Javin returning!

[scottdude8]

According to Jeff Goodman, and reported (correctly, woohoo!) by The Chronicle:

https://www.dukechronicle.com/article/2019/05/duke-mens-basketball-javin-delaurier-nba-draft

We’ve got our captains back!!! And a frontcourt that, even without Marques, will still be the envy of 95% of college basketball.

[gep]

This is good news, to be sure. Two 2-time senior captains returning (at least, I haven't heard anything about Jack). The team should be in good shape.

[sagegrouse]

This is good news, to be sure. Two 2-time senior captains returning (at least, I haven't heard anything about Jack). The team should be in good shape.

Here's my take: Next year we will return players who played 3,458 minutes, or 45.3 percent of the total minutes played this year. This year, we returned players who played 1,646 minutes in 2017-2018, 22.1 percent of the total minutes played. That's a big difference and a big deal.

[JasonEvans]

Javin is a great communicator on D and an excellent help defender who erases shots at the rim with tremendous frequency. For a team that looks like it will have lots of offensive firepower, his ability to make a difference at the other end of the floor will be invaluable. As an experienced captain, you know he will play a key role in teaching the new bigs how to move and play D at Duke. This is exceptionally good news!

-Jason "" Evans

[OldPhiKap]

Javin is a great communicator on D and an excellent help defender who erases shots at the rim with tremendous frequency. For a team that looks like it will have lots of offensive firepower, his ability to make a difference at the other end of the floor will be invaluable. As an experienced captain, you know he will play a key role in teaching the new bigs how to move and play D at Duke. This is exceptionally good news!

-Jason "" Evans

In these respects, he reminds me of my favorite non-Zion player for us over the last decade or so -- Amile Jefferson.

Go get one, Javin!

[UrinalCake]

Glad and relieved to have one of the two back, as we needed the experience and depth. It’s taken me a long time to come around to the idea of Javin as a 5, but he’s proven that he’s big and tough enough to defend at that position and it probably suits him best given his limited range. Having him and Carey split time at the 5 (maybe I’ll just say “being the biggest player” since people hate using positions) with Hurt and White at the 4 will give us a solid and versatile front court, as long as the freshmen can defend at even an average level.

Javin has always been one of my favorite players off the court, a really smart guy who has accepted his role and given whatever the team needs. Coach K always speaks highly of him. Looking forward to seeing him finish out his Duke career and hopefully play a larger role.

[chrishoke]

Great news. Luv Javin.

[Truth&Justise]

Here's my take: Next year we will return players who played 3,458 minutes, or 45.3 percent of the total minutes played this year. This year, we returned players who played 1,646 minutes in 2017-2018, 22.1 percent of the total minutes played. That's a big difference and a big deal.

Javin is a great communicator on D and an excellent help defender who erases shots at the rim with tremendous frequency. For a team that looks like it will have lots of offensive firepower, his ability to make a difference at the other end of the floor will be invaluable. As an experienced captain, you know he will play a key role in teaching the new bigs how to move and play D at Duke. This is exceptionally good news!

Very glad he is back. We needed at least one of Javin and Marques back, looks like it will be Javin. Along with Jack White and Tre Jones, he'll lead a veteran core that should stabilize the team, especially on defense.

But there is room for improvement. I remember in 2018 Javin briefly flirted with trying to shoot 3s. It made sense when he was in big lineups with Marvin Bagley and Wendell Carter, meaning Javin was more or less playing the wing. But that got scrapped last year as he solidified himself as a very good college 5. He doesn't need to try that again, but the next step I'd like to see in his growth is an improvement at the FT line. He shot 56% from FT last year. If he can get anywhere close to the 72% that Marques shot last year, that would be tremendous. Having a big--heck, anyone!--who can shoot FTs consistently is a huge plus. I'll leave it to you all to think of any time in the last year when improved FT shooting could have made a difference for the team.

[CDu]

This was what I expected would happen (Bolden would leave, DeLaurier would stay). Glad that at least one of the senior bigs will be back along with White to help with frontcourt continuity. And Carey, Hurt, and DeLaurier make for a very nice 3-man rotation in the frontcourt with DeLaurier able to defend the PF spot when paired with Carey and the C spot when paired with Hurt.

We will be a less talented, more experienced team next year. Hopefully the added experience will offset the loss in top-end talent. DeLaurier does provide another super run/jumpy athlete to a mix that isn't overly run/jumpy athletic next year.

Glad to have him back!

[Dukehk]

Great to have Javin back. He was immense in the last game of the season against msu.

Hope he continues that good form and no doubt he will fit in seamlessly as the 5 in this years team.

He is better than Bolden in every aspect other than shotblocking.

[plimnko]

if he can build on what i saw in last year's ncaa tournament......Duke will have a pretty good front court.

[jimsumner]

Great to have Javin back. He was immense in the last game of the season against msu.

