Photo: St. Bonaventure Athletics
BY: KYLE MAIER, SPORTS EDITOR
Shooting an alarming 19% from behind the arc, the St. Bonaventure men’s basketball team has made only 10 of 46 3-point attempts in its first two games.
In its exhibition match against Alfred on Oct. 30, the Bonnies went 3-17 from deep, not hitting a 3-pointer in the entire first half.
Fast forward to SBU’s season opener, Bonas shot 32 threes against California State University, Northridge, making seven at a 21.9% clip.
Following the victory against CSUN, head coach Mark Schmidt acknowledged the team’s need to improve its shooting in the young season post-game Monday.
“32 threes is way too much,” said Schmidt. “If you do that, you have to make double digits. It’s something we have to improve on. It’s our first game. We’ll get better.”
Now, after watching Monday’s game film, Schmidt is content with his team’s shot selection from behind the arc despite their poor shooting thus far, he said in a Zoom call today.
“I thought we had really good looks,” said Schmidt. “We’ve created good opportunities for ourselves. We didn’t have too many forced shots. As the season goes on we’ll start making those shots.”
Last season, Bonaventure never exceeded 31 3-point attempts in a game and only put up over 30 shots from behind the arc twice.
Yes, comparing a current roster of 10 newcomers to last season’s 20-win squad may seem foolish; however, many of the current key pieces of Schmidt’s roster have yet to prove themselves as efficient shooters at the collegiate level.
Simply look at Bonaventure’s starting five to open the season.
Against the Matadors, Schmidt started junior guard Dasonte Bowen, senior guard Melvin Council Jr. and Chance Moore, junior forward Jones and graduate center Noel Brown.
In his two previous seasons at Iowa University, Bowen shot 29% from three. Moore hit only 31% 3-point attempts in his two years at Missouri State University. And Council, in his lone Division I season at Wagner College last year, only converted 26% of his deep balls.
Those shooting splits carried over for the upperclassmen in their official Bonaventure debuts. From behind the arc, Bowen went 0-3, Council 1-7 and Moore 2-7.
However, while the Bonnies have mightily struggled to can threes, they’ve excelled in using their length on both sides of the ball.
Moore, at 6’6, finished with 18 points, nine rebounds and two steals against CSUN. Council, who’s 6’4, scored nine points, snagged six rebounds, swiped three steals and had a block for the Bonnies.
Brown and redshirt junior center Michael Folarin, both listed at 6 ’11, made their presence known in the paint. The duo combined for 11 boards. Folarin also recorded 3 swats.
As a team, Bonaventure used its wingspans to clog passing lanes, forcing 21 turnovers and scoring 18 fastbreak points against the Matadors.
Schmidt said his team’s athleticism and length can make up for lack of shooting.
“We’re not a great half-court offense right now,” said Schmidt on Monday. “We don’t have one guy who can hit eight, nine threes. Our athleticism and length really benefit us.”
Although the shots aren’t falling, SBU’s wings are attacking the rim. Through two games, Council scored 12 of his 19 points off layups. Bowen, on Monday, drew 7 fouls while penetrating CSUN’s defense, going 9-13 from the charity stripe.
Offensively, Bonaventure will combat its shooting struggles with a fast-paced scheme, said Schmidt.
“We have some guys who aren’t very good shooters,” said Schmidt on Monday. “They have to catch the ball and go downhill.”
Heading into a rivalry matchup against Canisius University tomorrow, Schmidt said the Bonnies will attack the Griffins with speed.
“We got to get out on the break,” said Schmidt today. “We got to play a fast-paced style. This year’s a little different; we really have to push the pace.”
Despite two straight victories, a major question looms over this team: how long can fast-break rim running cover up nonexistent three-point shooting?
maierkj22@bonaventure.edu
