Ball Durham
Fansided

Duke Basketball: Marques Bolden’s stellar season being overshadowed

By Kevin Connelly

LAHAINA, HI - NOVEMBER 19: Marques Bolden #20 of the Duke Blue Devils lets out a yell after making a basket during the first half of the game against the San Diego State Aztecs at Lahaina Civic Center on November 19, 2018 in Lahaina, Hawaii. (Photo by Darryl Oumi/Getty Images)
LAHAINA, HI - NOVEMBER 19: Marques Bolden #20 of the Duke Blue Devils lets out a yell after making a basket during the first half of the game against the San Diego State Aztecs at Lahaina Civic Center on November 19, 2018 in Lahaina, Hawaii. (Photo by Darryl Oumi/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit

The Duke Basketball junior big man, Marques Bolden, is having a sensational season, but his efforts are being overshadowed due to the explosiveness of the Blue Devils.

It did not look great to start the 2018-19 season for Marques Bolden.

Coming into the season it looked like it would be difficult for the junior to see the floor with a stellar freshman class coming into Durham and the emergence of Javin DeLaurier at the end of last season.

More from Ball Durham

Bolden struggled mightily in the three exhibition games the Blue Devils played in Canada, not scoring a single point in the three games.

However, Bolden still would be in the starting five in the first game of the season against Kentucky, and he has looked like a different player ever since.

Starting 14 out of 21 games this season, Bolden is averaging 5.7 points, 4.8 rebounds, and 2.1 blocks in 20.0 minutes per game.

While Bolden’s numbers aren’t flashy, he has drastically improved his defense, especially on the permitter and he’s now able to protect the rim without fouling.

In a recruiting class headlined by Jayson Tatum and Harry Giles, Bolden flew under the radar as the No. 16 overall prospect in 2016 and once he arrived at Duke, the expectations were on him about being a ‘one and done’ as well as a dominant paint presence.

Things didn’t go Bolden’s way in his freshman year due to injury and then in his sophomore season he was buried behind Marvin Bagley III and Wendell Carter Jr. on the depth chart, but now that he is receiving extended minutes and performing on the court, he’s not getting the recognition he deserves.

Zion Williamson and R.J. Barrett dominate the headlines for this Duke team, but that doesn’t seem to bother Bolden as from the perspective of the public, he seems like a quite person who regularly goes about his business and performs on the court.

On a larger sample size, per 40 minutes, Marques Bolden is averaging 11.5 points, 9.6 rebounds, and 4.3 blocks per game while per 100 possessions he is averaging 15.5 points, 12.9 rebounds, and 5.8 blocks per game.

Marques Bolden is continuing to improve each time he steps on the floor for the Blue Devils, and while he might still not yet be a First Round prospect in the upcoming NBA Draft, he could very well turn into one after the 2019-20 season if he stays on his upward trajectory.

Home/Duke Basketball