The Kansas Jayhawks and their fans have to be feeling pretty good about themselves right now as Cheick Diallo made his debut on Tuesday night after having eligibility issues and looked like the top prospect many project him to be. This year's Kansas team is extremely talented and has a chance to make some big time noise in March but it is never too early to look at the future. Bill Self and company currently only have one commit for the 2016 class but they are looking to add to that with Marques Bolden who appears to be nearing a decision, according to Evan Daniels of Scout.com.
Bolden is one of very few five-star prospects that has yet to commit to a school but his decision continues to inch closer. Bolden says that his list of schools is down to five including Kansas, Duke, Kentucky, Oklahoma and TCU. Bolden wouldn't say which way he was leaning but as of right now Kansas appears to be the slight favorite over Duke, according to 247 Sports.
Bolden expects to make a decision within the next month between those five schools and although TCU seems like an outlier on his list they may have as good of a shot as anyone because he is from Dallas, Texas. The 6 foot-10 center said there is some sort of draw to stay home but he also realizes he needs to go to the best situation for him.
A couple of months ago it appeared like Duke was the favorite to land Bolden but since then they have gotten a bunch of commitments from top players which may have swayed Bolden towards Kansas who only has gotten a commitment from power forward Mitch Lightfoot who is ranked outside the top 100. Kansas could really use a commitment from Bolden as they are a bit behind in recruiting players from the 2016 class and they have made a strong pitch to him.
"Really just being able to come in and play. They are losing a couple of guys so they are just looking for a post presence to come in and play," said Bolden about Kansas' pitch to him. Perry Ellis is a senior and Diallo is fully expected to be one-and-done so playing time would likely not be an issue if he chose the Jayhawks.
Bolden is ranked as the 20th best prospect overall and the second best center in the 2016 class, according to ESPN.com. Getting a commitment from him would be a great place to start for Self and Kansas as they have lagged a little bit behind for 2016 recruiting. The Jayhawks are still in on some of the top recruits that have yet to commit but as of right now Bolden looks like the best bet to play for the Jayhawks next season.
