Making the case: Five-star center Armando Bacot

RANKINGS: 2018 Rivals150 | 2019 Rivals150 | 2020 Rivals150 | 2018 Team | 2018 Position

One of the nation's top low post players, five-star center Armando Bacot, is planning to announce his college decision on Thursday night.

The 6-foot-10 center from Richmond, who will play his senior season at Bradenton (Fla.) IMG Academy, is down to Duke, Georgia, North Carolina, Oklahoma State and VCU. In anticipation of his decision we take a look at Bacot the player, each program's case, the impact he could make and ultimately where Rivals.com sees him choosing.

A throwback post player, Bacot will not wow with his athleticism, but is a skilled low block player with uncanny ability to work angles. He understands how to get his defender on his backside where he uses a sturdy set of counter moves, converts over either shoulder, and he's added a reliable 15-foot jumper.

Bacot stands just under 6-foot-9 and has a 7-foot-1 wingspan. His hands are some of the best, as is his basketball IQ. His weight has fluctuated throughout the years but he is in the best shape of his playing career, a sign that he is willing to do what it takes to reach his ceiling.

A primary catalyst on his Team Takeover squad’s run to the Nike Peach Jam title, Bacot was a model of efficiency during the EYBL season averaging 10.9 points (55 percent FG percentage) and 8.1 rebounds per game.

He will be most valued for his low-post scoring, interior passing and glass-cleaning abilities.

In the words of Pete Gillen, "Certainly Duke is Duke they're on TV more than Leave it to Beaver, re-runs." The Blue Devils sell exposure, they sell players moving onto the NBA, they sell competing for national titles and they sell playing for an all-tme legend in Mike Krzyzewski. While they've adapted to the small ball era of late, Duke has always had room for a big and skilled post such as Bacot.

The inclusion of Georgia in Bacot's final five might have surprised some people. However, new head coach Tom Crean has an established relationship with the five-star big man.

While Crean was between jobs at Indiana and Georgia he had the opportunity to coach Bacot in a summer camp and kept the relationship alive. Bacot would be the centerpiece of a first recruiting class and the face of a program looking to rebuild.

Roy Williams is a college coaching legend and has won three national championships at UNC. Throughout his entire career he has run a system that values big men and gets them their touches on the block.

The Heels want to play fast and have proven that they can incorporate bigs of Bacot's style. They won a title with a player similar to Bacot (Kennedy Meeks) manning the center. Plus, they are close to home and have loads of tradition to sell.

It would be pretty hard to argue that any head coach or coaching staff has put more effort into recruiting Bacot than Mike Boynton and the Cowboys. Bacot has been their priority since the day Boynton replaced Brad Underwood as head coach. Boyton and his staffers have been fixtures at Bacot's games.

At Oklahoma State, Bacot would be the most highly touted prospect in years, a face of the program and would command all the touches he could want in the low post.

VCU doesn't want to settle for making Bacot's final list, it wants to somehow keep him home and Mike Rhoades has no doubt stressed how Bacot would truly be a hometown hero by picking the Rams.

VCU is another place where Bacot would likely get all of the touches he could handle, he could be a true face of a program and he could do it all in front of his family and closest friends.

By committing to UNC, Bacot would become the Tar Heels’ first five-star pick-up in the 2019 recruiting cycle, and would join four-star guard Jeremiah Francis in the class. UNC would become the first ACC program to boast multiple commitments, placing it with the best class in the league at this point.

Duke’s landing of the five-star talent would just continue the flow of talent toward Durham as he would help fill frontline needs with the likely departure of Zion Williamson.

By Bacot announcing for Georgia, Tom Crean would kick off his first full recruiting class in Athens with a five-star pledge, a major win in the optics category. Crean could make Bacot a central figure of his system if he does pledge to the Bulldogs.

Oklahoma State has not landed a five-star prospect since Marcus Smart in 2012. The Cowboys want to run but the landing of Bacot would give head coach Mike Boynton a blend of low post size and skill that hasn't been seen in Stillwater for some time.

VCU has never landed a five-star prospect. By pledging to the Rams, Bacot would become an immediate fan favorite thanks to his willingness to stay home and decline invitations from some of the best.

Earlier in his recruitment, Bacot was thought by many to be leaning toward Duke. Bacot would be welcomed, but the Blue Devils may be looking for more of an inside/out player.

He has never visited Georgia and while Oklahoma State has remained heavily in the mix thanks to the work invested by Boynton and assistant coach David Kontaxis, distance may ultimately play a factor.

Bacot will leave for IMG Academy this weekend as his quick decision to commit before departing might mean that he would like to thank his hometown before leaving for his senior season.

However, UNC is the vote here. The Tar Heels boast a tremendous success rate with players like Bacot, their blueblood pedigree is appealing and they are close to home. Those factors check off a lot of important boxes for Bacot and appear to make Chapel Hill his most likely destination.