Making the case: Five-star center Mohamed Bamba

MORE: Five storylines to follow during the late period | Predictions

The No. 2 player in the 2017 Rivals150, Mohamed Bamba is the highest-ranked player left on the board.

The Harlem, N.Y. native has been down to a final group of Duke, Kentucky, Michigan and Texas for a while now and he's been on the campuses of all four of his finalists. Now, it's just a matter of making his decision.

A critical thinker who isn't afraid to go outside the box, Bamba is every bit as intelligent as he is gifted on the floor. He should have a decision sometime within the next month and today we check in with experts from all across the Rivals.com network to get their feel for the situation.

"Everyone loves Bamba, and that without a doubt, includes the Duke staff. Mike Krzyzewski loves an athletic rim protector. And Bamba is the best in the class, in my opinion, at doing just that. He's also got a soft touch facing the basket and has ridiculously long arms, quick feet and so much room to grow.

"I think it would be a bit of a surprise if the 6-11 big man selected Duke, and with Marques Bolden and Wendell Carter already set to be the top two frontcourt players next season in Durham, the Blue Devils may not be able to feature all three enough to keep all of them happy.

"The buzz lately has been Texas and Kentucky. And despite my best efforts at trying to crack the code, I have no idea which one he'll choose." - Clint Jackson, DevilsIllustrated.com

"Kentucky has a great chance at landing Mohamed Bamba because of John Calipari's track record with elite bigs. Arguably the three best bigs in the NBA - DeMarcus Cousins, Anthony Davis and Karl-Anthony Towns - all went to Kentucky. All were top five picks in the NBA Draft with Davis and Towns playing in a Final Four and both selected No. 1 in the NBA Draft.

"Bamba may be as talented as all three of those players at this stage of his career and wouldn't it be the safest bet to follow the coach that molded all three? You can make a case that all three of those players or Bamba, if he goes elsewhere, could have done the same things at other schools. But it would be riskier to try and achieve that at Michigan and Texas. Calipari also has fewer misses than Duke.

"Even if Bam Adebayo returned, the two could play together, forming the best frontcourt in college basketball. Bamba truly can't go wrong, but if he wants a deep March run and to become a high draft pick, UK is the safest pick." - T.J. Walker, CatsIllustrated.com

"Bamba is not your typical five-star. Anyone who has ever interviewed him understands he is legitimately looking for the right fit, interested in academics and what a university can offer besides basketball. Michigan checks a lot of his boxes, and he is the type of recruit John Beilein has in mind when he talks about student-athlete. Bamba also has a good relationship with Beilein and was very impressed on his one and only visit. Do we think Michigan lands him? No.

"But unlike many five-star prospects, this is one that is in play for all the right reasons." - Chris Balas, TheWolverine.com

"Bamba would have the best chance to be the featured, focal point of an offense after Jarrett Allen announced he’s hiring an agent. Texas has a big void in the frontcourt, and Shaka Smart has shown for two years in a row he runs offense through his bigs. Now armed with a true point guard Bamba knows well, a five-star sophomore playmaking guard, and a four that’s drawn comparisons from inside the Texas program to Georges Niang, Bamba would be surrounded by a roster that complements him extremely well.

"Bamba’s best chance at being fully developed is at Texas. While Duke’s Marques Bolden couldn’t even make it off the bench last season, Allen thrived at Texas. At Kentucky, Bamba would compete with a big group for touches. Michigan’s offense is very perimeter oriented, while Texas’ is a true inside-out scheme.

"Texas is the best option for Bamba to be developed and featured on the floor, and it offers the educational experience that is also important to him." - Dustin McComas, OrangeBloods.com

"One thing I've learned covering Bamba over the past three years is that his mind operates a little bit differently than the typical elite prospect. Because of that, I always have the thought that he could do something totally unexpected.

"However, as things wind down it does seem to be the general consensus that Kentucky and Texas have started to separate themselves from the rest of the pack.

"I see Texas selling what they did with Allen, but Bamba is a much different player than Allen was, so I'm not sure what worked for Allen is best for Bamba. At Kentucky, they've had several different styles of elite big men and Calipari seems to have a feel for how to rotate them. Also, his best teams have featured a true rim protector like Bamba.

"The Texas talk is growing daily, but as of today I still give Kentucky the edge." - Eric Bossi, Rivals.com National Basketball Analyst