Holmes' James 'Beetle' Bolden commits to West Virginia

Holmes 2015 point guard James Bolden will continue his playing career and education at West Virginia University.

Northern Kentucky's top college basketball prospect announced his decision in front of a crowded library filled with media members, teammates and friends at Holmes High School on Wednesday afternoon.

"It hasn't really hit me yet, but it's a dream come true," said Bolden, who is nicknamed "Beetle." "When I was in kindergarten or grade school, I never thought this day would happen for me. It's just overwhelming. It's unreal."

After making visits to all five of his final schools, a list that also included Xavier, Purdue, Ohio and Butler, Bolden recently whittled his choices down to Butler and West Virginia. Head coach Bob Huggins and lead recruiter Erik Martin were the deciding factors in his decision.

"When I went there, West Virginia, to me, was like Holmes. The coaching staff was great. They really did a good job recruiting me," Bolden said. "Coach Huggins will push me to become an even better player. I know he's a tough coach. I'm looking forward to that challenge."

Rated a three-star recruit by all the major scouting services, Bolden saw his recruitment blow up after leading Holmes to the Kentucky state championship in his sophomore year. Last season, as a junior, he averaged 20.8 points, 3.9 rebounds, 3.4 assists and 1.8 steals per game while leading his Bulldogs to the finals of the Ninth Region tournament where they lost to eventual state champion Covington Catholic. His ability to create shots is what really stood out to scouts and college coaches.

"At that level of college basketball, you have to be able to score at all three positions on the floor," Holmes coach Jason Booher said. "Whether that be 3-point shots, the mid-range game or breaking you down and finishing at the rim. A lot of players have one or two of those qualities, but they don't have all three. Beetle has consistently shown over the last few years that he can shoot the three, pull up from 15 feet and take you all the way to the rim. I think those qualities will make him hard to guard."

Bolden's quickness and familiarity with playing in a ball-screen-dominant offense at Holmes the last two years makes him a good fit for Huggins' system at West Virginia.

"The coaching staff said they are going to use me like they use me here at Holmes," Bolden said. "I read ball screens real well, and basically Coach Huggins said he's going to put the ball in my hands and see what I can do from there."

According to Bolden, he recently retook his ACT and scored well enough to be eligible to sign his letter of intent this fall. After finishing his senior season at Holmes, he plans on enrolling at West Virginia in the fall of 2015, and doesn't anticipate spending a year at prep school, as some have predicted. Booher says his guard has worked hard to prepare himself for this opportunity, and has remained humble through all of the increased attention over the past two years.

"He's a great kid on and off the floor," Booher said. "He's a gym rat, so he's going to try and outwork everybody. It's been a joy to coach him and see him develop as a person. We've tried to groom him and let him know what's going to happen each and every year. He's been very humble about all the media attention and the publicity."

Bolden joins 6-foot-10, three-star center Levi Cook as the only other member of West Virginia's 2015 recruiting class.