BOSTON – After the storybook NCAA Tournament trip of a year ago, St. Bonaventure has had a rough start. An easy couple of months full of non-conference wins was not exactly what was expected, but going 4-8 is not fun any way you slice it. The Bonnies don’t seem any worse for wear, though, with Atlantic 10 play right around the corner.
It was already a given that the Bonnies would have a new backcourt, which brings plenty of challenges by itself in college basketball. Atlantic 10 co-Player of the Year Jaylen Adams and running mate Matt Mobley, along with glue guy Idris Taqqee, left some big shoes to fill, even with other capable players returning, so there was going to be some growing pains just from that.
If only that was all they had to deal with.
St. Bonaventure hasn’t been at full strength all season, a fact which has not helped the non-conference showing but could prove a blessing in disguise later. Courtney Stockard, their top holdover, missed the first six games recovering from off-season knee surgery. LaDarien Griffin (right knee sprain) returned last Friday at Northeastern after missing ten games, while Dominick Welch (foot) has missed seven straight heading into Saturday’s final non-conference game at Syracuse. Melkisedek Moreaux missed the first ten games of the season.
Stockard has returned and played well save for going 6-18 from the field at Northeastern, which was just the second game in which he’s made less than half his shots. At times, he was clearly challenging the Huskies to stop him, so you can see he’s embraced being the go-to guy on this younger team. Griffin is a key rebounding presence and Welch started the first four games of his career, so losing them was not insignificant.
The backcourt has been perhaps a bit better than expected, mainly because Kyle Lofton shows more poise than a lot of freshmen. He hasn’t set the world on fire, and he was just okay at Northeastern, but Lofton has a solid 2.1 assist-to-turnover ratio while being the team’s third-leading scorer. He and UNLV transfer Jalen Poyser, the team’s second-leading scorer, are playing heavy minutes – around 37 per game, which could become a concern as the season wears on. That’s where players like senior Nelson Kaputo, by far the team’s top sniper from deep, helps after waiting his turn for most of his career, and if Welch can return, he will help in more ways than one. Freshman Alpha Okoli has also started four games and could also emerge to provide more depth.
As the season goes along, this unit is sure to get better, especially if they stay healthy. Add in more potential up front from the likes of sophomore Tshiefu Ngalakulondi and freshman Osun Osunniyi, and you see this very much as a “potential” team.
In particular, Osunniyi is loaded with potential, especially as he hasn’t been playing the game for very long. A prep teammate of Lofton’s last year, he is very long and leads the Atlantic 10 in blocked shots, but has to get a lot stronger (he packs about 180 pounds on his 6’9″ frame) and learn the game a lot more to reach his full potential. He can impact games now, though, like he did against Jackson State earlier in the season with seven blocked shots or at Northeastern with four.
Saturday’s trip to Syracuse is all that remains prior to Atlantic 10 play. The Bonnies won’t be anyone’s pick as favorites, but the Atlantic 10 doesn’t have a clear favorite based on non-conference play and seems likely to be a one-big league with the NCAA Tournament. You could throw any of Saint Louis, VCU, Rhode Island and Davidson in a hat and pick one, and you can’t rule out Saint Joseph’s or Dayton. Even a run from George Mason, who has been a disappointing 6-6 with all of its scoring back from last season, can’t be ruled out. And the Bonnies shake out as being another team that could at least surprise some people and finish well into the top half of the conference if they get healthy and the guards and other young players keep growing together.
At St. Bonaventure, there is no sense of entitlement. Seasons like last year simply don’t come very often, even during a good stretch like the one Mark Schmidt and his staff have them on of late. The program is very well-run and with high character throughout, and with the staff being a perfect fit, it’s in as good a place as it has been. Atlantic 10 play will tell us just how much that translates from a bottom line standpoint in what for some might be a big rebuilding year.
