By CHUCKIE MAGGIO
Osun Osunniyi had a text message waiting for him in the locker room when he finished signing autographs after Friday’s Senior Night victory over Richmond.
Caswell Cyrus, whose program career blocks record Osunniyi broke with 13:17 remaining in the second half, wanted to send his congratulations.
“I just told him congrats and he deserves to be holding this record,” Cyrus said on Saturday. “I love watching him play because it brought back a lot of good memories from when I was playing.”
The similarities between the two shot-swatters are not limited to the record Cyrus held for over 23 years. Cyrus and Osunniyi have each donned the No. 21 uniform. They each garnered interest from power-conference schools before choosing Bona; Cyrus visited Duke and Villanova and Osunniyi fielded offers from Georgetown and Syracuse.
The big men resolutely pursued the record, beginning as freshmen. Cyrus blocked 12 shots in his first 37 collegiate minutes, sending back seven in his debut alone. Osunniyi recorded 92 rejections in 34 games his first year, posting his first seven-block performance in his second career game.
Bona’s performance noticeably dipped when each rim protector wasn’t healthy. The Bonnies are 1-8 without Osunniyi over the last four seasons. Cyrus dealt with foot and ankle injuries during his career and also battled the flu during the 2000 A-10 title game against Temple, missing five of his six shots as John Chaney’s Owls outrebounded Bonaventure by 15 and led 37-12 at halftime.
SBU opponents averaged 4.5 fewer points a game when Cyrus became a regular starter as a sophomore and produced seven fewer points a game from 2017-18 to Osunniyi’s freshman year in 2018-19.
Cyrus made it known he wanted to lead the nation in blocks and finished as high as fifth as a sophomore in 1997-98. His victims weren’t limited to collegiate players that year, either; he blocked six shots when Inter Bratislava Slovakia, a Slovak professional team, visited the Reilly Center for an exhibition game that November. He made defense cool in the southern tier, propeling fans to their feet when he checked into games off the bench in ‘96-’97.
Osunniyi made it known how fiercely he desired Cyrus’s record, COVID-impacted seasons and injuries be damned, when he posted the countdown to Twitter after a few games in January. He averaged more than three blocks an outing over his last eight appearances to reach the magic 290 mark in the Reilly Center, on his Senior Night.
Cyrus’s record-breaking moment on Nov. 21, 1998 arrived with less fanfare, as St. Bonaventure lost to Canisius at the Reilly Center. Whether Eric Stover reached out to pass the torch is unknown. There was no mention of the milestone in The Buffalo News or The BonaVenture game stories. That accomplishment, along with Kyle Lofton’s single-game assists record, garnered much more visibility in 2022.
The new and old record-holder are nonetheless proud of the standard they’ve set and grateful for the new bond that developed because of the statistic. Osunniyi said Friday he would be sure to respond to Cyrus’s text and looked forward to getting to know his predecessor.
“I’m honored and blessed to be able to be No. 1, to pass all those guys before me, all the great Bona legends,” Osunniyi remarked. “For me, I’m just honored and blessed to be No. 1 now.”
“That’s my No. 21 brother,” Cyrus pronounced, “and blocking shots is what we do. Watching the game, I can see how much breaking the record meant to him so I was happy for him.”
Thanks – enjoyed the article. Go Bonnies – I’m class of 1969.