Bolden
- Thread starter duhondukie
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i to think a pg like tre helps bolden and everyone for that matter, kid def needs to show some energy, but in regards to defense and rebounding, i thought he looked ok in canada....he was blocking shots in him limited minutes and other guys were snagging the boards
Agreed. Having a true point guard will really benefit Bolden. I still have faith that we're going to see him continue to make strides this season. The progress he made last season was obvious and unless there's some unforeseen circumstances that we don't have knowledge of, didn't just go away. However, areas that aren't impacted by having a point guard such as rebounding and overall energy in general don't seem to have improved based on how the games in Canada went which was disappointing to see.
No doubt in my mind JD starts as of right now. Game 1. I can see Bolden getting swallowed up by K riding hot hands, and going deeper this year also. (As of right now) He better get that stamina up to run the floor in a hurry! Ain’t no handing the ball off to the PG off of a rebound, and lollygagging down the floor for half court offense this year imo. Majority of your very few minutes would be at half court. Then to the bench. Lol. #1 focus should be energy. No excuse...Look at Zion lol! I got faith in the big guy, and these next games are crucial for him.
Having a true PG would obviously (benefit ) Bolden, but to what extent? And would it benefit Duke? Lol a couple easy buckets ? The same way it would benefit JD lol. But JD would (benefit) Duke by getting the same easy buckets, (((and))) rebounding , playing defense, and showing that energy. So imo forget the things that would (benefit) Bolden If he doesn’t (benefit) Duke while getting benefited. If you can understand that. Lol I guess what I’m just saying is I’m starting JD as of right now easy, based on what he’s shown/ offers, and taking my chances with him making the same easy buckets benefited from a true PG. 
He just offers more as of now, with less baggage. He doesn’t (need) the ball to perform. Bolden i would say Bolden demands it, but he doesn’t demand it, he wants it:/
He just offers more as of now, with less baggage. He doesn’t (need) the ball to perform. Bolden i would say Bolden demands it, but he doesn’t demand it, he wants it:/
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Having Tre Jones at PG will definetly help Bolden with easy looks to help boost his confidence. Watching the scrimmage Bolden made a few moves back to the basket but fumbled the ball. He won't or shouldn't be asked to provide a Wendell Carter performance on the block. Its just not who he is. Having a Pass first point guard will allow him to just catch the ball and Dunk it. That right now is his offensive game. Both Zion and RJ had a more aggressive scoring mentality in the 3 scrimmages. I do want and expect more emotion from Bolden being that he is a Junior and played behind 2 lottery picks last year... seems as if he should have something to prove. Even after the blocked shot he had in the scrimmage he just stood there so stoic and nonchalant.
My biggest take with Tre coming back I expect him to be the Quinn Cook of the former Duke teams. AKA the HYPE man . Motivating Bolden to show some kind of emotion. Zion and RJ have it naturally. But some players you have to kind of force it out, Bolden is that guy.'
He will improve give him time to mesh with the new freshman. Patience Duke fans its only August
My biggest take with Tre coming back I expect him to be the Quinn Cook of the former Duke teams. AKA the HYPE man . Motivating Bolden to show some kind of emotion. Zion and RJ have it naturally. But some players you have to kind of force it out, Bolden is that guy.'
He will improve give him time to mesh with the new freshman. Patience Duke fans its only August
As stated, if Tre can get Bolden easy looks, then he can get JD easy looks. I think MB would be a better iso scorer, but that JD will get more garbage buckets by virtue of athleticism. So, on offense, it is a wash. Or a near wash. MB is probably good for a few more PPG. But I think JD is much better on D and the boards.
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Though, to be honest, JD has been great on D away from the basket. Defending other bigs around the rim has been more of an adventure than many of us would like during the first two years, and JD's adventures have been more like Crystal Skull than Raiders. JD might be a 'better' defender overall, but we need someone to guard actual bigs when they do big man type things.
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Though, to be honest, JD has been great on D away from the basket. Defending other bigs around the rim has been more of an adventure than many of us would like during the first two years, and JD's adventures have been more like Crystal Skull than Raiders. JD might be a 'better' defender overall, but we need someone to guard actual bigs when they do big man type things.
This. I'm afraid this is the problem. If MB thinks his future is as a player who is featured on O, he's in trouble. Defense and RPG need to be his watchwords.
As of right now I actually think JD would be good for more PPG. Especially given the speed/style we're likely to play too....who knows
Really rooting for Bolden to wake up... This is his year to produce if he isn't capable of putting up some kind of numbers at Duke this year he may never.. Javin and V both seemed to relish in playing time with Bagley and Carter gone. I just need to see that Joy from him that would seem to come with every player that would put on that Duke Jersey. It just hasn't clicked yet but we have time to work on that. That team in Canada isn't even close to the full product.
