More quotes from K on the College Hoops podcast today:
https://frshoopz.com/cbb/coach-k-ma...e-of-the-best-big-men-in-country-next-season/
OFC
https://frshoopz.com/cbb/coach-k-ma...e-of-the-best-big-men-in-country-next-season/
OFC
K singing Bolden's praises!
- Thread starter hart2chesson
- Start date
I may be wrong but here's what I've observed about K in years past.... if he doesn't think you'll do anything for him, he says nothing about you, but if he really believes in what you'll bring, he'll make a point to vocalize who you are.
Based on his exact comments, I’d say he’s expecting Bolden to lead us in blocks, rebound and FG%.
Bolden’s career at Duke so far reminds me of Zoubek’s and Marshall’s careers at Duke. Like them he struggled with injuries early in their careers but both Zoubek and Marshall ended showing improvement once they got passed the injuries they became important contributors for the team later in their careers and both played key roles in championship years. If Bolden can get passed the injuries then I think he can be an important contributor over his final year or two at Duke like Zoubek and Marshall were during their final years at Duke.
Been pulling for this guy hard. I have a good feeling he’s in for a breakout year. Almost equal to Tre playing well, his leadership will dictate our season.
I cant help but think that Bolden is going to come alive and become the leader this year. It is his paint this year and I honestly believe he will own it.
I always go back to a favorite quote of K's that he uses often, and that's...."every player runs their own race."
K is doing his best to build up Marques. He's always been a master of mind games like this with his players. The truth is, Marques has a chance to be like many great Duke players before him....that's biding his time, continuing to work hard, becoming a captain and seeing is all come together his last season(s) at Duke.
Unfortunately, as fans, we don't get to see these relationships form and grow at Duke like we used to. I think you'd be hard-pressed to find a single Duke fan who isn't cheering his ass off for Marques to take that next step and become a great player and true leader.
K is doing his best to build up Marques. He's always been a master of mind games like this with his players. The truth is, Marques has a chance to be like many great Duke players before him....that's biding his time, continuing to work hard, becoming a captain and seeing is all come together his last season(s) at Duke.
Unfortunately, as fans, we don't get to see these relationships form and grow at Duke like we used to. I think you'd be hard-pressed to find a single Duke fan who isn't cheering his ass off for Marques to take that next step and become a great player and true leader.
And he clearly would have been had it not been for that injury.... what difference that injury made
Bolden made huge strides last year. Coming back from injury meant he was limited in his PT and also thanks to having Carter and Bolden, we didn't need too much production from him. Now, it's all his. I think he's ready. He's a mobile big with experience now. He worked on his Sky hook and like Mason Plumlee, I expect that to be a big part of his shot going forward. Looking forward to seeing his progress!
Mason was always the perfect comparison for Marques at Duke. The time is now and everything is in front of him. Hoping he stays healthy and continues to Improve.
It’s exciting to think during his recruitment it was... an interesting process to say the least... a lot of fans ( possibly myself?) we’re ready to move on from him. But he came. And as it would turn out for this year he has become such vital part to hopeful success, a junior no less.
He may leave after this year but this “ one and done kid” has given Duke three years of his life and I’m excited to see the next chapter he writes!
He may leave after this year but this “ one and done kid” has given Duke three years of his life and I’m excited to see the next chapter he writes!
Bolden had to change his game. When he was growing up and learning to play, the "aircraft carrier" model of big men was the goal. AKA wide bodies that played back to the basket on O, while mostly banging on other big bodies (to prevent them from reaching their own optimal positioning for back to the basket play) on D. And Bolden was pretty good at this. He didn't have a great, or even good, face up game, much less perimeter shooting ability. But that was fine, because those things were what separated high quality starting bigs from elite, HOF level perennial MVP candidates. His traditional big man skillset was enough to be a quality starting C for a decade, but not good enough to be one of the all time greats at the position. Boo hoo. He was still on track, developmental wise, to be incredibly successful playing basketball professionally.
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But reality essentially altered around him during his last year of HS ball. Really, the summer before his frosh year. That was when the aircraft carrier model was scrapped, and the unicorn model was introduced. And really, the NBA understands that bigs won't all have, nor even really need, perimeter skills on offense. But every single big man has to be able to switch on D and guard 3-5 at a minimum (with spot duty guarding some SGs), while also rebounding at a steady clip.
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Bolden, intelligently, seems to have realized this. But going from aircraft carrier mentality, skills, and body composition isn't like turning on a switch. It takes long hours of study, weight room work, and practice.
