Georgia Tech Basketball: What is Needed From Chris Bolden in 2014-15

After having a strong freshman year, 6-foot-3 shooting guard, Chris Bolden, struggled in his sophomore campaign.

Now true enough in his freshman year, Bolden shot 36.2% from the floor and 30.4% from downtown which is not the greatest marksmanship in the world.

However, no one expects there to be a decline in shooting from one year to the next, and especially not as drastic a decline as Bolden had in 2013-14.

More from Basketball

As a sophomore, Bolden shot 29.8% from the floor. What makes that number so bad is that he took 34 less shot attempts in the 2013-14 campaign (198) than he did in the 2012-13 season (232).

This is alarming, but not something that can’t be improved upon going into this season.

Bolden knows that he has not been playing up to his own standard and that he needs to be more consistent in his junior year.

With that being said, one of the major things that is going to be needed from Chris Bolden this year is leadership.

Because he is one of the elder statesman on the team, he should be able to help the young players like Tadric Jackson and incoming transfers like Josh Heath understand the offensive system and how to be in the right places and make the right rotations on the defensive end.

Another thing that is going to be needed from Bolden is consistency. Including the ACC Tournament last season, Bolden shot 40% or better in only 10 of his games. He also had six games where he hit 40% or better from downtown.

No one is saying that he should be hitting some astronomical number from the field every game. But if Bolden were to look for higher percentage shots and be a little bit more selective, he would be more consistent when it comes to how his shooting nights go.

The main thing for Bolden is for him to raise his shooting percentage. He gives a pretty solid effort on defense and rebounding but the inconsistency shooting the rock from the field is hard to watch.

He had his moments last year where he was lights out for the Yellow Jackets.

For example, Bolden’s game on January 11th where he was 4 of 8 from trey finishing with 14 points against Notre Dame, or on the road against Boston College when he was 3 of 3 from downtown . He has the ability to have those games, they just need to be seen on a more regular basis.

Chris Bolden’s contribution to Brian Gregory’s Yellow Jackets could be very impactful. When you look at the roster, outside of Marques Georges-Hunt, there is some question in regards to who would be able to take on some of the scoring load.

If Bolden can find his shot and have consistency with it he can be that guy. This is his junior season and it is time for him to make a major impact.