Welcome to Duke Marques Bolden!!!

[rsvman]

Welcome to Duke, Marques! You made a wise choice.

[arnie]

Is this the best recruiting class ever? At any school?

Probably tied with the class below:

3 Brian Morrison G FR 6-2 178 Redmond, WA Lake Washington
31 Adam Boone G FR 6-2 192 Minneapolis, MN Minnetonka

[Karl Beem]

My goodness. This will be the deepest Duke team in recent memory. At least two-deep at every position.

PG: Frank Jackson (Fr.)/Grayson Allen (Jr.)
SG: Grayson Allen (Jr.)/Luke Kennard (So.)
SF: Jayson Tatum (Fr.)/Matt Jones (Sr.)/Jack White (Fr.)/ Justin Robinson (So.)
PF: Harry Giles (Fr.)/Amile Jefferson (RS Sr.)/ Javin DeLaurier (Fr.)/ Antonio Vrankovic (So.)
C: Amile Jefferson (RS Sr.)/Marques Bolden (Fr.)/Chase Jeter (So.)/ Sean Obi (Jr.)

That's 14 guys. Somebody's gotta go, right? The top 9 players will likely be Jackson, Allen, Tatum, Giles, Jefferson, Jones, Kennard, Bolden, and Jeter.

Robinson, Pags, Besser will not have schollies.

[BandAlum83]

1. The joy in his Mother's reaction brought tears to my eyes. Maybe I'm getting old and sentimental, but as someone with grown kids, I can totally relate to the moment. I love how Marques wanted to give his Mom a huge surprise and a special moment by not telling her in advance. That's an obviously special relationship. It make me just know in my heart that he's a really good kid.

2. Don't know if I'm reading into too much, but I don't think Marques thinks of himself as a OAD. During the Q&A he said something like "it was a decision to put my life in the hands of these coaches for the NEXT COUPLE OF YEARS".

3. How is his name pronounced? I think on the streamed (not great) audio I heard it pronounced 3 different ways:

Markweese
Markweeze
Markeese

Anyone know for sure?

[/U]

[DavidBenAkiva]

Nice pickup for Duke - you guys are going to be stacked like 1991 UNLV...

Prospects for Jeter contributing just dimmed even more (if that was possible). I really thought that kid would end up as more than a Zoubek.

I think we are jumping the gun on Jeter. Coach K realistically has 13 players, 9 of which will likely be rotation guys (in bold) at the beginning of the year:

Guards: Jones, Allen, Kennard, and Jackson
Forwards: Jefferson, Robinson, Tatum, Giles, and White
Centers: Obi, Jeter, Vrankovic, and Bolden

K is notorious for mixing up his teams based on the players he has available. Well, we have four bigs that can all get up and down the court. If I am him, I'm pressing and subbing to keep guys fresh. Jefferson and Giles looks like they are going to be devastating in the press and Tatum and the guards all have the speed and size to suffocate, forcing steals and an up-tempo style of play. Get Jeter and Bolden in the there to keep those two guys rested!

[kAzE]

1. The joy in his Mother's reaction brought tears to my eyes. Maybe I'm getting old and sentimental, but as someone with grown kids, I can totally relate to the moment. I love how Marques wanted to give his Mom a huge surprise and a special moment by not telling her in advance. That's an obviously special relationship. It make me just know in my heart that he's a really good kid.

2. Don't know if I'm reading into too much, but I don't think Marques thinks of himself as a OAD. During the Q&A he said something like "it was a decision to put my life in the hands of these coaches for the NEXT COUPLE OF YEARS".

3. How is his name pronounced? I think on the streamed (not great) audio I heard it pronounced 3 different ways:

Markweese
Markweeze
Markeese

Anyone know for sure?

[/U]

I've seen videos of him introducing himself, and he pronounces it mar-QWEESE

[DukeFanSince1990]

1. The joy in his Mother's reaction brought tears to my eyes. Maybe I'm getting old and sentimental, but as someone with grown kids, I can totally relate to the moment. I love how Marques wanted to give his Mom a huge surprise and a special moment by not telling her in advance. That's an obviously special relationship. It make me just know in my heart that he's a really good kid.

2. Don't know if I'm reading into too much, but I don't think Marques thinks of himself as a OAD. During the Q&A he said something like "it was a decision to put my life in the hands of these coaches for the NEXT COUPLE OF YEARS".

3. How is his name pronounced? I think on the streamed (not great) audio I heard it pronounced 3 different ways:

Markweese
Markweeze
Markeese

Anyone know for sure?

[/U]

Markwinner

[OZ]

Somewhere in Orange County, NC, ol roy just scheduled his hernia surgery.

... fell out of my chair laughing. Geeeez. Loved it; thanks!

[gam7]

"I'm putting my life in the hands of these coaches for the next couple of years." I like the thought of two years, but this rhetoric reminds of a bit of Tony Parker who constantly talked about what programs could do for him. This is a bit dangerous, as it implies a lack of personal accountability for the hard work that individual has to undertake to get to where he wants to go. It is not automatic - you have the really work for it.

We are now a legit 10-deep. Coach K has made a point several times over the last two years about not being able to have full-contact practices due to our lack of depth and the possibility of injury. The depth won't be a problem next year. And we may need it. Between Jefferson (hip, foot) and Giles (ACL/MCL/meniscus, ACL), it is nice to have a bit more frontcourt depth.

Frontcourt: Jefferson, Giles, Bolden, Jeter, Javin
Wings: Tatum, Jones
Backcourt: Allen, Kennard, Jackson.

