It was quite the week to say the least. The days reserved for the conference tournaments and their championships bring us excitement, drama, joy and sometimes heart break. In short, they bring a veritable gallery of emotions.
For this writer, Monday through Sunday, was as exciting and sometimes draining as they come.
My alma mater is St. Bonaventure. In fact, I was a basketball student manager there for four years. On Monday the week stared with was the Atlantic Ten Women’s Championship. The Bonnies entered undefeated in conference play and regular season champions. They faced a strong Dayton team they narrowly defeated on the road a few weeks earlier. In the title game the Flyers got out to an early 22-point lead. The Bonnies fought back and eventually took a one-point lead late. Unable to hold on they fell short 56-53. At 29-3 an NCAA bid was assured but there was the ever so close feeling. The lure of the first A-10 conference title in basketball for the small Franciscan school was so close before slipping away.
The remainder of the week saw my own coverage at the Big East. In between covering Cincinnati’s three-point shooting, Notre Dame’s deliberate offense and lock down Louisville “D”, there was an eye focused on proceedings at the Atlantic Ten Men’s event in Atlantic City. The Bonnies faced an always tough matchup in Saint Joseph’s in the quarterfinal. They were able to get by in a close one. Next was UMass, who upset an always tough Temple. The feeling was, UMass is good but the Bonnies can do it! Bonaventure built a double-digit lead before holding on to advance to the championship game. One game. Forty minutes away from the coveted dream of an A-10 title. The opposition was Xavier, winners of 11 straight in the series.
The Bonnies led early, withstood a Xavier run and went on for a 67-56 victory. St. Bonaventure, 2012 Atlantic Ten champions. It feels amazing just to write that.
It seemed a dream come true. A remarkable story if you consider where the school and program was less than a decade ago. In 2003 the scandalous situation of Jamil Terrell, the junior college transfer with the welding certificate, claimed jobs and even a life. The school was publicly perceived as a runaway train wreck of an operation. Among the carnage, the St. Bonaventure community was shattered emotionally, feeling some of the very sacred and dear Franciscan values were seriously violated.
Coming into the picture on the coaching end was Anthony Solomon from Notre Dame. Truthfully, he struggled to get things going on the sidelines and is now back in his niche as a ND assistant. Solomon sometimes gets little credit for mending fences and tirelessly working to restore a tarnished reputation.
Enter Mark Schmidt. On advice of his former Xavier boss, the now late Skip Prosser, Schmidt took the position and immediately connected with the school’s passionate fan base and respect for a great tradition.
Schmidt’s first year, 2007-08 was a tough one. With the addition of a little-known player with a world of potential and work habits. The Bonnies gradually made the climb up the ranks.
Andrew Nicholson, that “little-known” from Canada was soon surrounded with more talent and the program was improving while captivating that adoring fan base.
Interestingly, schedule conflicts kept me from AC. As far as the final game on Sunday, in some ways it was just as well. I covered the Bonnies in the A-10 final in 1984 and 2000. Both times they were runner-up. Maybe this was an omen. As much as it would have been great to witness in person and reconnect with friends, yours truly would be anything but “impartial”. Back home watching the telecast meant hollering and cheering over the defense of the Bonnies and rejections by Nicholson. The sight of Schmidt patrolling the sidelines with complete control and confidence and the literally emotional scene of Bonnie fans in droves showing their love and devotion for this group that has captivated so many, now on a national level. Being courtside at Boardwalk Hall, I probably would be a wreck, guzzling coffee and up and nervously pacing each media time out.
A good part of my work on this site deals with statistical analysis, which is a favorite topic. Offensive and defensive efficiencies, game pace, turnover rates et. al. may give us a read or insight on a team. But anyone in analytics will tell you, there is no metric to measure heart and will. If there were, the Bonnies would be up there on the list.
The congratulatory calls came in. Joe Dzuback, a Rush the Court colleague, who grew up in Olean and watched the Bob Lanier teams, told me there were Bonnie alums at Boardwalk Hall literally crying with joy. College Chalktalk colleague George Rodecker called and asked when was the last time the Bonnie men and women went to the NCAA the same year. The answer: 2012, as this is the first for the women. Our own Editor Phil Kasiecki was happy especially given the Bonnie coach Mark Schmidt is a former New Englander (Attleboro, Mass.) who played at Boston College.
Beyond the excitement, the championships, the outstanding records and a special week, is the pride. The pride in knowing the university is represented by class individuals. Jim Crowley on the women’s side and Mark Schmidt for the men know the game and are excellent teachers. In their programs are young men and women who do the job in the classroom as well as on the floor and are respected in the community. The respective mentors are truly “people-oriented” and have the utmost respect of their peers in the coaching profession.
Watching Sunday and in the aftermath, I was constantly reminded of an anecdote from a few years back.
The Summer after Schmidt came on board, I was officiating at the Eastern Invitational Camp in Ewing, NJ. A number of college coaches scout players there and after working my games, met with and spoke to Schmidt. He remembered me from his Robert Morris days and granted an interview. He spoke of the passion he saw in his first few months at St. Bonaventure and talked about rekindling the excitement. Thrilled to hear I am a Bona alum, Schmidt parted our meeting saying, “don’t worry. We will make you alumni proud again.” My reply was having him directing the program already had me feeling very proud.
I think a lot of fellow alumni feel the same way.
