2006 Bouldin Swamped with Visitors

Matt Bouldin, the No. 53 ranked player in the class of 2006, has had a busy evaluation period this fall with numerous schools traveling to Thunder Ridge High School in Denver, Colo., to watch the 6-foot-5, 199-pound combo guard work out.

Bouldin does not have a set list of schools, but several schools interest him.

“California, Gonzaga and Notre Dame are schools that came to watch me that stand out to me,” said Bouldin. “Notre Dame was here Tuesday, I think. California has been out twice and the head coach [Ben Braun] came in once. Uconn has been sending lots of stuff lately. I also like Kansas, Oregon, Stanford, UCLA and Georgia Tech.”

Thunder Ridge head coach Joe Ortiz rattled off an exhaustive list of the schools that have recently watched Bouldin, including Washington State (offer), SMU (offer), Colorado (offer), Colorado State (offer), Gonzaga, Oregon, Virginia, Vanderbilt, Georgia Tech, Arizona State, Nebraska, Kansas State, Texas Tech, Notre Dame, and Boston College.

Coach Ortiz noted the enthusiasm of one school in particular.

“California is going crazy,” said Coach Ortiz. “They sent out their associate head coach first and then the head coach and another assistant came Wednesday. They want Matt to take an unofficial visit as soon as possible and an official as soon as he can in the next year.”

Bouldin expressed quite a bit of enthusiasm for the whole process of the fall evaluation period.

“It has been really nice to meet all the coaches,” he said. “I am just taking it all in right now and leaving everything open. There are always some schools that I like more than others, but I want to see how next summer goes and see what schools really want me.”

Bouldin, who has a tremendous court savy and pinpoint passing ability as a big guard, can play either guard position but sees himself primarily as a point guard.

“A lot of these schools are looking for a big point guard,” he said. “Most are recruiting me as a point. UCLA has talked more about me being a combo and playing some two. I’ve always wanted to bring the ball up and see myself more as a point. But scoring from the two is nice also.”

A good athlete, but not an overwhelming athlete who relies on raw athleticism, Bouldin has a very tight handle and a deft hesitation move which gets him by quicker players. Bouldin also shoots the ball well from the outside and is a superb defensive rebounder from the guard position. He does know that he must improve his quickness in order to guard speedier point guards.

“I’m working my butt off right now,” he said. “I’m playing better right now than I did this summer. I’m working on my jumping, and it is getting better. I want to get quicker on defense, also. I always guard the best player on the other team.”

At the moment, Bouldin is trying to work out arrangements to attend Midnight Madness at Kansas.