Blue White Illustrated

P enn State's Class of 2018 is getting bigger. On July 23, Rivals150 point guard Rasir Bolton announced via Twitter that he had chosen the Nittany Lions over Pitt, Virginia Tech, VCU and Mississippi. "I felt Penn State was the best fit for me," said Bolton, who will be a senior this coming season at Huntington (W.Va.) Prep. "Academically they have tons of options for me to choose from, the coaching staff made me their No. 1 priority, and me and Coach [Patrick] Chambers have built a great relation- ship and have become really close. The opportunity to come in and play in a Power Five conference was always a dream of mine." Bolton's commitment was a big one for the Nittany Lions coming off a sum- mer evaluation period in which the 6- foot-3, 175-pound guard played extremely well. A Team Loaded mem- ber, Bolton impressed at the NY2LA Sports Summer Jam in Milwaukee, and he was later named MVP of the cham- pionship game at the Adidas Select Summer Series Showcase after pouring in 18 points to help lift Team Loaded to the title. Rivals.com analyst Eric Bossi de- scribed Bolton as a scoring point guard who could also play the two position if needed. "He's not an overwhelming athlete, but he changes directions, he mixes up speeds and he uses a very good midrange game to keep defenders off-balance," Bossi said. "Like most high school guys, Bolton needs to add some weight but he's got a solid frame to build on. "Ultimately, I think he can play both the one and the two at Penn State, so he should provide Pat Chambers and his staff with some versatility in how they deploy him in their lineup." Bolton joins guard Myles Dread of Washington, D.C., in Penn State's Class of 2018. Dread, who also made waves with his performance during the sum- mer evaluation period, was a big influ- ence on Bolton's decision. "I've known Myles since we were 9," Bolton said. "We played on the same AAU team and we were brothers ever since, really. His influence through the process was big. He was just telling me to come with him and we can make his- tory and we can do it together. We can be a family again, me and him." ■ Standout W.Va. guard chooses Penn State M E N ' S B A S K E T B A L L PSU BOUND Bolton shined this summer in AAU competi- tion, helping Team Loaded win the Adidas Select Summer Series Showcase. Photo by Matthew Hatfield Blue White Illustrated web editor Nate Bauer recently caught up with Rasir Bolton to discuss his decision to give Penn State a verbal commitment. Here's what he had to say: BWI How does it feel to have your deci- sion made? BOLTON It feels good just to have my decision made and not really have to play with that burden on my back, trying to get the right school, because I found the right school for me. So it just feels good, and now it's back to work. BWI How stressful had it been playing through the evaluation period without having made a decision? BOLTON It's always tough going through the evaluation period. There are always coaches there, coaches look- ing at you, and you're always thinking how you played, whether you played good or bad. But Penn State was always there, really, no matter what. Through the ups and downs, Coach [Patrick] Chambers and Coach [Keith] Urgo were always talking to me, telling me to keep going and keep pushing and everything is going to be all right. BWI What attracted you to Penn State, and how did that relationship get started? BOLTON Me and Coach Chambers just had a really great connection. We talked on the phone a lot and had a lot of con- versations. Me and Coach Urgo as well. The coaching staff, we just connected, and I just really wanted them to be my coaches. They trusted me and I really trusted them. And the school is just a great school academically. BWI What did you think when you first saw the school? BOLTON I came up for a football game when they played Maryland. I loved it. It's a great place. The campus was beau- tiful. It seemed like a little small town/city area where there are a lot of great people. It just looks like a lot of fun. |

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