By Jonathan Heard
Staff Writer
The men’s basketball team will be missing one major component this season—number 44.
Last week, Andrew Nicholson returned to campus to receive his commemorative ring for leading the Bonnies to the Atlantic 10 Championship in March.
Nicholson scored 26 points and 14 rebounds against Xavier in the Championship game.
Coach Mark Schmidt said Nicholson also returned to see his friends and teammates.
“We gave out our rings on Wednesday and he came back to receive his,” Schmidt said.
“More importantly, he came back to see his teammates. Andrew likes the University, and he’s a Bonaventure guy that came back to have a little fun in a weekend away from business and his professional life.”
Last season, Nicholson averaged a career-high 8.4 rebounds and 18.5 points for the Bonnies.
The Mississauga, Ontario native scored 20 points and 7 rebounds in his final game in the Brown and White against Florida State, March 16.
Schmidt said he hopes St. Bonaventure will honor Nicholson soon.
“I think the University is going to do something to honor Nicholson’s career because he was the leader of a team effort that brought the program from a contender to a championship winner,” said Schmidt. “I think Andrew Nicholson is our current Bob Lanier here at Bonaventure as he brought us to heights that I believe the University thought we might not hit again.”
Schmidt said he would honor Nicholson the remainder of his coaching tenure at St. Bonaventure.
“No one will wear number 44 as long as I’m here until Andrew has the number retired, but I think it will be retired soon,” said Schmidt.
Schmidt added he was most impressed by Nicholson’s 3-pt shooting improvement.
“I believe Andrew progressively improved each year during his four-year career,” said Schmidt. “When he first got here, he was a good dunker and became a good jump hook player. By his senior year he was a perimeter player capable of knocking down the 3-pt shot, which was something to be more versatile against double teams.”
In June, Nicholson was drafted 19th overall by the Orlando Magic. Schmidt was optimistic about Nicholson’s success translating to the NBA.
“I think he’s going to be a better NBA player than a college player because his ceiling is so much higher and his skill, strength, and understanding of the game will get better,” said Schmidt. “As his understanding of the game improves, I think his game will flourish and he will become an all-star.”
As the reigning A-10 Champions, Schmidt acknowledged his team will face challenges this upcoming season.
“I told the team that last year’s success has no bearing on this year’s team, but that other teams would now be familiar with the Bonnies program,” said Schmidt. “Guys are going to come after us and we have to have a life after Andrew and show that we can work hard and still win.”
Schmidt also said it would take a collective team effort to have success.
“We aren’t going to replace Andrew, but we can do it collectively as a team and all improve our games,” said Schmidt. “We need improvement in all of our players because if players are better individually, then we can be better as a team.”
Schmidt added his team will face an increase in the level of play of their competition.
“The league was really good and now we had two teams that went to three of the last four Final Four Championships with the addition of VCU and Butler” said Schmidt. “Also we still have Temple and Charlotte who are both very talented teams. The league is really good and we will have to be prepared for some big games.”
Schmidt said his main points of emphasis to his team will be rebounding, defense, and turnover control.
“If we defend better, rebound better, and control the ball better, then we will be in every game,” said Schmidt. “Those three areas are about playing hard and we have to finish plays.”
Schmidt stressed the importance of experience being a factor this season.
“You’re only as good as your seniors and we have four seniors that we expect to step up their game,” said Schmidt. “The challenge is going to be if our experienced players are ready to step up and help lead the team.”
