By Skye Tulio
Sports Assignment Editor
My annual trek back to Bona’s for a new school year felt different. It wasn’t just the normal memories of my previous year that came flooding back. Something sweeter still lingered in the air.
The fizzing embers of Basketball success suddenly sizzled to life again. The nail-biting moments and overwhelming feeling of a Bonaventure family came rushing back to me.
It is all fused together in my mind as the whirlwind that was the 2011-2012 Bonaventure basketball season.
So, now what?
An old saying states that expectation is the root of all heartache, but we’re just getting started. Bonaventure basketball is back on the map and here to stay. No longer will the programs be tainted by the stigma of a scandal. Instead, the words, “St. Bonaventure Basketball,” will induce flashbacks of Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City and the Sweet 16 in Raleigh.
New additions to the men’s roster in forwards Dion Wright and Jean Yves Toupane should add some heat to a roster of defending Atlantic 10 champs. Obviously, losing major contributors like Andrew Nicholson and Da’Quan Cook is a blow to our core, but the Bonnies return several starters in Demitrius Conger, Jordan Gathers and Charlon Kloof.
Not to mention the return of redshirt seniors Michael Davenport and Marquise Simmons from injuries that forced them to sit the majority of the season.
With the loss of seniors Jessica Jenkins, Megan Van Tatenhove, Armelia Horton and Jennie Ashton, the women’s team will be looking for big seasons from Doris Ortega, Chelsea Bowker, Cece Dixon and Alaina Walker.
Walker, an Atlantic 10 All-Defensive team pick last season, remains the only player besides Jenkins to start in all 32 games last season. She led the team in offensive rebounds with a 1.6 average and remained a constant vocal leader on and off the court. Forward Chelsea Bowker and point guard Jordan McGee completes the trio of seniors.
Bowker is currently 8th on the program’s all-time free-throw percentage list at .800 and McGee played in 31 of 32 games only missing one due to illness. All three are more than capable of stepping in and taking hold of the reins.
Ortega and Dixon are the returning leading scorers for the Bonnies. Dixon averaged 7.6 points a game last season and Ortega averaged 7.4 points per game. However, Ortega averaged 7.9 points per game in conference play last season which was good for third on the Bonnies behind Van Tatenhove.
It’s hard to imagine topping a dream season like the one we all had the privilege of experiencing this past season.
We don’t need to worry about topping last season, but about building on the successes for all current and former Bonnies.
As we look forward to the 2012-13 season fresh from 2012 post season glory, we will stay hungry and determined. This season, we have a clean slate, meaning a fresh chance to achieve new greatness.
The talent oozing from our men’s and women’s basketball teams will continue to make us proud no matter the end result. Both the men and women made history last season while bringing the Bonaventure legacy back to life.
They gave us the ride of our lives and I have no doubt they will continue to awe us with their hard work and dedication.
I know I don’t just speak for myself when I say I’m excited for what’s to come. I can almost hear the chanting of our fearless Wolfpack.
‘Bonaventure: The Season After’ has begun and the Bonnies are more than prepared for the challenge.
tuliosa10@bonaventure..edu
