Duke Basketball: Marques Bolden departure leaves frontcourt thin for 2019-20
Junior big man Marques Bolden has decided to remain in the 2019 NBA Draft. How big a blow will this be for Duke Basketball next season?
When Marques Bolden first arrived at Duke Basketball in 2016, he was supposed to be the next star big man. Ranked as a five-star prospect, the 6’11 big man had all the tools to dominate in the ACC. But unfortunately for him, injuries and a slow start to his freshman campaign put him behind the eight ball, playing just 6.5 mpg.
The arrival of Marvin Bagley and Wendell Carter Jr. the following season limited any potential impact he could’ve made as a sophomore. Things got better for Bolden this past season, playing a career-high 19 mpg while starting 21 games. Zion Williamson and RJ Barrett was the primary sources of offense but the big man was able to carve out a role due to him strong interior defense and rebounding.
Although Bolden never lived up to the expectations from high school, he still managed to develop into a solid rotation piece for the Blue Devils. And even though there was another batch of star freshmen coming in, he was supposed to play a big role for Coach K and company for next season.
However, Bolden has made the decision to fore gore him final year of college eligibility and remain in the 2019 NBA Draft. It might look by a surprising move since he’s not expected to be drafted but considering that his stock won’t get any better at Duke, combined with a history a knee issues for a big man, it’s better off for the player to start getting paid professionally – whether in the US or overseas.
It might not seem like a big deal statistically but this is a clear blow for Duke Basketball. Besides his pure size and defensive ability, Bolden’s experience and upperclassmen status makes him a rare kind of starter for this program. That’s 20 mpg that the coaching staff will have to use somewhere else, possibly a freshman who isn’t ready for it.
Rising senior forward Javin DeLaurier has withdrawn from the draft and will return to Duke so he’ll benefit individually from this. He and Jack White will get some minutes from the bench to provide some depth. But it’ll be projected freshmen starters Vernon Carey and Matthew Hurt who’ll have to play well early on. Both are five-star frontcourt players but aren’t guaranteed to be ACC Player of the Year candidates. Plus, the Blue Devils are just an injury away from being in serious trouble in the frontcourt, especially Carey.
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It would’ve been nice for Duke to have Bolden provide solid backup and assurance for next season but they’ll be a preseason top-10 team regardless. However, this is not a departure that should be taken lightly from Blue Devil fan. Bolden was a solid contributor this past three years and will leave the staff looking to rearrange the rotation going forward.