NORTH AUGUSTA, S.C. _ There's seemingly no college decision coming from five-star recruit Mohamed Bamba any time soon.
The 7-footer from New York reiterated Thursday that he doesn't plan to cut his list of possibilities until next month. Even when he does make that cut, he'll still be considering 10 schools.
Duke has long been seen as a possible frontrunner for Bamba, a smart, athletic prospect who excels on the defensive end and recently measured with a 7-foot-9 wingspan and 9-6 standing reach.
One of Bamba's comments during Thursday's Peach Jam interview session, however, could indicate that the Blue Devils might not be at the top of the list. He said he was looking for a program that featured someone who "plays like me" in recent years.
"I don't think Duke has had anyone who plays like me in awhile," he said.
When asked what he meant by a player that plays like him, Bamba used the word "positionless," which has been one of John Calipari's primary talking points with recruits over the past couple of years.
"It's been part of his pitch," Bamba said. "When you talk about current players, one that's going to be playing (for UK) next year is Wenyen (Gabriel), who sort of plays like me as far as being positionless. He's another guy that would be fun to watch, and I could probably learn from him."
Bamba also said recently that Calipari has compared him to Anthony Davis, who led UK to the national title in 2012 before becoming the No. 1 pick in the NBA draft.
Scout.com ranks Bamba as the No. 2 overall prospect in the class of 2017, and he's already being mentioned as one of the top candidates for the No. 1 pick in the 2018 draft.
Calipari started this week's live recruiting period by watching Bamba play Wednesday night at Peach Jam, and the UK coach will stay on his trail for as long as this recruitment goes.
Another one of Calipari's selling points _ getting young players ready for the NBA _ is also important to Bamba, who said finding a program with a history of player development would be "very big" in his recruitment.
"When I was growing up, coming up as a basketball player, all I heard was the word 'potential.' " Bamba said. "After awhile, potential needs to turn into ... production. I think if I can channel my potential into actual production at the collegiate level, I should be ready for the NBA."
