By Kyle Zamiara
Sports Editor
In case you were living under a rock, March was a pretty busy month for both basketball teams.
Since I’ve been at St. Bonaventure, it was my favorite month by far.
With the women making the Sweet 16 and the men’s astonishing Atlantic 10 championship that put them in the Big Dance, St. Bonaventure basketball expectations have skyrocketed.
Can either team make it back again next season?
There’s plenty of doubt with All-America honorable mention Andrew Nicholson off to the NBA and four seniors from the women’s team graduating.
But this isn’t the same Bonaventure as five years ago.
Coaches Mark Schmidt and Jim Crowley built contenders and are looking for the pieces to reach even greater heights.
The men lose two starting big men in Nicholson and redshirt senior Da’Quan Cook, which means rebounds are the biggest concern for next season.
Redshirt junior Marquise Simmons and freshman Youssou Ndoye will need to step up their play as the possible starters in the four and five spots. Let’s not forget Ndoye played more minutes than anyone expected—because Simmons went down in the season opener—and held his own. Ndoye averaged 2.4 boards and 2.6 points a game this season and played in all 31 games.
Even freshman guard Jordan Gathers contributed minutes and worked his way into the starting lineup for the last nine games, seven of which the Bonnies won.
Sophomore guard Matthew Wright also filled a hole on the team when starting senior guard Michael Davenport went down with a season-ending shoulder injury against Canisius Dec. 10. Both return next season.
Eleven players return for the men, giving them good depth and many options off the bench; not to mention recruits coming in next year, such as Lee Academy (Maine) small forward Jean Yves Toupane. Schmidt did a great job snatching sophomore guard Charlon Kloof and junior guard Eric Mosley and putting them in position to challenge for starting point man.
Another solid recruiting class could accelerate the Bonnies to another late-season push in the Atlantic 10 Championship.
The women are in a similar situation, with 53 percent of their scoring graduating in guard Jessica Jenkins and forward Megan Van Tatenhove.
The Bonnies will need juniors Chelsea Bowker and Alaina Walker to lead as seniors, with the Harlem dynamic duo of sophomores Doris Ortega and CeCe Dixon contributing as well. Walker offers senior defensive leadership after making the A-10 All-Defensive Team this
season.
Both sophomores were the only ones to score in double digits in the Bonnies’ last game against a Brittany Mallory-led Notre Dame, the eventual NCAA finalist that lost to Brittney Griner and Baylor.
Possibly the most assuring news this offseason is St. Bonaventure signing Crowley to a contract extension through 2018-19. Crowley has completed a 180 for the Bonnies women’s program that went to its first NCAA Tournament this year. He already has five recruits signed on. I don’t see him settling on a one-year wonder.
The Bonnies defined their legacy this season. Now it’s time for them to build on it.
zamiarkj10@bonaventure.edu
