No. 1 basketball prospect Marvin Bagley III commits to Duke, will enroll this fall

Video: Marvin Bagley III highlights
Nation's top prospect put up 43 points against Bishop Gorman in February.

One of the prominent, ongoing storylines of the summer in recruiting circles came to a head Monday night when high school basketball's No. 1 prospect Marvin Bagley III of Sierra Canyon (Chatsworth, Calif.) announced he is heading to Duke ... and he's heading there immediately.

The 6-foot-10, 225-pound forward is regarded was the top player in the Class of 2018 by 247Sports but has elected to fast-track his college career and enroll this fall. Bagley chose Duke over USC and UCLA.

ESPN's SportsCenter carried the announcement live.

Bagley became the first and still only freshman to earn MaxPreps All-American honors in 2014-15 after leading Corona del Sol (Tempe, Ariz.) to a state title. He averaged 19.6 points and 10.3 rebounds en route to National Freshman of the Year honors.



He appeared headed to Hillcrest Prep (Phoenix, Ariz.) for his sophomore season, joining 7-foot phenom DeAndre Ayton to form an imposing 1-2 combo. But that plan was scuttled and he wound up at Sierra Canyon seeking eligibility beginning in January 2016.

It was not to be, however, and he wound up sitting out his entire sophomore year.

Bagley returned with a vengeance as a junior at Sierra Canyon in 2016-17, putting up 24.6 points and 10.1 rebounds per game for a team that spent much of the season ranked No. 1 nationally. He led the Trailblazers to a remarkable feat in January – winning the prestigious Bass Pro Shops Tournament of Champions in Missouri, then turning around and knocking off unbeaten and No. 1-ranked La Lumiere (La Porte, Ind.) in Massachusetts two days later.