Haven’t heard anything about him declaring for the draft. Is he locked in as our starting center next year now?
Bolden
- Thread starter Louisville Crazie
- Start date
Today is the deadline to announce your name for the draft, we got 7 hours to go! I'd assume...no news is good news.
If he is back, I'd say with great confidence he will be our starting center all year.
I’m excited to see Bolden finally get his time. He’s earned it.
I really liked what we saw from him in limited minutes towards the end of the year. I would say that he is the most important part of next year's team.
Yes! He played with lots of confidence but he could only go for short stints. If that's how he's going to play--and he's healthy the whole year--then we will be fine at the center spot! He will be the one of the main reasons Duke goes far next season.
Would love to see Bolden have a few double double games against Kentucky and UNC.
If Bolden comes back (looks at clock) he will be like an old man in today's game. Thrilled to have him and Javin and Jack from that class leading us.
I really liked Bolden last year. I do wonder if fans will notice his weaknesses with more time instead of appreciating what he does well.
I do ultimately believe Duke will be better served not to have a center and 3 wings on the floor together...if Zion is capable of playing center
I do ultimately believe Duke will be better served not to have a center and 3 wings on the floor together...if Zion is capable of playing center
Just because Cam and RJ can both play SG or SF, I wouldn’t say having Cam, RJ, and Zion playing at the same time would mean we had 3 wings plus Jones and Bolden. Have a feeling that if our opponents best player is at SG or SF will determine how we look line up on defense with RJ taking the most difficult defensive assignment. That could change later on, but there is no disputing that RJ is on a different level than Cam on defense.
positions are meaningless. You can play a lineup of all 6’6 guys if the right skillsets (and wingspans) are there.
I think Marques COULD BE a 10 pt, 8 rb type guy for us next yr....Love to see it..
OFC
OFC
I think conditioning is going to be critical for Marques this summer. This is the biggest off season of his career, one that will go a long way towards getting paid at the next level. It is much easier to provide spot minutes as compared to being a starter and playing large durations each and every game. Marques took big steps forward from his freshman to his sophomore year, he needs another big leap forward this year. He did a great job filling a void, but you could see his production drop from the first couple of minutes in to the last few before he was subbed out. He needs to be able to get up and down the floor for several minutes and remain productive. I am very excited to see what he can bring this year, he’s waited for his opportunity, now it is here.
Good post. I bolded your first line because I also feel this is going to be most important for him.
He's no longer looked at as being a backup. The opportunity is there for him....and it's easy to see. He will get every chance to be the guy down low for 20 to 25 minutes every game.
I guess this means he's coming back. Can't see him transferring and have to sit another year unless it's unc where hof coach roy williams has a way of getting players he needs without sitting a year. By the way I think he should give the fired Pitt coach a job because he let hof coach roy william's his best returning player. OFC
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Oh I am sure he's got a job at UNC if he ever needs one. After all Roy found Tami employment there....
OFC
Cam Reddish is roughly the same size as a frosh Shane Battier. Ditto RJ. Both those guys are the same size as a lot of starting PFs.
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And Zion isn't a wing. He just isn't. He's a PF. He's short, no doubt, but he is a face up PF.
Positions are meaningless as long as your players can create space offensively and cover 5 positions defensively.
Zone can hide poor defense...but Bagley still gave up a bunch of easy baskets on slow rotations.
Offensively...having zero proven 3-point shooters on the floor...with only Reddish being seen as a lock to be very good from the outside causes issues. Yes this team will be elite in the open court. They will also destroy many teams on physical ability and look amazing when shots are falling.
In March when teams slow them down...Duke will only have a title shot if a few guys prove they can shoot consistently
IMO his conditioning issues are the result of him getting hurt during the season and having to sit out and getting out of shape
Bolden was the most important thing we had to worry about this off season whether he thought about or it was ever a consideration of not returning. He will be the anchor next year and I’m very encouraged by what he showed this year. His body language was better. His game was better and he dealt with his injury much better. If he’s healthy and has a healthy off season i think we are in for a great year. Proud of him for running his race.
It’s not about size though. Battier was tough and known as a very good defender. Reddish is known as not being tough or a good defender but very skilled on offense. Best lineup will likely have Zion at C or J.D at center, in either case expect a lot of zone because it’s extremelt rare to have one freshmen to come in a even be average on defense, way more rare to have 4 come in and be that especially if they weren’t known as defenders in H.S
Did you not watch the Jordan Brand Classic. For about 4-5 minutes in the 2nd half, Reddish and Little went one on one and every other player got out of the way. Reddish looked way above average when defending Little and shut him down more often than he scored.
I don’t think the issue w/ Cam is ability on either side of the ball. Think it can be motivation occasionally. He was motivated by Little running his mouth. If there is anyone that can motivate Cam to the max, it’s K and his teammates like RJ and Tre.
Also think folks like you who are already doubting his capabilities before he arrives on campus will motivate him.
^this. I believe with Cam, Barret, Zion and Jones all with the ability to get into the lane causing double team(especially Barret and Cam) this will cause Bolden man to sag off leaving the post open for lobs (Zion and Bolden). Reddish and Alex in at the same time will cause teams to play the perimeter more or concentrate on Zion. Difference in next seasons from this past seasons team. Four players on the floor at once that can penetrate and finish or dish. Bolden gonna be spending a lot of time at the ft line