Hope he continues that good form and no doubt he will fit in seamlessly as the 5 in this years team.

He is better than Bolden in every aspect other than shotblocking.

If Bolden were coming back and DeLaurier weren't, we'd all be talking about how much better Bolden is.

Actually, the two were pretty close last year in blocks-per-minute. But Bolden has more shooting range, was a much better foul shooter, had a better assist-to-turnover ratio and committed way fewer fouls per minute than did DeLaurier.

Don't get me wrong. I'm delighted DeLaurier is coming back. But let's don't go all Aesop on Bolden.

[Jeffrey]

If Bolden were coming back and DeLaurier weren't, we'd all be talking about how much better Bolden is.

That's because we are a very positive group. Read any thread, after an unexpected loss, and you can easily see our very positive nature.

[MChambers]

If Bolden were coming back and DeLaurier weren't, we'd all be talking about how much better Bolden is.

Actually, the two were pretty close last year in blocks-per-minute. But Bolden has more shooting range, was a much better foul shooter, had a better assist-to-turnover ratio and committed way fewer fouls per minute than did DeLaurier.

Don't get me wrong. I'm delighted DeLaurier is coming back. But let's don't go all Aesop on Bolden.

Yes, without looking at the roster, I'd say Bolden is a little better at most things, except team defense. But Javin is a better fit with this roster, mostly because of Carey's presence. I can't see Carey and Bolden sharing the court, but I can see Javin sharing the court with either Carey or Hurt.

Maybe Javin will improve his shooting before next season?

[JasonEvans]

Maybe Javin will improve his shooting before next season?

-Jason "we are talking about a guy who has never hit even 57% of his FTs in a season.." Evans

[budwom]

If Bolden were coming back and DeLaurier weren't, we'd all be talking about how much better Bolden is.

Actually, the two were pretty close last year in blocks-per-minute. But Bolden has more shooting range, was a much better foul shooter, had a better assist-to-turnover ratio and committed way fewer fouls per minute than did DeLaurier.

Don't get me wrong. I'm delighted DeLaurier is coming back. But let's don't go all Aesop on Bolden.

Shooting range? Bolden? I agree on the other points, but I have no recollection of this shooting range you mention...I can barely recall him hitting anything outside of several feet (largely the same for Javin).
I'd go with equal shooting range, pretty poor for both of them.

[scottdude8]

Yes, without looking at the roster, I'd say Bolden is a little better at most things, except team defense. But Javin is a better fit with this roster, mostly because of Carey's presence. I can't see Carey and Bolden sharing the court, but I can see Javin sharing the court with either Carey or Hurt.

Maybe Javin will improve his shooting before next season?

This post gets at a couple key points that I'm betting informed both Javin and Marques' decisions. First, Javin fits more naturally on the court with Carey given his defensive versatility, and we know he can play at the 5 when Hurt is in. Second, while Marques is by far the superior offensive player, that also means he had less to prove/improve upon in a senior year. It's entirely possible that Javin can improve his shooting by a significant margin this offseason, and by showcasing that part of his game get a better look in the NBA. (Again, remember the example of MSU's Kenny Goins, the guy who ended our season... he went from a guy who MADE a total of four threes in his first three years on campus to a clutch 35% shooter from deep as a senior. These improvements between junior and seasons can and have happened.)

I've got a sneaky suspicion that Javin knows exactly what he needs to work on this offseason to improve his pro stock: namely his hands and shot on offense. And there's every reason to believe we'll get some degree of improvement from him in those regards. How large that improvement is will likely dictate whether Javin earns a look as a second rounder next year.

[scottdude8]

-Jason "we are talking about a guy who has never hit even 57% of his FTs in a season.." Evans

If that was your response to MChambers original post I can't imagine what you're gonna think of mine... lol.

[arnie]

Shooting range? Bolden? I agree on the other points, but I have no recollection of this shooting range you mention...I can barely recall him hitting anything outside of several feet (largely the same for Javin).
I'd go with equal shooting range, pretty poor for both of them.

Well, some on this board thought Bolden had a nice half hook from 3 feet. Of course, he rarely hit any, but they must have looked good to some😎

[jimsumner]

Shooting range? Bolden? I agree on the other points, but I have no recollection of this shooting range you mention...I can barely recall him hitting anything outside of several feet (largely the same for Javin).
I'd go with equal shooting range, pretty poor for both of them.

Bolden showed off some perimeter shooting ability in C2C and the exhibition games and then largely shut it down. He's actually a decent 3-point shooter in practices, at least as good as Williamson and much better than DeLaurier.

Down the line, I suspect we'll see him knocking down some 3-balls in the pros and wonder why we didn't see that more at Duke. Not sure if he didn't have the green light or didn't have the confidence. But a look at their respective foul-shooting percentages this past season suggests that Bolden has some skills that remained under-utilized.