By CHUCKIE MAGGIO
You had questions about the St. Bonaventure Bonnies as the 2021-22 season inches closer. I answered some, leaving others to be answered in upcoming articles or in podcast form. This is the September Bonnies Mailbag:
Q: Which game or games are you most looking forward to? And why? (@Bonanation2/Twitter)
If Bona and West Virginia take care of their first two opponents and reach the Charleston Classic title game, Mark Schmidt and Bob Huggins matching coaching wits is the most scintillating storyline of the non-conference schedule.
Huggins, who owns 900 career head coaching wins and a .703 win percentage in 39 years as a head coach, has a résumé befitting induction into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim is the only Naismith Hall of Famer Schmidt has coached against at SBU, so brushes with legends like Huggins do not come often. At its best, WVU’s full-court press is a remarkable challenge for even guards as exceptional as Kyle Lofton.
The finalized matchup I’m most looking forward to is Bona-Connecticut in Newark, with the Virginia Tech game in Charlotte a very close second.
Between Schmidt, Danny Hurley and UConn women’s coach Geno Auriemma, the Never Forget Classic doubleheader at Prudential Center features entertaining bench bosses. The Bonnies and Huskies lineups, however, make this contest so appealing on paper. UConn returns four starters from last season, including point guard RJ Cole and former Rhode Island forward Tyrese Martin. Sophomore big Adama Sanogo, who recorded seven double-doubles last year, is from the same Mali capital as Bona newcomer Abdoul Karim Coulibaly.
Q: Which of the transfers this offseason are you most excited to see play? (@Sean_Lynch_/Twitter)
There are minutes to be earned this year, particularly in the frontcourt. Coulibaly, a Pittsburgh transfer, is a front-runner to back up Osun Osunniyi after starting for the Panthers and shooting over 50 percent (46-of-90) in 2020-21. Anouar Mellouk, an athletic freshman from the Netherlands, has shades of Denzel Gregg in his highlight film.
Linton Brown might be the most interesting transfer, however, because of his reputation as a knockdown shooter. Brown made an astounding 48 percent of his 3-point attempts at Indian River State last year, hitting 24 over a four-game span in March. He expressed his desire to be the “newcomer of the year,” averaging the most points and 3-point tries in the Atlantic 10, when we spoke in May.
If Brown can sink around 40 percent of his 3-point attempts, he can help decide games on a team that does not figure to need much assistance in that regard. His potential to carve a niche as the “instant offense” off Schmidt’s bench makes him intriguing.
Q: Adaway at the 4 is a great matchup because he can play on both the perimeter and on the inside. However, I feel like if we face some big time programs there may be times we need to go big. Do you think Schmidt will be confident enough to go to a bigger lineup if needed, or will he live and die with the small ball lineup? (Question sent via Twitter DM)
The merits of employing a “big” lineup are dependent on the personnel, so pairing another 6-foot-8, 6-foot-9 threat with Osunniyi only works if at least one of the three- Coulibaly, Mellouk, Oluwasegun Duosinmi- quickly picks up Schmidt’s playbook. Adaway is well-versed, as evidenced by his ability to find wide-open scoring opportunities.
Schmidt, I presume, will lean on the side of trusting his defense, anchored by the A-10 Defensive Player of the Year, to achieve stops in high-leverage situations. But as the imposing LSU Tigers showed, it’s advantageous to have the personnel to measure up to a bigger power-conference opponent.
Q: Likelihood of any seniors returning? (@CAVU33/Twitter)
Richmond was an anomaly; the Bonnies will not return their entire core in the dramatic span of a week, with social media cries to “run it back” due to “unfinished business.” That mentality applies to teams who either haven’t realized their potential of reaching the NCAA Tournament or players who suffered serious injuries that sidelined them for the majority of a season, among other circumstances.
Each of SBU’s five seniors will have a professional basketball offer at the end of the season that will be difficult to decline, especially if the Bonnies make March Madness and play on a national stage again. This is, in all likelihood, the last go-around for the “Ironman Five.”
Leave a Reply