Courtesy of GoBonnies.com
ST. BONAVENTURE, N.Y. – The St. Bonaventure men’s basketball 2023-24 roster received a huge addition Monday with the signing of transfer guard Charles Pride, a 1,500-point scorer at the Division I level who will add a veteran scoring presence to the Bonnies lineup. He will arrive at St. Bonaventure as a graduate transfer with one year of eligibility remaining.
“We are thrilled to add Charles to the Bonnies family! Charles is an athletic, scoring guard. He is a proven player, someone who has scored over 1,500 points in his career so far,” St. Bonaventure head coach Mark Schmidt said. “He will fit really well into our ball screen, motion offense. Charles can also influence the game on the glass from the guard position. We expect him to make an immediate impact when the ball tips in November. We’re excited to welcome Charles and his family to St. Bonaventure.”
The 6-foot-4 wing tallied 1,528 points (13.6 ppg) and 750 rebounds (6.7 rpg) in 112 career games including 97 starts at Bryant the past four seasons. He finished his Bryant career ranking fourth in program history for scoring and second in rebounding while also standing sixth in assists (250) and as the Bulldogs all-time leader in career steals (144).
He was named America East Second Team this past year after averaging 14.6 ppg, 6.1 rpg, 2.4 apg, 1.3 spg while also leading all conference players by shooting 84.8 percent at the foul stripe. He converted over 45 percent of his field goal attempts including a 37 percent success rate from beyond the 3-point line (54-146). He drained 170 3-pointers over the past four seasons with 113 makes in the past two years alone. Pride is one of just two Bryant players to tally over 1,000 points and 500 rebounds and is the only player in program history to register those numbers along with over 200 career assists.
The Syracuse native entered the 2022-23 season on the Jerry West Award Watch List as one of the nation’s top 20 shooting guards. He was also selected to the Lou Henson Award Watch List given annually to the top mid-major player in college basketball.
Pride was one of the nation’s top performers during his junior year, averaging 17.7 points and 8.6 rebounds per game as he was named First Team All-Northeast Conference as well as NABC and USBWA All-District. He posted 10 double-doubles and 11 20-point games while also setting a Bryant record with 44 points in a win over Saint Francis (PA). He helped the Bulldogs to their first NCAA Tournament appearance in 2021-22.
He also averaged 13.7 points and 7.0 rebounds as a sophomore while shooting better than 49 percent from the floor. He capped the season with a selection to the NEC All-Tournament Team after scoring a school postseason record of 33 points in the NEC Championship Game. As a freshman, he was named the NEC Rookie of the Week four times while posting 8.2 points and 5.0 rebounds.
Prior to his collegiate career, he played a postgraduate season at Putnam Science Academy where he helped the Mustangs advance to the semifinals of the national tournament and was the Defensive Player of the Year. In high school ball, he helped Liverpool (N.Y.) High to a Class AA state championship in 2018.
After entering the transfer portal this spring, Pride immediately garnered the attention of high major programs, selecting Bonaventure over interest from the likes of Providence, Minnesota, Penn State, Florida and others.
The Bonnies plan on returning their top six scorers from this past season. Pride joins transfer center Noel Brown and incoming freshman guard Miles Rose (bishop Kearney) as three newcomers committed to the program for this upcoming season.
Leave a Reply