Will be interesting to see whether/how this impacts 2017 bigs. It is possible that it has very little impact on 2017 at all. We are looking at Bolden, Jeter, Javin at the most with the possibility of Bolden or Jeter not being around for 2017-18. In the event that we lose 2 of next year's 5 frontcourt guys, there clearly is room for Carter or Bamba (Carter seems more likely). If we lose 3 of next year's 5, there may be room for Carter and Bamba, though I frankly think getting both is a pipe dream.

[J_C_Steel]

I think we are jumping the gun on Jeter. Coach K realistically has 13 players, 9 of which will likely be rotation guys (in bold) at the beginning of the year:

Guards: Jones, Allen, Kennard, and Jackson
Forwards: Jefferson, Robinson, Tatum, Giles, and White
Centers: Obi, Jeter, Vrankovic, and Bolden

K is notorious for mixing up his teams based on the players he has available. Well, we have four bigs that can all get up and down the court. If I am him, I'm pressing and subbing to keep guys fresh. Jefferson and Giles looks like they are going to be devastating in the press and Tatum and the guards all have the speed and size to suffocate, forcing steals and an up-tempo style of play. Get Jeter and Bolden in the there to keep those two guys rested!

I worry a bit about the guards. We need Jackson to be able run point for 30 minutes per game as a freshman and we need Allen to improve his ball-handling and passing to the point that he can play point for about 10 minutes per game. I hope that works out.

As for the frontcourt, well, this team is utterly stacked. The 2016-17 Blue Devils should not be out-rebounded by anyone.

[duke79]

1. The joy in his Mother's reaction brought tears to my eyes. Maybe I'm getting old and sentimental, but as someone with grown kids, I can totally relate to the moment. I love how Marques wanted to give his Mom a huge surprise and a special moment by not telling her in advance. That's an obviously special relationship. It make me just know in my heart that he's a really good kid.

2. Don't know if I'm reading into too much, but I don't think Marques thinks of himself as a OAD. During the Q&A he said something like "it was a decision to put my life in the hands of these coaches for the NEXT COUPLE OF YEARS".

3. How is his name pronounced? I think on the streamed (not great) audio I heard it pronounced 3 different ways:

Markweese
Markweeze
Markeese

Anyone know for sure?

[/U]

Yea, you gotta love his mother ! I had tears in my eyes too, as she was jumping up and down and hugging him. Just a purely happy emotional moment for her. Nothing artificial about it. (and there's nothing like making your mother happy too). I hope she can attend some games in Cameron.

Is he projected as a OAD?

[WVDUKEFAN]

LOADED!!!

I've been following Duke for almost 35 years and I honestly can't recall a deeper team.

[OZ]

1. The joy in his Mother's reaction brought tears to my eyes. Maybe I'm getting old and sentimental, but as someone with grown kids, I can totally relate to the moment. I love how Marques wanted to give his Mom a huge surprise and a special moment by not telling her in advance. That's an obviously special relationship. It make me just know in my heart that he's a really good kid.

2. Don't know if I'm reading into too much, but I don't think Marques thinks of himself as a OAD. During the Q&A he said something like "it was a decision to put my life in the hands of these coaches for the NEXT COUPLE OF YEARS".

3. How is his name pronounced? I think on the streamed (not great) audio I heard it pronounced 3 different ways:

Markweese
Markweeze
Markeese

Anyone know for sure?

[/U]

I have watched a number of these - most chose Duke, a few chose other schools - but I have never seen a happier parent. I don't think his mother would have had a problem whatever his decision, but I don't think there was any doubt that she definitely approved of his choice!

[Henderson]

I think we are jumping the gun on Jeter. Coach K realistically has 13 players, 9 of which will likely be rotation guys (in bold) at the beginning of the year:

Guards: Jones, Allen, Kennard, and Jackson
Forwards: Jefferson, Robinson, Tatum, Giles, and White
Centers: Obi, Jeter, Vrankovic, and Bolden

K is notorious for mixing up his teams based on the players he has available. Well, we have four bigs that can all get up and down the court. If I am him, I'm pressing and subbing to keep guys fresh. Jefferson and Giles looks like they are going to be devastating in the press and Tatum and the guards all have the speed and size to suffocate, forcing steals and an up-tempo style of play. Get Jeter and Bolden in the there to keep those two guys rested!

When I look at the roster, I see a lot of flexibility if K wants to use it. A lot of multi-position guys. A lot of opportunities to go big or go small. I'd hate to have to game plan against this team. How do you plan your defense?

I'll be particularly interested in how Jeter develops, what role he plays, and how comfortable he is in that role. If he's not a high minute stud this year, I hope he sees that he could be a high minute leader stud next year.

[jipops]

How does this happen!!??

Doesn't he know that Duke doesn't develop big men? All they do is set screens for 3pt shooters!

[Billy Dat]

How does this happen!!??

Doesn't he know that Duke doesn't develop big men? All they do is set screens for 3pt shooters!

Why dust off such tired tropes, the new story is that K doesn't know what he's doing with PGs which is why we keep having to use 2s at the 1.

[Henderson]

He knows the old saying: "If mama ain't happy, ain't nobody happy!"

So do other young men. His mother's reaction is a recruiting clip for the Duke staff. What guy wouldn't want to inspire that kind of reaction from his mother?

[johnb]

This is awesome.

Marques has moved from a back-up as a sophomore to 3rd team All Dallas as a junior to one of the top dozen players in the country as a senior.

As I think about it, his delay could partly stem from his having to adjust to his new found status. Harry and Jayson have been elite recruits for years... no wonder they'd have an easier time of it.

He's the final piece of an awesome puzzle. It's gonna be a fun season!

[cspan37421]

Well one thing is for sure - Coach K will finally have that 12-deep rotation he's always wanted.

[Henderson]

Well one thing is for sure - Coach K will finally have that 12-deep rotation he's always wanted.

Platoons!!

[Practice is going to be intense].