Looks like someone was getting a little jealous of North Carolina’s P.J. Hairston stealing all the driving headlines this summer. Georgia Tech’s guard Chris Bolden was arrested for a ton of charges, including possession of alcohol by a minor, speeding, improper lane change and of course driving under the influence.
So far Georgia Tech has said nothing, but it’s only a matter of time.
This is bad news. Bolden isn’t just some reserved wasting away on the bench. As Brian Gregory’s first verbal commit, he played a solid 24 minutes per game as a freshman, becoming a full-time starter six games into ACC play, providing a solid scoring spark. He averaged 7.3 points, 2.1 rebounds and 1.3 assists on the season.
Since it’s the summer, I suspect they’ll suspend him “indefinitely,” which can mean a lot of things. Since I expect most of the smaller charges to be dropped (they always do), a 2-3 game suspension once the season starts seems to be the worst case scenario. Remember, Bolden was named to the ACC’s All-Academic Team as a rookie, so I have to assume that will work in his favor when it comes time to handing out his punishment.
The reality is, I’m expecting a big improvement from the Yellow Jackets. Yes, the stars are Marcus Georges-Hunt and Robert Carter, but I also expect Bolden to once again start at the two spot and I expect him to get his 30% shooting percentage from three up to the high thirties, which means he could be a legit third option.
