By Taylor Nigrelli
Sports Editor
The last time the St. Bonaventure men’s basketball team started a season 3-0, Bill Clinton sat in the Oval Office, the Backstreet Boys ruled the Billboard charts and the phrase “welding certificate” didn’t make residents of Olean recoil in horror.
During that 2000-2001 season – which ended with an NIT berth – Jim Baron coached the Bonnies while guard J.R Bremer put up 24.6 points per game and earned Atlantic 10 First Team honors.
Saturday, when the Bonnies moved to 3-0 for the first time since that season with an 86-64 win over Canisius, both Bremer and Baron were in attendance. Bremer was one of four former student-athletes inducted into the St. Bonaventure Athletics Hall of Fame. The student section met his induction with roaring applause.
The fans were not quite as kind to Baron. The former coach returned to the Reilly Center as Canisius head Coach for the first time and faced a barrage of boos and insults while his son, senior point guard Billy Baron, heard chants of “daddy’s boy” among others. Coach Baron wasn’t bothered by the crowd’s enthusiasm but was surprised the students stormed the court after the game.
“The (daddy’s boy chant) was cute,” Baron said. “I was surprised they stormed the court. Come on, it’s Canisius. Do it for VCU or something. But Canisius? This early in the season? But it’s the excitement I guess, it’s exciting.”
Baron coached the Bonnies from 1992-2001, leading the team to an NCAA Tournament appearance in 2000. He also played for the Bonnies and helped the team capture it’s first and only NIT Championship in 1977. Baron raised his son Billy in Olean while he coached at St. Bonaventure. This experience prepared Baron to enjoy Saturday’s hostile environment.
“It’s fun, I think. It’s awesome,” Baron said. “Some of things they were saying were ridiculous, but I love that. That’s the tradition they have here and I saw that for so many years. The place was really rockin.’”
The Reilly Center was packed – with attendance reaching 4,568 – and loud. The game went St. Bonaventure’s way almost right away. Less than a minute into the game, junior guard Jordan Gathers stole the ball and tossed an outlet pass to senior guard Matt Wright. Wright pulled up from a three-pointer and missed, allowing junior center Youssou Ndoye to fly over two Canisius defenders and slam the ball in. Seconds later Wright caught and outlet pass and slammed home two points of his own. Head Coach Mark Schmidt was pleased with the way his team set the tone early.
“We did a good job of coming out of the gate quickly,” Schmidt said. “That’s something that we want to do…We came out really ready to play.”
Ndoye seemed to be all over the court Saturday night. He was a nuisance on the defensive end, blocking or altering multiple shots and passes. He also grabbed 10 rebounds, scored 13 points and even hit a mid-range jump shot. Although Baron finished the game with a team-high 23 points, he said he had some trouble playing against Ndoye.
“He’s deceptive,” Baron said. “Even though he’s big, he’s quick. He can move, and he’s got a long wingspan.”
Wright led the Bonnies scoring attack Saturday with 27 points on 10-14 shooting. The Toronto native said the new rules preventing hand checks have made it easy for him to get to the rim and score.
“This year, with the new rules, it really favors the offensive player,” Wright said. “They want scoring to be up so you have to take advantage of that. I just tried to be aggressive and get to the free-throw line.”
St. Bonaventure defeated Canisius at nearly every facet of the game Saturday. The Bonnies won the rebounding battle, 44-25, and dished out 15 assists to the Golden Griffs eight. However, Schmidt thought the Bonnies greatest advantage was athleticism which is why the team played such an up-tempo game.
“We thought we had better athletes, quicker athletes,” Schmidt said. “Not only can our guards run but, our big guys, especially Youssou, can get up the court. That’s the style we want to play.”
Tuesday, the Bonnies will hit the road for the first time this season to take on Siena at 7 p.m.
