BY TOM SEIPP, EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
For the first time since 1971, the St. Bonaventure Bonnies men’s basketball
team is ranked in the Associated Press College Basketball Top 25, ranked No. 23 in the country.
“What an honor it is to be ranked in the preseason Top 25 for the first time in 50 years,” head coach Mark Schmidt said. “It’s something special to do something that hasn’t been done in 50 years.”
It’s an incredible honor for Schmidt’s program, once that he’s built from the ground up. After winning the Atlantic 10 regular season championship outright and the Atlantic 10 Tournament championship, Schmidt’s group comes in with high expectations.
“There were high expectations last year, maybe not as high as this year,” Schmidt said. “We have five veteran guys, five mature men, that understand that, rankings are great for the media and the alums, but for our team we understand what’s at stake.”
The last time Bonaventure was ranked was in the 1970-71 season. They entered that year ranked No. 20 in the nation, reached as high as No. 10, but fell out in January and never recovered. Fifty years later, they enter the season as No. 23.
“It’s truly an honor to be in this position,” said senior for- ward Jaren Holmes. “It’s a true honor to be considered one of the best teams in the country. We’re going to work hard every day and keep putting our best foot forward.”
There were 63 journalists that submitted their personal AP Top 25 ranking. The Bonnies rankings had a wide range from #11 to not be ranked at all. Nine of the 63 journalists did not rank Bonaventure. Thirty-seven of the 63 ranked them in the No. 22 to No. 25 range. The Bonnies had 15 top-20 votes, reaching as high as No. 11.
“We didn’t expect to be ranked,” Holmes said. “Each and every game we’re going to get everyone’s best shot. We’re going to go out and play basketball… It’s not about the #23 team against whoever, it’s about St. Bonaventure playing basketball with the guys we have out there.”
Out of the 25 schools ranked in this year’s preseason poll, the Bonnies are easily the smallest school.
Bonaventure only has $74.4 million in endowment, ranking last of the ranked teams. They are one spot behind Memphis who is 24th, but they have $220.8 million in endowment, which is al-
most three times Bonaventure’s. In enrollment, Bonaventure has a reported 2,540 students on campus, ranking last out of the 25 teams. They sit one spot behind Villanova, who has an enrollment of 7,037, nearly
three times Bonaventure’s. “It’s pretty amazing when you think about it,” Schmidt said of those numbers. “Where Bonaventure has come to where we are now. I’m proud of that.” In a stretch from 1958 to 1971, the Bonnies were ranked in 10 of 14 seasons. Since then, they haven’t been ranked once. There were multiple times they had received votes, including last year, but they never cracked the Top 25.
The Bonnies open up their season on Nov. 9 against Siena at home.
seipptw19@bonaventure.edu
