Duke’s season is over and another group of five-star freshmen is coming in. Could a former five-star big man himself in Marques Bolden decide that it’s best to move on?
When Marques Bolden came to Duke two seasons ago, he was supposed to be the next great Blue Devil big. He was a top-15 nationally ranked recruit and a McDonald’s All-American.
His career with the Blue Devils started off badly, with an injury holding him out for the non-conference portion of the schedule. For the rest of the year, he could never get on the court, totaling just 157 minutes his freshman season.
The odds of him getting more minutes became slim the moment top-recruit Marvin Bagley III reclassified to this season and became the starting center. Bolden was relegated to the bench but did consistently get double-digit minutes in each game.
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When he was on the court, he showed flashed of his raw talent and played well on the defensive end. He even had a 17 point and 10 rebound game in 15 minutes against St. Francis this season.
But now it’s been two full seasons and Bolden has yet to make the kind of impact he probably wanted to. And now he’ll have to make a big decision in the coming weeks.
Another group of five-star studs will be coming in. But this group is different. None of them are traditional centers, although the 6’6 275 pound Zion Williamson certainly could. That means that Bolden could be a starter next season, but does the coaching staff plan on giving him 25+ minutes?
The rising junior could go the route of Chase Jeter, a former top-10 player who left after two seasons to Arizona because he couldn’t get on the court either. After sitting out this season, he’ll be able to play.
Duke certainly will want him to stay, as he provides quality depth for the team, and is an insurance policy just in case of an injury. There will be some conversations needed between Bolden and the coaching staff about what his role is going forward.
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If he decides to leave, he’ll have no shortage of suitors coming his way. A change of scenery could be needed, somewhere without another five-star center to take minutes away from him. Bolden nearly left the last off-season so be on the lookout for his name on any news alerts.