Jermaine “Itchy” Bolden?s nickname hasn?t changed, but his switch in attitude has allowed him to have an impact for the first-place Morgan State basketball team.
“I?m just trying to handle myself and being able to be coached, listening to the coach and playing with my team,” the junior backup guard said. “I?m trying to get them going as well as I?m going.”
The 5-foot-9, 175-pound former Douglass standout leads the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference in assist-to-turnover ratio at two and is sixth in the conference in steals, averaging 1.61 per game. In the Bears? 63-41 win over Winston-Salem State on Saturday afternoon, Bolden filled up the box score, posting five points, five rebounds, four assists and a steal in just 21 minutes.
But it hasn?t all been easy for Bolden since he transferred from South Plains Community College in Levelland, Texas, this fall. In mid-November, Bolden, who earned the nickname from his mom, Sandra, because he was fidgety as a toddler, suffered a shoulder injury that forced him to miss three games. Bolden, who wears a black brace on his right shoulder, said he?s playing at just 75 percent.
And the healthier he gets, the more playing time he?ll receive. Bolden averages 5.3 points, 3.2 assists and 2.1 rebounds in a little more than 23 minutes per game.
“He can score and dish the ball on the break and that gives us an added dimension,” Morgan State coach Todd Bozeman said. “Most of the time with junior college players it takes them a year or half a season to get used to it. Just like high school kids never know how hard you have to play or junior college kids never know how hard you have to play. It?s always an adjustment.”
Bolden and the Bears (14-8, 8-1) have a chance to get one game closer to the MEAC regular season title and automatic bid to the National Invitation Tournament tonight at 7:30 against South Carolina State (8-15, 4-5) at Hill Field House.
Morgan State likely has to contain forwards Jason Johnson (11.7 ppg, 7.3 rpg) and Jason Flagler (9.7 ppg, 5.8 rpg) to come away with a win at The Cave, where the Bears are 8-0 this season.
And as well as the Bears have been playing at home, their overall play the past month has been some of the best in program history. Morgan State has won seven straight games for the first time since reeling off eight straight wins in 1975.
If the Bears are going to surpass the school-record of nine straight victories, set midway through the 1974 season, they likely will need a healthy Bolden to accomplish the feat. Morgan State plays at Florida A&M (8-14, 4-5) on Saturday and at Bethune-Cookman (9-14, 3-6) a week from today.
“When he gets to come in, I get to freelance around the court,” senior guard Jerrell Green, who leads the MEAC with 3.79 assists per game, said with a laugh, “It?s good, I don?t have to play 40 minutes anymore,”
