Beetle Shows Heart in Season Opener

James “Beetle” Bolden started his season off by doing a little bit of everything. Coming into the season nursing an injury to his left hand, it didn’t seem to bother the starting point guard too much as he put his body on the line for every loose ball in his area.

Just two minutes into the game, Bolden checked out and received four or five stitches above his eye after getting hit going for a loose ball. No foul was called on the play.

Beetle bounced back and finished with 21 points, to go along with four assists and four rebounds in 23 minutes of play. Shooting 67% from the field and 3-4 from three-point range, Beetle let us all know that his hand is in pretty good shape.

All of the tipped passes and plunges onto the floor won’t show up in the box score, but the hustle out of Bolden really showed that he is willing to sacrifice a lot for this team. He did finish with two steals before leaving the game with what seemed to be cramps in his lower body.

The Mountaineers seemed to go flat on the offensive end in overtime without Bolden on the floor, scoring just ten points in the five minute period.

Coach Bob Huggins spoke on the hustle and effort that Bolden gave tonight in front of close to 13,000 people in attendance. “He’s out there diving on the floor, taking charges, and other stuff while those other guys are standing there watching.”

Hopefully, the junior guard can get to 100% here in the next coming weeks, as he showed everyone why he deserves to be out there representing West Virginia.