James Bolden G

[XUPhilly04]

Bolden picked up an offer from Purdue on his unofficial visit. It also looks like he will be making unofficial visits to UC and UK in the coming weeks.

http://ukrecruiting.bloginky.com/201...r-from-purdue/

Sad to say, but I believe that he will not be at XU. Once I see a kid get an offer from UK, ND, IU, OSU, or Purdue, I usually consider us off their radar. Hopefully, this trend changes due to being in the Big East and starting that change with Bolden.

[BlueGuy]

Sad to say, but I believe that he will not be at XU. Once I see a kid get an offer from UK, ND, IU, OSU, or Purdue, I usually consider us off their radar. Hopefully, this trend changes due to being in the Big East and starting that change with Bolden.

I believe Josh Duncan had offers from OSU, IU, and interest from UK. He chose X.

[muskienick]

I believe Josh Duncan had offers from OSU, IU, and interest from UK. He chose X.

But Josh lived in Cincinnati, Ohio. Bolden lives in KY and if he gets interest from UK, it could very well be the telling blow. I'd say the final verdict has to do with how much confidence he has in his ability to compete at the highest levels. Xavier and the Big East are a step down from the Big 10, ACC, and SEC. It'll be interesting to see how this recruiting battle plays out.

[blueblob06]

But Josh lived in Cincinnati, Ohio. Bolden lives in KY and if he gets interest from UK, it could very well be the telling blow. I'd say the final verdict has to do with how much confidence he has in his ability to compete at the highest levels. Xavier and the Big East are a step down from the Big 10, ACC, and SEC. It'll be interesting to see how this recruiting battle plays out.

I'm thinking the Big East will be about even with the SEC. The SEC has 2 perennial tourney teams (UK and Fla) and then some that used to be back to great (Tenn, Vandy) but aren't right now. The Big East will have Gtown, MARQ, X, and Butler. The SEC has 14 teams and may not even get more in the tourney than the 10 team Big East unless some of their programs turn it around quickly.

Edit - this is not to say X, Butler, etc are on the same level as UK as far as recruiting but I think our conference is about even with theirs...

[muskienick]

I'm thinking the Big East will be about even with the SEC. The SEC has 2 perennial tourney teams (UK and Fla) and then some that used to be back to great (Tenn, Vandy) but aren't right now. The Big East will have Gtown, MARQ, X, and Butler. The SEC has 14 teams and may not even get more in the tourney than the 10 team Big East unless some of their programs turn it around quickly.

Edit - this is not to say X, Butler, etc are on the same level as UK as far as recruiting but I think our conference is about even with theirs...

bb06,
That was my main point. If he's confident that he can play at the highest level, then UK or OSU or one of the better ACC schools will probably be his choice just because of the higher profile. If his confidence becomes reality, he'll have a direct line to the NBA. It has not proven to be quite so easy to make this jump from Xavier or most of the new Big East schools.

[GoMuskies]

I don't think you've got a better chance of getting to the NBA from Kentucky than you do from Xavier. Kentucky has just recruited better players lately, but those guys would all still be in the NBA if they had chose to play at Xavier instead.

[LA Muskie]

I don't think you've got a better chance of getting to the NBA from Kentucky than you do from Xavier. Kentucky has just recruited better players lately, but those guys would all still be in the NBA if they had chose to play at Xavier instead.

I think that's right. For the most part the NBA is a meritocracy once you crack the club. But I do think playing for UK helps get into the club -- that is, it helps your draft stock.

[SlimKibbles]

I was talking to a Holmes HS assistant hoops coach recently and it sounds like X is in a good spot at this point on getting Bolden. He sounds like a really good kid who has grown up in a rough neighborhood but has his head screwed on straight. He apparently wants to play close to home and the whole Sr. Rose factor is a big plus in X's favor. I hope he keeps developing and decides to come to X.