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Two years ago, his frosh year, Bolden was hurt. More of a negative was the presence of Amile, and K's insistence of playing 3 SGs as much as possible. If the three SGs were going to play a lot, that meant Tatum at the PF rather then the SF, and Amile at the 5 rather than his natural 4. The results weren't great. Last year, we simply had better bigs. Even so, it was pretty obvious that Bolden was a better defender, especially in M2M, than either of the two frosh. Bolden was better on D in the zone, but not as much. And the very intelligent Carter closed that gap on Bolden WRT D by the end of the year. Bolden was better, but not by much. And both the frosh were better rebounders than Bolden.
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Bolden will do incredibly well next year as the lone big with 4 perimeter oriented players. (Zion IMO, is a perimeter player in that he starts with the ball outside the lane and attacks, rather than a big who will hang out in the paint). But Bolden's actions or role on offense is secondary. We'll score plenty next year. The difference between what I expect to be a good offensive team (at worst), and an elite offensive team (at best, so, so obvs) is outside shooting. I think it will be fine, at worst, but we've got 2-3 wings who can attack and finish no matter what.
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Of paramount importance next year is Bolden's defense. 10 and 9 are great goals, but the 10 (ppg) is essentially immaterial. The 9 is important. If Bolden is as smart as I think he is, he'll focus on rebounding a lot, because that could be good for an extra 3-5 ppg. But, again, the Defense is what is important. If Bolden becomes a solid deterrent in the paint, it will allow our wings to attack on D, which could be glorious. To me, the ideal image of next year is Bolden not really doing that much statistically on D, while he stands watching our wings get out and attack. Bolden might not even run back on O several times a game. Because, his mere presence will have deterred the opposition to the point that our wings/guards get TOs or turn long rebounds (off tightly contested perimeter jumpers) in run outs.
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If Bolden can get, say, 7 ppg, and 9+ rbg, while playing good D, we will be playing in the FF. If that happens, he'll hear the media talking about a guy who contributes a lot to winning without stuffing the statsheet outside of rebounding. And GMs in the late lottery to middle of the draft will file that nugget away, knowing that bigs who do that are what playoff teams need. They need a big who can defend and rebound, and they need him to play heavy minutes. Maybe not start, and certainly not star or get 20 ppg. But they need plenty of those versatile-on-d-while-protecting-the-rim, who can and will rebound.
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If Bolden will D up and rebound, he'll set himself up to be a multi millionaire on a playoff team very soon.
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But reality essentially altered around him during his last year of HS ball. Really, the summer before his frosh year. That was when the aircraft carrier model was scrapped, and the unicorn model was introduced. And really, the NBA understands that bigs won't all have, nor even really need, perimeter skills on offense. But every single big man has to be able to switch on D and guard 3-5 at a minimum (with spot duty guarding some SGs), while also rebounding at a steady clip.
.
Bolden, intelligently, seems to have realized this. But going from aircraft carrier mentality, skills, and body composition isn't like turning on a switch. It takes long hours of study, weight room work, and practice.
.
Two years ago, his frosh year, Bolden was hurt. More of a negative was the presence of Amile, and K's insistence of playing 3 SGs as much as possible. If the three SGs were going to play a lot, that meant Tatum at the PF rather then the SF, and Amile at the 5 rather than his natural 4. The results weren't great. Last year, we simply had better bigs. Even so, it was pretty obvious that Bolden was a better defender, especially in M2M, than either of the two frosh. Bolden was better on D in the zone, but not as much. And the very intelligent Carter closed that gap on Bolden WRT D by the end of the year. Bolden was better, but not by much. And both the frosh were better rebounders than Bolden.
.
Bolden will do incredibly well next year as the lone big with 4 perimeter oriented players. (Zion IMO, is a perimeter player in that he starts with the ball outside the lane and attacks, rather than a big who will hang out in the paint). But Bolden's actions or role on offense is secondary. We'll score plenty next year. The difference between what I expect to be a good offensive team (at worst), and an elite offensive team (at best, so, so obvs) is outside shooting. I think it will be fine, at worst, but we've got 2-3 wings who can attack and finish no matter what.
.
Of paramount importance next year is Bolden's defense. 10 and 9 are great goals, but the 10 (ppg) is essentially immaterial. The 9 is important. If Bolden is as smart as I think he is, he'll focus on rebounding a lot, because that could be good for an extra 3-5 ppg. But, again, the Defense is what is important. If Bolden becomes a solid deterrent in the paint, it will allow our wings to attack on D, which could be glorious. To me, the ideal image of next year is Bolden not really doing that much statistically on D, while he stands watching our wings get out and attack. Bolden might not even run back on O several times a game. Because, his mere presence will have deterred the opposition to the point that our wings/guards get TOs or turn long rebounds (off tightly contested perimeter jumpers) in run outs.
.
