As the beginning of basketball season is near, the Blue Zone provides a detailed preview of each player on Duke men's basketball's 2023-24 roster. Up first is returning big man Stanley Borden:
Stanley Borden
Year: Junior
Height: 7-foot
Position: Center
Last year’s stat line: 1.0 RPG, 1.0 MPG, 0 PPG
Game breakdown: Stanley Borden, Duke’s 7-foot walk-on center, is returning for his third season. The Istanbul native posted a solid performance for the Portuguese U20 National Team in the FIBA European Challengers, putting up 6.2 rebounds and 7.6 points per game in 24.4 minutes per game. Despite that, Borden has not yet had the chance to show off his skills in a game with the Blue Devils. He played just one minute in each of his first two years, and is yet to score a Division I point.
All that being said, it has not prevented Borden from making his impact around Duke and Durham. He hosted a run/walk last year to raise money for relief in his home country of Turkey following a catastrophic earthquake. In the end, the effort raised $7,800 dollars.
Role on the team: If you are a freshman guard like 6-foot-3 Jared McCain, how do you learn how to score on 7-footers in games? By doing it in practice. And who better to help you out than Borden, who has provided a steady challenge to smaller guards with his frame since his first year with the team? He is one of the few players that has been with the Blue Devils for two years, so his experience will be valuable.
Even with the departure of center Dereck Lively II, the number of players between Borden and meaningful minutes is quite large. Sophomores Christian Reeves and Kyle Filipowski along with graduate student Ryan Young will all be in front of Borden on the depth chart. That being said, who knows? Maybe he will have his time to shine. More than likely, however, this will be another slow year for Borden.
NBA comparison: Moses Brown is a journeyman center who currently plays for the Portland Trail Blazers. Brown measures an imposing 7-foot-2, and has still struggled to find any sort of quality minutes in the league. He averages just 12.4 minutes per game, along with 5.5 points and 5.2 rebounds. Brown is not particularly athletic or flashy, but he occasionally grabs a rebound or slams home an easy put-back. Borden is similar, in that he will not jump out on the statsheet but is serviceable at his job.
Projected stats: 0 PPG, 0 RPG, 1 MPG
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