By CHUCKIE MAGGIO
Mark Schmidt was listed at 6-foot-2, 180 pounds at Boston College, so he would undoubtedly think twice about dribbling into Osun Osunniyi’s paint if they played in the same era.
“I think (Saint Louis) became tentative,” Schmidt said after St. Bonaventure’s semifinal win. “I would be tentative too if you have a guy there who’s blocking everything.”
Not only does the 6-foot-10 Osunniyi own abounding defensive numbers, he owns his psychological matchup against his opponent as well. He is the best defender on one of the best defensive teams in the country and should be a unanimous Atlantic 10 Defensive Player of the Year when the league announces its awards.
Osunniyi is one of just eight Division I players to have at least 175 rebounds and 50 blocks, reaching those numbers despite playing four to 10 fewer games than his company. He tallied the fourth most blocks in an A-10 Tournament game on Saturday evening, his 38th career game with three or more swats.
If the Pleasantville, N.J. native blocks five VCU field goal attempts on Sunday, which would match his output against the Rams on Feb. 12, he’d tie himself for eighth on the program’s single-season block list.
“‘Shoon, he’s incredible,” Kyle Lofton said Saturday. “I think he has the potential to be a pro right now. What he does for our defense, you can’t even name it. He picks up all our mistakes. He’s a rebounder, a shot-blocker. He just knows the game; he has a great feel for the game. Shot-blocking stuff, I think it’s an art. He has that in him.”
“You guard guys on the perimeter, sometimes I don’t want him to get by me,” Lofton added. “We can pressure now, because we know if somebody does make a move and get by us, we call him our linebacker in the middle. We have him to protect us.”
Sports Reference estimates that Osunniyi’s defense has contributed almost two wins (1.8) to Bona’s 15-4 record, the top defensive win shares mark in the A-10. He has averaged 9.6 rebounds and 3.4 blocks a contest since Jan. 30 against George Mason (10 games) and already has 17 blocks in March.
Even when Osunniyi doesn’t swat a shot, his ability to either alter a field goal try or dissuade opponents from getting to the basket, forcing them to attempt lower-percentage shots, makes him the anchor of Bona’s unit. Teams shot 24 3-pointers a night against Bona in conference play, making just 31.9 percent of them.
“The number (of blocks) doesn’t matter,” Duquesne coach Keith Dambrot said Friday. “It’s how many (shots) he changes and the psychological effect of having him at the rim.”
No Bonnie has been honored with Defensive Player of the Year since the award’s inception in the 1996-97 season. Bona’s center is in line to be the first after averaging more rebounds than the last 10 recipients and sending away more shots than the last eight. He is well-regarded among league coaches and commentators, with a 7-foot-8 wingspan opponents must take into account when compiling their gameplans.
Take Travis Ford and Saint Louis, for example; they knew what they were up against in the semifinal.
“We discussed it on multiple occasions over the last 24 hours, what each of their individuals do,” Ford noted. “And (shot-blocking) was on his resume.
“It doesn’t help your confidence, probably. It doesn’t help.”
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