By CHUCKIE MAGGIO
A year ago Wednesday, Linton Brown scored 16 points, including four 3-pointers, while grabbing five rebounds, dishing two assists and swiping two steals in Indian River State College’s 92-75 rout of Daytona State. This Jan. 26, he was away from his teammates, unable to play for St. Bonaventure in a winnable game at George Mason.
Brown has still not been cleared to return from lingering COVID-19 effects. St. Bonaventure’s rotation has thinned in his absence, an average of 13 minutes per game out of the picture. Brown has scored five or more points on four occasions and tallied 10 points in 20 minutes against rival Buffalo, tied for the second-most a Bonnie has scored off the bench this season.
Bona is missing Brown’s spark off the bench, the luxury of being able to substitute a reserve who can contribute 3-point shooting at any moment. The 6-foot-5 Floridian hit his first 3-pointer in the Buffalo contest just nine seconds after he checked in. He also pulled the Bonnies ahead twice in that first half, with a layup and 3-pointer, in their first game without floor general Kyle Lofton.
Quadry Adams is a dynamic defensive player, a hounding presence during his time on the court. Abdoul Karim Coulibaly has shown flashes of offensive stardom, a deft spin move and capable midrange game included.
A potent bench, a difference-making bench, however, requires a microwave. Last year’s Bonnies had one in Alejandro Vasquez, an at-times inconsistent guard who nonetheless hit multiple 3-pointers on four occasions. SBU’s 2017-18 NCAA Tournament team had one in now-Iowa State star Izaiah Brockington, who shot 44 percent from the field and kept Bona’s offense in a difficult TCU Emerald Coast Classic game with 20 points in 23 minutes. Eric Mosley shot 35 percent from long range in a mainly-reserve role for the 2011-12 Atlantic 10 champions.
The after-effects of COVID-19 are certainly nothing to trivialize. Boston Red Sox pitcher Eduardo Rodriguez developed myocarditis, an inflammation of the heart muscles, as a result of the virus and missed the entire 2020 MLB season. Star Clemson football defensive end Justin Foster and WNBA guard Asia Durr missed full seasons with long-haul COVID symptoms. The extent of Brown’s symptoms is unknown, but he did travel with the team to Dayton last week and Bona senior Jaren Holmes shared some perspective on SBU’s return from COVID pause after the team’s victory over VCU.
“First off, I’m just thankful that everybody that was dealing with their situation came out healthy and there’s nothing wrong,” Holmes remarked. “Especially everything going on with this world, families are losing people and I’m glad we didn’t lose one of our family members. I’m glad just to see them back. … It was kind of like a rejuvenation, the first day back at practice, seeing all the faces again.”
Brown’s return to the court will rejuvenate the Bonnies again, whenever it takes place. While Brown has not been as successful from range at the Division I level as he is accustomed to, making just four of his 20 3-point attempts this year after sinking 73 3-pointers at Indian River in 2020-21, the mere threat of a sharpshooter off the bench will make SBU more formidable.
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