By CHUCKIE MAGGIO
Enough coaches have seen the fadeaway by now. Enough coaches have watched their team play 20 or more seconds of textbook defense, only to lose the bounciest player on the court and allow an alley-oop.
Jalen Adaway has shown the Atlantic 10 enough to be voted to the top all-conference team when the league’s 14 head coaches vote on awards at the conclusion of the regular season. His importance to the St. Bonaventure Bonnies was evident the moment he became eligible to play and helped elevate them from a fifth-place team to league champions. Now his numbers are bearing it out, as well.
Adaway, who scored 23 points in Bona’s win over Rhode Island, is one of eight A-10 players averaging at least 16 points per game. Of the eight, he has attempted the fewest free throws, and only Josh Oduro has a better shooting percentage.
Adaway is one of three A-10 players, along with Davidson guard Foster Loyer and La Salle big man Clifton Moore, who have scored at least 10 points in each league game. He has registered 20-point performances against two of the other three teams in the top four of the league standings. First team contenders Tyler Burton, Hyunjung Lee and Josh Oduro are the only other A-10 players with at least 16 points, six rebounds and a 57 percent true shooting percentage or better.
The rebounding impressed Bona head coach Mark Schmidt most on Tuesday. Adaway has grabbed six rebounds in each of the last three outings and is second on the team only to Osun Osunniyi in rebounding percentage.
“The thing I was proud about him (Tuesday), he was really rebounding on the defensive end,” Schmidt remarked. “He was getting up and getting those rebounds against those athletic guys. He’s played really well and he can score, and when he’s rebounding he’s that much better.”
Bona is not guaranteed a first team honoree by finishing top four, and Kyle Lofton may still have the best claim to making the list. Lofton, after all, was on the preseason first team and is second in the league in assists during conference play.
This is not to mention that Adaway’s season is being compared to Dion Wright’s 2014-15 and 2015-16 seasons. Wright averaged 16.7 points and 9.1 rebounds his senior year, yet was left off the three all-conference teams altogether.
But the Bonnies have, by all accounts, played with more tenacity over the last two weeks. And Adaway, equipped with a snarl for most of Tuesday’s contest, has been an emotional leader. He has also been markedly consistent, averaging the most points on the team in both wins and losses and ranking 36th nationally in lowest turnover percentage despite playing 37.5 minutes a night.
“I think we’ve just been playing with a little more passion,” Adaway remarked. “I think we kind of woke up and we realized like, ‘Look, this is it.’ And we’re just trying to leave it all out there. We don’t wanna go out with any regrets.”
The Bonnies haven’t regretted welcoming Adaway in August 2019. He has become their steadying force offensively, a tough shot maker and big shot taker. If he’s not an All-Atlantic 10 First Team member, he’s currently no lower than second.
Great coverage!!