Rick Bolus

Richard Jacob "Rick" Bolus (born September 26, 1949) is a high school basketball scout and director of the Rick Bolus High Potential "Blue-Chip" Basketball Camp.

Basketball scout

Bolus has been a basketball scout for over 40 years and has served as a summer basketball camp director for 34 years.[1] Bolus maintains player rankings of high school basketball athletes for boys and girls from across the nation as well as for states in the Ohio Valley region such as Kentucky, Ohio, Illinois, and Indiana.[2] His rankings and opinions are often cited by other media outlets such as ESPN, Sports Illustrated, CNN Headline News, and Rivals.com.[3][4][5][6]

Bolus created the High Potential "Blue-Chip" Basketball Camp in 1980 to provide exposure for high school basketball players to college coaches and scouts. Over 30,000 players from across the United States and the world have attended his basketball camps.[7]

Bolus serves as a consultant for various basketball events across the United States including a 5-year period as a player selector for the Kentucky Derby Festival Classic All-Star Game held annually before the Kentucky Derby at Freedom Hall in Louisville, Kentucky. He is currently a member of the Naismith Board of Selectors Prep Player of the Year. He also organized his own basketball events known as the "Blue-Chip" Basketball Shootouts which were held at Bellarmine University between 2001-2004 where future NBA athletes such as Kevin Durrant, Rajon Rondo, Ty Lawson, and Brandan Wright showcased their talents for their respective high school teams.[8][9]

High school and college athletic career

Before his career as a scout, Bolus played as a guard for Male High School where he graduated in 1968. He went on to play college basketball at the Virginia Military Institute for his junior varsity year where he was the nation's third leading scorer as a freshman. After his freshman year, he transferred to Boston College where he played for Chuck Daly, eventual coach of the 1989 and 1990 NBA Champion Detroit Pistons. Bolus graduated from Boston College in 1972.[10]

Coaching

After college, he coached basketball for 8 years at Seneca High School and Evangel Christian School in Louisville.[11] While acting as junior varsity coach at Seneca, future McDonald's All-American and NBA player Devin Durrant was among one of his players. Durrant dedicates a chapter in his book Raising an All-American to his experiences playing under Bolus.[12]

Personal life

Bolus is the brother of Jim Bolus, a thoroughbred horse racing journalist and author, sports writer for the Courier-Journal and the former Louisville Times, and inductee of the Kentucky Athletic Hall of Fame.[13] Bolus currently lives and works out of Shepherdsville, Kentucky, just south of Louisville.

References

  1. ↑ "Rick Bolus Bio".
  2. ↑ "Rick Bolus' Player Rankings". kyprephoops.com.
  3. ↑ Miller, Jeff. "Kentucky powers aided by transfer players". ESPNRise.
  4. ↑ Wolff, Alexander (November 20, 1985). "Opening Tips". Sports Illustrated. Sport.
  5. ↑ "Hype Machine Goes Overdrive for O.J. Mayo". CNN.com.
  6. ↑ Yaste, Donald. "Hardwood Spotlight: 2015 G Tyler Miller". Kypreps.Rivals.com.
  7. ↑ "Rick Bolus Bio".
  8. ↑ "2nd Annual "Blue-Chip" Basketball Shootout Roster".
  9. ↑ "4th Annual "Blue-Chip" Basketball Shootout Roster".
  10. ↑ "Rick Bolus Bio".
  11. ↑ "Rick Bolus Bio".
  12. ↑ Durrant, Devin (2005). Raising an All-American. Spring Creek Book Company.
  13. ↑ "Kentucky Athletic Hall of Fame Inductees".
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