If Bolden can get, say, 7 ppg, and 9+ rbg, while playing good D, we will be playing in the FF. If that happens, he'll hear the media talking about a guy who contributes a lot to winning without stuffing the statsheet outside of rebounding. And GMs in the late lottery to middle of the draft will file that nugget away, knowing that bigs who do that are what playoff teams need. They need a big who can defend and rebound, and they need him to play heavy minutes. Maybe not start, and certainly not star or get 20 ppg. But they need plenty of those versatile-on-d-while-protecting-the-rim, who can and will rebound.
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If Bolden will D up and rebound, he'll set himself up to be a multi millionaire on a playoff team very soon.
That's all you have to say on the subject?
That's all you have to say on the subject?
Work is super boring today.
I thought Bolden was transferring. I know I saw it on this board several times. He's not transferring then. That's good news because I think he will be an important piece to this years team. OFC
OFCI'm praying he keeps the right people in his ear, trust the system and work hard.
I'm pretty sure he is are starting center. Work hard big fella!!!
I'm pretty sure he is are starting center. Work hard big fella!!!
I"m really rooting for him this year. I think he has the all tools to become a dominate presence down low. I also think he will be much more confidant in himself, knowing he will be the lead big guy. He has had some STUDS to compete for playing time with. All signs point to a breakout year for him. Barring his health!
Marques had a few moments in his freshman season, and last season started to put together some good stretches of basketball. This season is his year to shine, if he stays healthy. I'm really looking forward to seeing him play this season.
OFC
OFC
That's all you have to say on the subject?
You don’t know Yates
PY, it’s still really strange they banned you at TDD. Place is like the Wild West now.
You don’t know Yates
PY, it’s still really strange they banned you at TDD. Place is like the Wild West now.
The main board is like the modern wild west, AKA a ghost town. They have singles of posts a week. The off topic board is bonkers.
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But, given the tone of the shark tank, and what is and is not permitted on that board, I no longer think it strange I was banned. It actually makes perfect sense to me.
I think Bolden would have been fine at C last year. He's not going to get much PT on any team with Carter or Bags, much less a team with both of them.
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Fair warning: There are likely to be some struggles or speed bumps as the season starts out. He's going to need heavy minutes of game time to put it together, which I think will happen by early Feb.
Maybe. Bolden at the C, with Bags at the PF, would have probably worked. Almost certainly, it would have.
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Bolden and Carter? IDK. Too much overlap in their games and skillsets. With more consistent perimeter shooting, and better decision making from the guards, Bolden and Carter might have worked. Given who we had, and how they played, last year, I just don't know if such a pairing would have worked out.
I get your point based on what we saw Carter do with Marvin. However, remove the adjustment Carter made and let him be free? Carter would've shot more on the perimeter and attacked the mismatches, big or little at will!
Definitely rooting for Bolden.
My only hesitation is that I continue to feel this team will be best on the court with the least amount of non-shooters as possible.
My only hesitation is that I continue to feel this team will be best on the court with the least amount of non-shooters as possible.
There's only one ball, and someone has to defend and rebound. A lineup of TJ, CR, RB, Zion, and AOC would give up far, far more points than it could possibly score. Offensive rebounding would be essentially zero, and defensive rebounding would be problematic. An aggressive rebounding team like UK, KU, MSU, or UNC would feast on offensive board.
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How we defend will be the key next year.
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For all my bellyaching about the failures of our perimeter shooters, or other's bellyaching about TD's poor decision making, last year's team ultimately failed because we couldn't defend. We were lost in the M2M, and there is a reason title winning teams don't run a zone defense, or a near zone (as does UVA). The last zone team to win a title was Syracuse, and they had a premier OAD talent who attended college in Melo, and he's nearing the end of his NBA career. So, its been a while.
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And, yes, Duke won in 2010 with a packline D. That was one of the great team efforts in recent NCAAT history, and Lance and Zoubs rebounding prowess doesn't get enough credit for that win (and it gets a lot of credit, just not enough). Further, I consider that year sort of an extreme outlier because of how well Jon played in late Feb through the title game. He didn't make a ton of wow plays, but he made essentially zero mistakes on offense. Now, he missed shots, or got passes tipped away, but each of those was more about his opponent winning a given play than Jon. Jon basically made the correct decision at every turn. That is hard to emulate.
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So, to recap, let's worry about Defense.
See, I don't really consider the offensive implications. I feel that a team recruited by and coached up by Coach K can score enough points to win games. When recent teams have struggled, it is because we couldn't stop the other team from scoring.
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And I don't think Carter and Bolden would co-exist on D that well. Bags was a failure on M2M and in the zone, but he was asked to be more active and mobile than Carter was within the zone. Bags wasn't a great rim protector, so Carter had the more central role on the backline. Carter would likely have been as bad as Bagley if he'd been in the more active role.
