be the position he will have to play in the future.

“6-6 forwards in this league are obsolete, at least they’re obsolete in the Eastern Conference,” Tripucka said. “You end up guarding guys 6-8, 6-9, 6-10, and if they post you up, they’re going to score.

“You can’t stop guys in this league 1-on-1. You’re only as good (defensively) as your team. I don’t profess to be the greatest defensive player in the league, but I work very hard at it. What else can you do?”

Laker Coach Pat Riley says that regular-season complacency was the cause of the team’s lackluster playoff performance.

“It’s a disease, an insidious disease,” he said. “Some of the players take the attitude that they’ll wait until the playoffs to get it going. When you take that attitude, you set yourself up for failure.”

Larry Bird says that Bill Russell was a better player than he is.

“When you look at Bill Russell winning 11 championships in 13 years, that’s really totally uncalled for,” Bird said. “That’s ridiculous. That’s amazing. That’s something that never will be done again.”

Wayman Tisdale, who reported late to the Indiana Pacers last season and was 20 to 25 pounds overweight, will be expected to arrive in training camp in shape this year, new Coach Jack Ramsay said.

“I’m a strong believer in conditioning,” said Ramsay, an avid runner, swimmer, biker and weightlifter. “For a player to perform at his best, he has got to get to that level of conditioning, and I think Wayman is one of those players who needs to be better conditioned.”