This video was just made a couple weeks ago...sound track sounds just like Bolden lolol kinda slow but gezzz if the lights ever come on. You can tell he has ability on both sides of the ball. He seems to play much more energized when he gets a dunk or pts of a putback, thing is...it rarely happens. And thats no excuse not to play hard all the time. Just saying thats what it seems like at times. Rooting for the kid because hes exactly what Duke needs if he plays energized ALL the time and got a little mean streak. No reason he should ever have a tic tac touch foul like he did so often his first 2 years. Hammer dudes and make your 3-5 fouls count every game. No reason at all Bolden cant get give Duke 6-7 rebs average over 1 blk per over his time...the offense isnt even needed but 5-6 pts should be expected.
I think Jav will most likely start come opening night against UK..but as foul prone as he has been Bolden wil get his chance soon in the game. We'll see what hes got very quickly. Its simple for K, if he doesnt play with energy Vrank is waiting ready to come in and bust some ***. Jack as well. I hope this is the game K can find a way to blend the mins of the studs and bench!
Dude went up against 2 of the best bigs in college ball every single day...how could he not get better??
This video was obviously about a year ago...a lot of talk, all sounds amazing, now we just have to see it all come together! It starts with giving 110% every second your out there. Hoping to see a rejuvenated Ques come Nov 6!!!
Sometimes I feel like some Duke fans here want Bolden to fail. Don't like feeling that way. OFC
You haven’t watched Duke closely for 35 years if that’s what you’ve gathered.
Sounded suspicious to me. I can’t think of the word I’m looking for... I just left it alone lol
I don't see what Liftee said as being too far off base. Does K not typically shrink his bench? We all know that a close conference game, no matter the month, he may play 7-8 guys in the first half, then maybe 5-6 in second half.
We have 4 freshmen that are expected to get the bulk of the minutes, if all 4 are as advertised. That leaves Bolden, Delaurier, O'Connell, and White. White played a good amount each game in Canada from what I've read. Fast forward that to a close conference game. If he plays over 20 minutes versus, say Florida State, then probably one of the other 7 was injured, we had foul trouble, or K chose not to play a particular guy.
Remember too that K will be developing his starters. His words, not mine.
The best way to predict how K may do things in the future is to look at how he did things in the past. Maybe he plays 8 strong minutes, with a 9th man getting some time against a quality team. My money though is on 7 getting good minutes come January with the 8th man getting 5 or so minutes.
We have 4 freshmen that are expected to get the bulk of the minutes, if all 4 are as advertised. That leaves Bolden, Delaurier, O'Connell, and White. White played a good amount each game in Canada from what I've read. Fast forward that to a close conference game. If he plays over 20 minutes versus, say Florida State, then probably one of the other 7 was injured, we had foul trouble, or K chose not to play a particular guy.
Remember too that K will be developing his starters. His words, not mine.
The best way to predict how K may do things in the future is to look at how he did things in the past. Maybe he plays 8 strong minutes, with a 9th man getting some time against a quality team. My money though is on 7 getting good minutes come January with the 8th man getting 5 or so minutes.
It is hard to argue with this point. But I do worry a little bit about JD's low post D vs other bigs. As I get further from the admittedly disappointing performance by MB in Canada, I am remembering JD's play the last 2 years. He's been a much more versatile performer on D. But the closer to the basket he's been, and the bigger the opponent, the less effective he's been.
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I've talked, ad infinitum, about this team's need for D and rebounding. And, ideally, that defender would be a versatile, all over defender. Which seems like JD. But I think I have underestimated the need for someone who can defend opposing bigs down low. Sure, it would be great if someone could do that AND be a versatile all over the court defender. But we'll need someone to defend big bodies in the post, and I'm not sure JD is that guy. He'll be willing, but I wonder about how effective he'll be. If he can be OK at that, he'll be great overall. I'm almost certain that MB will be a better defender in the low post. But if JD is close in the low post, his rest of the court defense will make him the clear cut starter.
I think this thread is a reaction. Perhaps an overreaction. But perhaps not. I've defended MB over the previous two seasons on 2-3 boards. His frosh year, I wanted him to play more, and last year I defended whatever mistakes he made.
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This year, I thought we'd be happy with his play. That he'd fill a desperately needed void on this year's team. As good as the rest of the team is, we are going to need quality defense from our bigs, and solid rebounding as well. Without those things, it is unlikely that this year's team can win late in March.
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But his performance in Canada was bad. Really bad. That would have been bad vs quality NCAA front lines. Much less the extremely bad Canadian front courts we saw last week. It was ominously bad.
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We'd all love for MB to perform well and make us all eat our words. But last week was literally a shockingly bad performance. We were shocked.
Yea I probally underestimated that too. Then I think about how we could switch everything and play great team defense . Our speed on offense. Etc. Theres pros and cons to both. Which ones outweigh the other is the key. To early to know much. Everything could change .What I do know is that we need Bolden. Period. Both in any situation needed! That be great. (Roles)
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He was way better wrt fouls in Canada, and I hope he's gotten better at that now that he's matured into an upperclassmen.
