Marvin Bagley III will officially be on the court for Duke this season. The top-ranked incoming freshman in the country has been cleared to play by the NCAA, the program has announced.
Top recruit Marvin Bagley III officially cleared to play for Duke basketball
The 6’11 big man could be the first pick in the 2018 NBA draft.
Brian Fluharty-USA TODAY Sports
Ricky O'Donnell has covered basketball at all levels for more than a decade at SB Nation. He’s currently the Associate Director of Programming.
When Bagley committed to Duke on Aug. 14, he also announced his intention to reclassify with the intent to play immediately. Bagley had previously been in the high school class of 2018, which meant he had one more year of high school left. Instead, he worked to graduate early and will now be eligible for the upcoming college season as well as the 2018 NBA draft.
There was some question as to whether Bagley would be immediately eligible because of the quick path he took to graduation. Bagley played for three different schools in his high school career, starting at Tempe, Arizona’s Corona del Sol before transferring to in-state Hillcrest Prep and finally moving to California to attend Sierra Canyon.
When Bagley jumped from a 2018 to 2017 recruit, he immediately became the top-ranked player in the class. He’s projected as a potential top pick in next June’s NBA draft.
Read our feature on Bagley from March: Marvin Bagley III could be the future of basketball.
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