Coach K confirms: Marques Bolden (knee) won’t play in the ACC Tournament

Unfortunate injury news has plagued this Duke basketball team in 2019. First it was Tre Jones; next it was Zion Williamson. Then in the first half of Saturday’s loss at North Carolina — less than three minutes into the game — junior big man Marques Bolden went down hard with a knee injury. It was initially diagnosed as an MCL sprain.

On Monday, Duke’s Mike Krzyzewski confirmed that Bolden will not play in the 2019 ACC Tournament.

This means Duke will be without one of its key veterans; Bolden is pivotal to what the Blue Devils want to do defensively. His ability to switch out and guard smaller players on the perimeter — along with his rim protection (3.7 blocks per 40 minutes — is essential to Duke’s defense.

On offense, Bolden is a low-usage and efficient finisher of the basketball. In ACC play, he posted an offensive rebound rate just under 12 percent and shot 63.6 percent on 2-point attempts.

 

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