Marques Bolden Announces Return to Duke Blue Devils for Sophomore Season

Marques Bolden will return to the Duke Blue Devils for the 2017-18 season, the team announced Monday.

The Devils Den's Adam Rowe reported Sunday the freshman center was contemplating transferring from Duke.

Adam Zagoria of the 4 Quarters Podcast shared a statement from Bolden:

"

Despite rumors about my future that have circulated in recent days, I'm excited to announce that I'll be returning to Duke for my sophomore year. I have unbelievable support from my family, teammates and coaches. I'm ready to get to work for next season and I'm excited for what should be a great year for our program.

"

Bolden was only a fringe member of the squad. He played 157 minutes over the entire season and averaged 1.5 points and 1.1 rebounds a night.

He should have a bigger role on the Blue Devils as a sophomore. Duke already announced second-leading scorer Jayson Tatum made himself eligible for the NBA draft, and Harry Giles will be joining him. Their departures are in addition to the graduations of Amile Jefferson and Matt Jones.

There's no question Bolden had an underwhelming freshman campaign. Scout ranked him the eighth-best recruit overall and top center in the 2016 class.

The Blue Devils will add Wendell Carter, the No. 3 center, per Scout, in 2017, which will add some competition for Bolden. Still, Bolden likely wouldn't have returned to Duke if he didn't expect to feature heavily for the team in 2017-18.