I hope your right,in the NCAA he'll be playing against bigger,stronger and faster guys,his foot work will tell the tale
I totally agree you. Jav hasn’t shown a propensity to guard large post scorers.
The only saving grace is that most teams do not have a good and true low post scorer. And not someone who “could possibly score in the post,” but someone who the team will run 15-20% of their plays through. In the ACC, maybe you can make a case for Clemson, VT, Miami, NC St., and Wake. Everyone else, including some of the teams I mentioned play small ball. FSU, Louisville, Duke and UNC have big, tall back courts. So a guy like Jav may actually suit this team better. Maybe not. It remains to be seen.
There is always a need for an air craft carrier as Al McGuire used to say, at least 20-25 min. a game. I still think Bolden is far better suited for that position than Vrank, as much as I love Vrank's attitude. Thus, it's still Bolden's position to lose.
Coaches are opportunists. If we have a big who can't really defend other bigs, opposing coaches will start running their O through a big. IDK how effective it would be, but by the time March gets here, it will be a very exploitable weakness.
Maybe, maybe not. Hell, you may be able to throw Zion on a girthy Big for a stretch, especially if the guy isn’t the primary scorer. Or there’s 5 fouls worth of Vrankovic on the bench too.
If I was an opposing coach, my number 1 priority vs Duke would be trying to figure out a way to neutralize Zion Williamson. And if he was the primary post defender, I'd attack him. I'd exploit the height difference vs his primary defensive assignment, and I'd make attacking the rim a priority.
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In 2-3 years, Zion will be very good at defending other bigs, and even protecting the rim. At the least, he'll be very judicious about when to pick his moments. But that won't help Duke NEXT year, so I'd rather avoid those situations as much as possible.
Are you so certain he can’t guard anyone right now? Especially the caliber of big Duke will face this season? Without any sample size you may be underselling Zion or over selling the bigs in college right now. Maybe. The jury is out.
It isn't that he can't guard ANYONE. I'm afraid making Zion guard the primary big for any extended time will lead to more fouls, and more exhaustion, by Zion. Zion is a guy that is going to get called for more fouls than he deserves this year. Just by the nature of his size, athleticism, and playing style. He'll get 1-2 offensive fouls, and 1-2 normal defensive fouls. I'm afraid his foul rate vs true bigs will be higher than if he isn't the main big defender.
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Look, neither I, nor anyone here, nor even Coach K KNOWS FOR CERTAIN what will happen this year. I'd prefer to play the odds.
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Could Zion guard opposing bigs? Maybe. But he'd dominate opposing PFs on both sides of the court.
I 1000% agree with that last part. It’s preferable that Zion doesn’t guard a primary scorer. That’s why you have a Bolden, DeLaurier, White and Vrankovic. I think with 20 fouls available like that, throw in another 5 if you want to add JRob, K will have a good chance to figure it out.
Of course a big part of post defense is how well the perimeter holds. That first line will really dictate the potential of this defense.
Coach K on playing in Canada with the injuries:
“The three kids who have been injured have given some of the kids who wouldn’t get the minutes, a lot of minutes," Krzyzewski told the media. "Jack White in particular, has had a great tour. He’s played like a junior and has been solid. I think he’s probably averaged like 28 minutes a game, which is invaluable for us. Javin (DeLaurier) has solidified what we thought he would be. Joey Baker these last two ballgames, has really come alive. With Tre Jones being out, Jordan Goldwire, has also played probably 26-27 minutes a game to gain invaluable experience. The guys loved it. My players loved it, they didn’t like it, they loved it."
No mention of Bolden. And understandably so. I really want Bolden to succeed this year but it seems apparent that he's really going to have to prove something to the coaching staff to get minutes. Duke can play without him, with Vrank, White, and Javin helping out from a big man perspective. It's not like there's a lot of talented 6'11" low post bigs that Duke is going to have to play against where Bolden's size would be almost essential.
Still, fingers crossed for the big man. He's putting in work. I hope it all comes together for him.
“The three kids who have been injured have given some of the kids who wouldn’t get the minutes, a lot of minutes," Krzyzewski told the media. "Jack White in particular, has had a great tour. He’s played like a junior and has been solid. I think he’s probably averaged like 28 minutes a game, which is invaluable for us. Javin (DeLaurier) has solidified what we thought he would be. Joey Baker these last two ballgames, has really come alive. With Tre Jones being out, Jordan Goldwire, has also played probably 26-27 minutes a game to gain invaluable experience. The guys loved it. My players loved it, they didn’t like it, they loved it."
No mention of Bolden. And understandably so. I really want Bolden to succeed this year but it seems apparent that he's really going to have to prove something to the coaching staff to get minutes. Duke can play without him, with Vrank, White, and Javin helping out from a big man perspective. It's not like there's a lot of talented 6'11" low post bigs that Duke is going to have to play against where Bolden's size would be almost essential.
Still, fingers crossed for the big man. He's putting in work. I hope it all comes together for him.
I wonder if not mentioning him was intentional to send some kind of motivational message?