James "Beetle" Bolden Jr. (born January 16, 1996) is an American professional basketball player for Lovćen 1947 of the Montenegrin League and the ABA League Second Division. He played college basketball for the West Virginia Mountaineers and the Alabama Crimson Tide.
| Lovćen 1947 | |
|---|---|
| Position | Point guard |
| League | Montenegrin League ABA League Second Division |
| Personal information | |
| Born | January 16, 1996 |
| Nationality | American |
| Listed height | 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) |
| Listed weight | 160 lb (73 kg) |
| Career information | |
| High school | Holmes (Covington, Kentucky) |
| College |
|
| NBA draft | 2020: undrafted |
| Playing career | 2020–present |
| Career history | |
| 2020–present | Lovćen 1947 |
High school career
editBolden attended Holmes High School in Covington, Kentucky. He averaged 18.5 points, 4.0 assists, 4.6 rebounds and 2.6 steals per game as a sophomore.[1] As a junior, Bolden averaged 20.8 points, 3.9 rebounds, 3.4 assists and 1.8 steals per game and led the Bulldogs to the finals of the Ninth Region tournament before losing to eventual state champion Covington Catholic High School.[2] As a senior, Bolden averaged 19.2 points, 4.8 rebounds and 3.9 assists per game. He was named to the First Team All-State for the third straight season. He finished his high school career with 2,024 career points. Bolden was ranked the No. 207 recruit in his class and committed to play college basketball for West Virginia over offers from Xavier, Butler, Purdue and Ohio.[3]
College career
editBolden redshirted his true freshman season at West Virginia after tearing his ACL and spraining his MCL.[4] As a redshirt freshman, he averaged 3.5 points per game, shooting 44.9 percent from three-point range.[5] Bolden averaged 8.7 points, 1.9 rebounds, and 1.1 assists per game as a sophomore.[6] On January 12, 2019, he scored a career-high 31 points in an 85–77 loss to Oklahoma State.[7] Bolden suffered a season-ending ankle sprain on January 26, in an 83–66 loss to Tennessee.[8] As a redshirt junior, he averaged 12.2 points, 2.6 rebounds and 2.5 assists per game, making 12 starts. Following the season, Bolden transferred to Alabama as a graduate transfer, shortly after the hiring of coach Nate Oats.[9] Bolden averaged 8.5 points, 2.2 rebounds and 1.2 assists per game as a graduate student.[10]
Professional career
editBolden signed with Lovćen 1947 of the Montenegrin League on August 11, 2020.[11]
Career statistics
edit| GP | Games played | GS | Games started | MPG | Minutes per game |
| FG% | Field goal percentage | 3P% | 3-point field goal percentage | FT% | Free throw percentage |
| RPG | Rebounds per game | APG | Assists per game | SPG | Steals per game |
| BPG | Blocks per game | PPG | Points per game | Bold | Career high |
College
edit| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015–16 | West Virginia |  Redshirt
| ||||||||||
| 2016–17 | West Virginia | 27 | 0 | 5.8 | .464 | .449 | .571 | .8 | .3 | .3 | .0 | 3.5 |
| 2017–18 | West Virginia | 37 | 3 | 17.2 | .429 | .411 | .837 | 1.9 | 1.1 | .9 | .2 | 8.7 |
| 2018–19 | West Virginia | 18 | 12 | 21.4 | .409 | .349 | .820 | 2.6 | 2.5 | 1.1 | .2 | 12.2 |
| 2019–20 | Alabama | 27 | 3 | 21.9 | .335 | .344 | .836 | 2.2 | 1.2 | .6 | .1 | 8.5 |
| Career | 109 | 18 | 16.2 | .400 | .384 | .810 | 1.8 | 1.1 | .7 | .1 | 7.9 | |
References
edit- ^ Hertzel, Bob (November 13, 2014). "Huggins satisfied with two new signings". Times West Virginian. Retrieved September 23, 2020.
- ^ Broering, Rick (May 14, 2014). "Holmes' James 'Beetle' Bolden commits to West Virginia". Cincinnati Enquirer. Retrieved September 23, 2020.
- ^ White, Chris (April 17, 2015). "2015 All-State Basketball First Team - James Bolden, Holmes". USA Today. Retrieved September 23, 2020.
- ^ "Mountaineers lose James 'Beetle' Bolden for season". ESPN. September 14, 2015. Retrieved September 23, 2020.
- ^ Miller, Kerry (April 12, 2017). "Unheralded CBB Freshmen Set to Break out as Sophomores in 2017-18". Bleacher Report. Retrieved September 23, 2020.
- ^ Clark, Dave (November 1, 2017). "Division I men's college basketball players from Greater Cincinnati". Cincinnati Enquirer. Retrieved September 23, 2020.
- ^ "Likekele leads Oklahoma State over WVU, 85–77". ESPN. Associated Press. January 12, 2019. Retrieved September 23, 2020.
- ^ Clark, Dave (April 14, 2019). "James 'Beetle' Bolden, former Holmes High School star, transfers to Alabama from WVU". Cincinnati Enquirer. Retrieved September 23, 2020.
- ^ Byington, Alex (October 17, 2019). "West Virginia grad transfer James Bolden found right fit in Alabama". Montgomery Advertiser. Retrieved September 23, 2020.
- ^ "Bolden's pro career starts at Lovcen". Eurobasket. August 11, 2020. Retrieved September 23, 2020.
- ^ "James Bolden signs with KK Lovcen". Sportando. August 11, 2020. Retrieved September 23, 2020.