In 2012, Brandon Bolden was the #81st ranked player in the nation. Three years later, he was out of college basketball.

Bolden's high school bio noted that he was "rated one of the top center prospects in the country, ranking as the No. 81 player in the Rivals 150 by Rivals.com" and was "ranked among the top-20 at his position by a number of outlets, including No. 14 by Rivals.com and No. 17 by 247Sports." Bolden carried offers from Baylor, VCU, Virginia, Florida, and Georgia, but Georgetown secured a early verbal commit in 2011 and he formally committed early in the 2011-12 recruiting season.

Whatever Georgetown saw in him, Bolden's skills were just not at the college level. Despite his size (6-10, 205), Bolden was a total non-factor at Georgetown, and the numbers confirmed it. Bolden saw only seven minutes of playing time all season, failing to score in any of the four games he appeared, making him only the third scholarship player in the modern era of basketball at Georgetown to go an entire season without scoring a single point.

Bolden chose a change of scenery to rebuild his career, transferring to Kansas State. As a junior, he averaged less than a point per per game before breaking his wrist on Feb. 24, 2015, missing the remainder of the season. On September 1, 2015, K-State officials received a medical exemption to end Bolden's career two years short, but allowed him to stay on scholarship to finish his degree, which he completed in 2016.