By MATT WHITFIELD
CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA. — Marques Bolden, a 6-foot-10 Class of 2016 center from DeSoto (TX) High School, is one of the bigs that has impressed at the NBPA Top 100 Camp.
His list is equally impressive.
“Kansas, Kentucky, Texas, I’ve been talking to a lot Big 12 schools like Baylor and Oklahoma,” said Bolden, ranked the No. 3 center in the Class of 2016 by 247Sports.com.
Bolden has received offers from Duke and Kentucky, his father, Melvin, told SNY.tv.
“I just talked to [Duke assistant] Nate James and Coach K [Mike Krzyzewski] for a little while and they just tell me keep working and I’ll be fine and I’ll fit well in there program,” said Bolden, who according to various reports has received a Duke offer.
Kentucky also offered.
“[Kentucky], their interest is pretty high,” he said. “[Coach John] Calipari and my dad talk. He’s just been telling him to tell me to keep working. I’ve been talking to [assistant] Kenny Payne a lot myself. The message is keep working and he thinks I’ll be a special player, like the rest of the guys they coach.”
Bolden has also taken some visits to local Big 12 programs
“I have taken unofficals visits to Texas to visit [coach] Shaka [Smart] and the staff and I’ve taken visits to Kansas and Baylor and schools that are close to home,” he said.
JAVIN MONTGOMERY-DeLAURIER RECEIVES UNC OFFER
Javin Montgomery-DeLaurier, a 6-9 2016 power forward from Charlottesville (Va.) St. Anne’s-Belfield, holds 26 offers, but one big-time basketball program could be making a late push for him.
“Ecstatic,” said DeLaurier on getting a North Carolina offer. “Going down there I had talked to Coach [Roy] Williams on the phone twice. He invited me down there for a visit, so I went down there and had a great tour and had a great conversation with him.”
DeLaurier also mentioned how Williams mentioned how he could be used if he played for the Tar Heels.
“We talked about positions of need,” he said. “[In the ] Class of 2016 coming in they’re going to have a lack of size. We talked a little bit about how he saw me fitting in to the program, so it was a good conversation.”
DeLaurier grew up in Virginia watching ACC basketball, but it’s a combination of basketball and academics that’s going to get him to choose a school.
“Just the best fit,” he said. “[It’s] not about basketball necessarily. It’s not about academics is sort of a combination of the two.”
DeLaurier said he hopes to be signed by this upcoming basketball season and right now mentioned six schools that are making him a priority.
“Texas, Vanderbilt, Notre Dame, Princeton, Clemson, Miami area all in frequent contact,” he said.
