By CHUCKIE MAGGIO
Osun Osunniyi, Kyle Lofton and Dominick Welch are finally upperclassmen, though they’ve been treated as such since, approximately, the day the Bonnies took Dayton to double-overtime on Jan. 19, 2019.
A regular starter once conference play started that rookie year, Osunniyi never needed to be mentored much. He was recruited not to back up Amadi Ikpeze but to be the program’s best big man since Andrew Nicholson, the lofty standards befitting a prospect with Georgetown and Syracuse offers.
The Bonnies, with Osunniyi available, are a formidable 36-22 over the last two seasons. They have, however, been bereft of the 6-foot-10 defensive anchor more than they expected. He’s missed seven games with injuries, played less than half the game on nine occasions and fouled out eight times.
Osunniyi, when he’s on the floor, is a league Defensive Player of the Year front-runner who also scored three more points a contest and shot four percent better from the field last season than he did as a freshman.
His status as arguably the Most Valuable Bonnie (or at least 1b to Kyle Lofton’s 1a) was established through his absence, specifically during rivalry losses to Siena and Canisius and consecutive road drubbings at the hands of VCU and Dayton. But the need for a suitable reserve, especially after Ikpeze’s graduation, was a clear offseason priority.
Enter Jalen Shaw, who also stands 6-foot-10 and was one of junior college’s top bigs in 2019-20. Shaw, who grew up 45 minutes outside of Chicago, averaged 10.9 points, 6.9 rebounds and two blocks a game at Triton College, helping the Trojans to a 56-11 overall record and two Region IV championship appearances.
Trojans coach Steve Christiansen said in April that the Bonnies can expect “a skilled, natural back-to-the-basket post player who is an excellent passer.” Osunniyi averaged 30 minutes a game last year, so Bona is hoping Shaw can adequately spell him for-at least-around 10 minutes a night.
Osunniyi thinks Shaw has promise in Bonaventure’s rotation.
“First impressions is a guy coming in ready to work,” Osunniyi remarked. “I’ve been trying to just keep him in it and kind of lead him so he sees how I move and how I work so he can not be so far behind.
“I think he’ll be a really big piece for us and help us out a lot just in case I get into foul trouble, just me teaching him and him learning the plays to come in and be a spark and help us.”
SBU has just three players taller than 6-foot-5, with 6-foot-8 sophomore Justin Winston serving as the unorthodox “five” when the Bonnies go small. Schmidt and Shaw would surely prefer any small-ball moves to be purely strategy-based, not indicative of his performance in his first year as a Bonnie.
“I would say I’m a post playmaker,” Shaw, who participated in the 2017 National Basketball Players Association Top 100 camp before going the JUCO route, said after committing. “I can post up and make moves from all around the key. I can also rebound and playmake.”
Bonaventure’s backup centers have scored double-figure points three times since 2010: Youssou Ndoye on Dec. 15 and 19, 2012 and Amadi Ikpeze against Vermont in Dec. 2017. Three of them (Ikpeze, Ndoye and Chinonso Obokoh) have blocked multiple shots in a game, while Ndoye and Ikpeze each came a rebound away from double-digit board games in 2012 and 2017, respectively.
The Bonnies would love for Shaw to back up Osunniyi like Ndoye backed up Nicholson. That performance, in part, led to an NCAA Tournament trip.
“He is not only is a strong scorer on the low post, but has good agility that will serve him well at the Atlantic 10 level,” Schmidt said in the press release announcing Shaw’s signing. “He’s an outstanding shot blocker and passer and will also bring an ability to run the floor that will present challenges for opponents on both ends of the court.”
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