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Carter and Bolden were best suited to play the C position on D. I do feel that Carter and Bolden would have been better on D than would Bag/Carter or Bag/Bolden. I feel that any such "improvement" on D would likely have been marginal. Meanwhile, the offense and rebounding with out Bags takes a steep decline, ultimately negating (and then some) any improvement on D.
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Carter and Bolden are both natural college (and now NBA) Cs. They need quality, mobile PFs beside them to thrive.
Yesterday moreso than usual. Plus my bosses were all busy, so I was basically unsupervised.
Marques moves is feet well enough to hedge on ball screens, but he needs to be a presence in the paint. Does anyone know what his blocks per 40 min played would have been last year? I could the Math but just guessing it would be 4+, and he rebounds pretty well. Those are his main jobs.. protect the rim and rebound!
It's pretty easy to look up.
https://www.sports-reference.com/cbb/schools/duke/2018.html
But the answer is 2.96.
OK, checked the math and it would just be above 3+ blocks per 40 minutes, but his rebounds per 40 would be around 11... I think you will see around 25 min per game out of Bolden, so about 2 blocks, 7 rebs, and maybe 9 ppg. That wouldn't be bad.
I think Javin is putting in more time developing as a big... (he is 6-10) from what I heard, so he And Marques and Zion will get the lion's share of the 80 minutes at the 4-5 with Jack getting some too and backing up 3 spot...
RJ and Tre will play big minutes, probably the most with 30-35 minutes... Then maybe Cam about 30... Then Zion 25 to 30... Marques and Javin 22-25
That would put the top 6 at 171 of the 200 minutes, AOC 15-20 minutes and that only leaves about 10 for Jack, Joey, Jordan and Vrank...
K likes to play 'his best guys" the majority of the minutes and I think Tre is the "most important" and RJ is the "best player on the floor"...
I think Javin is putting in more time developing as a big... (he is 6-10) from what I heard, so he And Marques and Zion will get the lion's share of the 80 minutes at the 4-5 with Jack getting some too and backing up 3 spot...
RJ and Tre will play big minutes, probably the most with 30-35 minutes... Then maybe Cam about 30... Then Zion 25 to 30... Marques and Javin 22-25
That would put the top 6 at 171 of the 200 minutes, AOC 15-20 minutes and that only leaves about 10 for Jack, Joey, Jordan and Vrank...
K likes to play 'his best guys" the majority of the minutes and I think Tre is the "most important" and RJ is the "best player on the floor"...
To add on to the end, I think Cam will turn into a high level glue guy by the end of the season. He could be the best defender, while rebounding at an elite rate (relative to wings), and helping out with the team running and scoring. I think he might be the most versatile player on our roster next year. I have a hard time envisioning a scenario where Tre, RJ, and Cam don't each play 33+ mpg next season. I think they are
1. That good
2. Exactly the type of skilled and versatile wings/guards K loves.
I think Cam will be great if he plays with a high motor. He can't just turn it on and off... That is my main concern with him... I know the coaching staff will demand more out of him, but you have to play hard all the time. That includes practicing hard too!
He can be close to or as good as RJ if he puts in the work and effort. And he is very versatile... He needs to attack and not settle for 25 foot jumpers on offense... You can save those for the end of the shot clock!
I think if Cam plays hard, Zion (skill wise) will play less than Cam. Unless Zion quickly adjusts to an opponent who is as tall and closer to his strength level. He dominated in HS because he was WAY more physical and athletic than his opponents. That margin has significantly decreased in both areas at the college level. It will be ultra beneficial for him to go at RJ day in and day out. RJ is a grown man too... Just not as strong or bouncy.
He can be close to or as good as RJ if he puts in the work and effort. And he is very versatile... He needs to attack and not settle for 25 foot jumpers on offense... You can save those for the end of the shot clock!
I think if Cam plays hard, Zion (skill wise) will play less than Cam. Unless Zion quickly adjusts to an opponent who is as tall and closer to his strength level. He dominated in HS because he was WAY more physical and athletic than his opponents. That margin has significantly decreased in both areas at the college level. It will be ultra beneficial for him to go at RJ day in and day out. RJ is a grown man too... Just not as strong or bouncy.
I think Zion is much more likely to go up against Javin and Jack Day to Day than he is RJ, since they are different positions. Also this idea that Zion has to adapt to the skill level and size as if he has never seen it before is being way over blown.
Not his personality, and nothing wrong with that. I'm hoping he is more of a calming, steadying, influence on the youngsters. They'll have no problem getting hyped, as I see RJ as vocal leader. We need Jav and Bolden to be the wizened leaders on the court to maintain calm and stability when things get hectic and threaten to spiral.
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