The Duke Blue Devils are set to play the Oregon Ducks in the Sweet 16 Thursday night for a spot in the Elite Eight. This game obviously has Mike Krzyzewski and all of Duke's full attention, but that is not the only thing that the basketball program has its eyes on.
Five-star center Marques Bolden is nearing a decision on where to play college basketball, and he is down to three schools. The remaining three schools on the list are TCU, Kentucky and Duke. Duke already has a loaded class for 2016 coming in, but they still really want Bolden too, so they are going to keep pushing for him until he decides.
Bolden is expected to announce his decision within the next month, and although many people have their predictions, he hasn't given any indication on which way he is leaning. Harry Giles, the number one overall prospect in 2016 and a Duke commit, is confident that Bolden will choose Duke, as he has been recruiting him and trying to convince the center to join him in Durham.
For what it's worth, Kentucky appears to be the favorite to land Bolden in many people's minds, but Duke isn't far behind. There are pros and cons to all three schools that Bolden is considering. Both Kentucky and Duke have loaded classes coming in for 2016 (numbers one and two respectively), so that means he might not be guaranteed big minutes at either of those schools. On the positive side, Bolden is ranked as the 20th best overall player in the 2016 class and the second best center, so his talent should earn him playing time at either school.
For TCU, while Bolden would definitely be able to earn playing time there, it would also be tougher to win because the program isn't as strong and it just fired its head coach. Bolden said that he had a great relationship with Trent Johnson but is unsure about new coach Jamie Dixon because he hasn't talked to him. Another positive for TCU in the chase for Bolden, though, is that he is from Dallas, Texas, so playing at TCU would allow him to stay close to home.
While Duke fans will enjoy watching their team play in the Sweet 16 Thursday night, they are surely interested in the team's future, as well. The future is bright regardless of whether they are able to get Bolden or not, but he would certainly add a lot to next year's team. Giles is confident that Bolden will be a Blue Devil next year, but we will find out within a month if his pitch to the five-star center worked.
