Five-star 2016 recruit Marques Bolden announced on Monday morning that he has narrowed his list of schools down to seven including Duke, Kentucky, Kansas, Oklahoma, TCU, Alabama and Wake Forest, according to Evan Daniels of Scout.com. There are some big name schools on Bolden's list but Kentucky will get the first crack at impressing the young center as he is scheduled to take his official visit starting on Wednesday.
Bolden is a native of Dallas, Texas which might explain the inclusion of TCU on his list but as of right now many experts believe that he will choose Duke according to 247 Sports. Aside from Duke the experts also think that Kansas has a good shot at landing Bolden but he still has yet to make official visits anywhere so a lot of things could change.
So far Duke has picked up a commitment from one 2016 recruit and that was five-star small forward Jayson Tatum. Tatum has also been trying to recruit top overall prospect Harry Giles to Duke and they remain the favorite for him as well. If the experts are right and both Giles and Bolden pick Duke they would have an elite 2016 recruiting class right away with Tatum at small forward, Giles at power forward and Bolden at center.
Bolden had a nice summer on the Nike EYBL circuit playing for the Nike Pro Skills. In 21 games he averaged 13.7 points and 5.9 rebounds per game while making 57 percent of his field goal attempts. Bolden is ranked as the number one center and the 12th best overall player in the 2016 class according to Scout and has big time upside.
Bolden is at his best when he is running the floor and using his mobility to either score or block shots. He still needs to work on his motor and his aggressiveness when given the ball on the low block but overall he seems like someone that can compete at a high level in any of the major division one conferences right away.
It is still early in Bolden's recruitment as he has yet to take an official visit but as of right now Duke seems to be the popular choice for where he will land. Things can certainly change as time goes on and he takes his visits but the Dallas native is a potential game changer for any schools 2016 recruiting class.
