Marvin Bagley III to take official visits to Arizona, Duke, and USC

Marvin Bagley III is the hottest commodity on the college basketball recruiting landscape right now, and he just made a major step toward selecting a school.

2018’s top prospect told reporters at Nike Peach Jam that he will officially visit the Duke Blue Devils, Arizona Wildcats, and USC Trojans, though no dates have been set.

Bagley has a top six of Arizona, UCLA, USC, Kansas, Duke, and Kentucky.

Here’s what he said of each school at the end of May (via Adam Zagoria of ZagsBlog.com).

Arizona: “I love Arizona. I grew up there my whole life. I was born there. I know that area pretty well. I’ve seen Tucson. It’s a comfortable place that feels like home. I just love the area and it’s a great place.”

Duke: “Duke speaks for itself. It’s a great school. Coach K, [Jeff] Capel , and all those guys are in the tournament every year. It’s a great school.”

USC and UCLA: “I love both of those schools. They’re on my list. I visited USC with my brother. I liked the campus and it was just a good feeling on campus. So was UCLA. I got to see a practice. It’s a great campus and a great place.”

Kansas and Kentucky: “They’re all great schools. I could say the same thing about each of the schools. They’re all great. They speak for themselves. They’re in the tournament. They play in big time tournaments and games every year on ESPN. They’re both great places.”

The 6-foot-11 forward currently plays for Sierra Canyon in Chatsworth, Calif, but is originally from Phoenix — an angle Arizona head coach Sean Miller is certainly trying to use to his advantage.

However, Bagley showed no reluctance leaving his hometown for a high school in a different state, so UA’s proximity may be overstated.

Bagley is averaging 25.8 points in the Nike Elite Youth Basketball circuit — second-best behind R.J. Barrett — but leads the entire league in total points. He is also tops in rebounding (14.7 a game) and third in blocks (3.1).

A transcendent talent, Bagley is expected to make whichever program he chooses the frontrunner for the national championship.

“Bagley is an exquisite talent. He has the physique of a young prospect and naturally will need to become much stronger, but in other areas he plays far beyond his years,” reads his scouting report on Scout.com.

“He’s extremely well-coordinated, fluid, quick, explosive and reasonably polished. A southpaw, he knocks down long jump shots, buries hooks on post-ups and handles well enough to attack off the dribble in either direction.”

Arizona commit Brandon Williams didn’t hide his feelings when he saw Bagley was planning an Arizona visit, tweeting, “Just imagine...that would be crazy.”

Bagley is likely to choose a school before his senior season begins, which puts the decision date around the end of October or the first week of November.

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