Kentucky Wildcats: Mr. Bolden Heads to Durham
By Terry Brown
On Thursday afternoon, coveted high school recruit Marques Bolden announced his college choice. The 6’10” big man out of Dallas’ DeSoto High School chose to attend Duke University for the 2016-17 season. Even with the addition of Bolden, the Blue Devils incoming class is still ranked number 2 overall by Rivals.com. The top class? The University of Kentucky Wildcats.
As I’ve said before, in college basketball right now, it’s Duke and Kentucky. Coach Mike Krzyzewski at Duke and Coach John Calipari have turned recruiting into an embarrassment of riches for the Blue Devils and Wildcats. In what has become a fairly regular occurrence, the two teams have the top two recruiting classes for the upcoming season, a continuation of the rich getting richer.
Bolden extended his recruitment about as long as he could, with both Duke and Kentucky fans hoping he’d choose their school. And for the Big Blue Nation, he didn’t choose the Cats. As Wildcat fans, it’s hard to see why any young man would not choose Kentucky. Calipari has the Lexington to NBA pipeline rolling and his on court success has been amazing. But, it’s not like Duke is some unknown upstart program. Perhaps former Dukies aren’t lighting up the NBA like the Wildcat alumni, but Coach K has won five NCAA titles, including two since Cal arrived in Lexington.
A few things to remember when it comes to recruits: 1. It’s completely their choice where they attend school and play basketball. 2. Kentucky Basketball is going to be alright. Coach Cal is going to have a much more balanced team next year. With some active and skilled big men, the ’16-17 Cats will be able to attack from all over the court on offense and will be able to defend at a high level. The Kentucky Wildcats will be among the favorites to make a run at the 2017 Final Four.
I wish Marques Bolden well. I hope he has a great collegiate career (for however long he’s in Durham). The only time I don’t want him to have success: if he’s playing against those talented Kentucky Wildcats.