By Tyler Smith, Sports Editor
A magical season, one that resulted in Atlantic-10 regular season and tournament titles, ended in a disappointing loss in the NCAA tournament round of 64.
For the majority of college basketball programs, especially mid-majors, those results would be things to cherish and revel in for the foreseeable future.
Bona faithful will never forget the 2020-2021 season, but the Bonnies — and the media — have even more success in mind for 2021-2022.
Outside of USA Today, most sports media outlets have ranked the St. Bonaventure Bonnies in the top 25 in their “way too early” preseason polls.
ESPN gave the Bonnies their highest ranking, 15th in the nation. Stadium’s Jeff Goodman and CBS Sports’ Jon Rothstein closely followed with a #16 ranking. 24/7 Sports put the Bonnies one spot later at #17. CBS Sports, The Washington Post and The Athletic each slated the Bonnies 19th nationally. Sporting News and Sports Illustrated also had the Bonnies between #20 and #25.
The main reasoning behind these historic rankings seems clear. The Bonnies return an entire starting five of seniors that made the aforementioned run to March Madness. All five starters averaged double figures in scoring. Each member of the so-called “Ironman Five” played over 32 minutes per game, all while anchoring the best defense in the conference.
The Bonnies had one of the lowest bench usage rates in the country last season. That group of reserves flooded the transfer portal in the weeks following the tournament loss.
Alejandro Vasquez, Jalen Shaw, Eddie Creal, Alpha Okoli and preferred walk-on Jermaine Taggert have all expressed their desires to play elsewhere. However, that did not stop Mark Schmidt and co. from embarking on an efficient recruiting season.
Headlining the group of incoming transfers are former Wake Forest guard Quadry Adams and former Pittsburgh forward Karim Couibaly. Both have multiple years of eligibility left following the 2021-2022 season.
Also added to the roster were Oluwasegun Durosinmi, a 6-foot 9-inch junior college transfer from Harcum College, and Justin Ndjock-Tadjore, a freshman swingman from Canada.
The Bonnies can only expand on their defensive progress with the additions they’ve made. The newcomers, if nothing else, can provide length and feed off the starting five’s hunger on the defensive end.
Not only does Bonaventure bring back an entire starting five that built elite team chemistry, but a familiar “Xfactor” to the Bonnies’ history of success returns as well: fans in the Reilly Center. A (hopefully) packed Reilly Center can only improve the home-court advantage that helped the Bonnies to an 8-1 record at home last season.
While the Bonnies have to feel good about the praise they’ve received from the media, Schmidt has always been one to pay more attention to the game plan and less to press hype.
Bonaventure men’s basketball has not been listed on an AP top 25 poll since the 1970-1971 season. That team was ranked 20th in the preseason poll.
The 2021-2022 Bonaventure Bonnies have a very good chance to not only break that coldspell, but also end up higher in the preseason national rankings than the ‘71 squad.
The Bonnies also have a chance early to improve whatever ranking they receive if they can pick up wins in the Charleston Classic, one of the Thanksgiving-week invitationals featuring top schools in college hoops. The field consists of West Virginia, Ole Miss, Clemson, Marquette, Temple, Boise State and Elon. The tournament presents an opportunity to score potential “Quad-1” wins that would boost an NCAA tournament resume if the Bonnies do not repeat as Atlantic-10 tournament champions.
One thing is clear. This upcoming season is the most anticipated one in the 64-team-tournament era. The Bonnies are ready. The fans are more than ready. The Reilly Center is most definitely ready.
smithtj19@bonaventure.edu
