By Keith Taylor
NKyTribune senior sports writer
Marquis Bolden made his decision Thursday and he won’t be coming to Lexington.
The heralded prospect made his college choice Thursday and will play at Duke next season. He chose the Blue Devils over Kentucky. Prior to the announcement, Bolden arrived wearing a Texas Christian University shirt. However, as he announced his choice, he was sporting a Duke T-shirt.
Bolden, considered the top-rated center in the Class of 2016, announced his decision during a press conference Thursday at DeSoto High School in Texas. Bolden originally was scheduled to announce his college choice last month but has spent the past four weeks pondering a final decision.
“I’m putting my life in the hands of their coaches for the next couple of years,” said Bolden who will join incoming freshmen Harry Giles, Frank Jackson and Javin DeLaurier at Duke.
The 6-foot-11 center averaged 23.4 points, 10.2 rebounds and 2.6 blocked shots last season for DeSoto, which won the state title. Bolden also participated in the McDonald’s All-American Game, the Jordan Brand Classic, and the Nike Hoop Summit.
Kentucky didn’t have an open scholarship available until freshman Charles Matthews decided to transfer Wednesday, however, it didn’t play a role in Bolden’s decision.
Although they missed out on Bolden, the Wildcats have one of the top-rated classes coming to campus next fall with the arrival of De’Aaron Fox, Malik Monk, Edrice “Bam” Adebayo, Wenyen Grabriel and Sacha Killeya-Jones.
“I think we’re going to be a pretty good team again,” Kentucky coach John Calipari said. “You know, you have a big backcourt. Our returning vets have had good experience. You have a beast (Adebayo). We’ve missed a beast for a year. You know, when he gets it, he’s going to try to either dunk it or knock your arm.
“And then you’ve got those long athletes we’ve always had in Sacha (Killeya-Jones) and Wenyen (Gabriel). They’re different. One’s 6-foot-11, one’s 6-10. But one’s more of a wing, one’s more of a four or five. Bam (Adebayo) is what he is and can dominate a game. But all these guys add to us.”
Marcus Lee and Isaiah Briscoe also could return next season and have until Wednesday to decided whether to remain in the NBA Draft set for next month.
Keith Taylor is a senior sports writer for KyForward and NKyTribune, where he primarily covers University of Kentucky sports. Reach him at keith.taylor@kyforward.com or @keithtaylor21 on Twitter