When considering St. Bonaventure basketball this season, names such as Marcus Posley and Dion Wright come to mind, but not that of walk-on sophomore guard Quentin Weinerman. But for the smallest, shortest player on the St. Bonaventure roster, the road to Olean has been one filled with highs and lows, great accomplishments and devastating setbacks.
Weinerman grew up in Ventura County, California. He attended Westlake High School, and he played point guard on the school’s team. For Weinerman, however, basketball was not a priority. He never considered playing college basketball until the end of his high school career, when college coaches started recruiting him.
As he began to focus on basketball, Weinerman decided to forego college for a year and attend South Kent School in Connecticut, hoping to improve his skills. South Kent, a prep school, is known for churning out basketball players and has furthered the careers of NBA players Isiah Thomas and Dion Waiters.
At South Kent, Weinerman played well, and Division I coaches started calling. Then, he suffered a concussion, and the course of his playing career changed forever.
“It was going well, and then, just like that, it wasn’t,” Weinerman said.
Suddenly, the calls stopped coming. The coaches lost interest, and the prep school standout became just another kid with a dream. Despite his injury, Weinerman continued to pursue his goals, and when St. Bonaventure offered to let him walk onto the team, he took the opportunity.
“I just wanted to keep on playing,” Weinerman said. “It’s something you have to put behind you and keep moving forward. Sometimes you get a bump in the road, so you have to find a way around it. It wasn’t my first choice, but I’m still going. I’m still reaching dreams”.
But why continue to play, knowing that playing time will be limited or nonexistent?
“Playing time?” Weinerman said. “I’m not really worried about that. I just need to get better right now.”
For Weinerman, being a walk-on is a unique situation. His role on the team is different than that of the scholarship players, and he has to earn everything he receives.
” I’m the point guard for the scout team,” Weinerman said. “I go head to head with the starters every single day. I help them improve, and they help me improve.” They respect you, but it’s not the same. It’s tough, but if you want to keep going, you have to stick with it. You still need to be playing with the best players to make yourself better.”
When his career at St. Bonaventure is over, Weinerman hopes to continue to play competitive basketball. However, he knows that his basketball career will not last forever.
“The most important thing is your degree,” Weinerman, a business management major, said. “I’m figuring out what I want to do with my degree, but I know a business major is a good start.”
As he strives to become the best player he can be, he does so aware that although his future is uncertain, but he knows one thing for sure.
“I want to look back and say ‘Yeah, I did it.”
kibbeei14@bonaventure.edu
