St. Bonaventure Bonnies
2015-2016 Overall Rank: #83
Conference Rank: #7 Atlantic 10
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St. Bonaventure was a surprise team in the A-10 last year, finishing tied for sixth with a 10-8 conference record. Overall, the Bonnies won 18 games. Even though he barely has a winning record at St. Bonaventure, the program is lucky to have Coach Mark Schmidt sticking around. Depth may be an issue for the Bonnies this year, but the team has the talent to compete with just about anybody in the A-10. Marcus Posley emerged as one of the best scorers in the conference in his first year with the Bonnies out of the junior college ranks. He averaged 16.7 points per game and was one of a few shooting threats on the team. Posley will again be the leader, but he will need some help.
2014-15 Record: 18-13, 10-8
2014-15 Postseason: none
Coach: Mark Schmidt
Coach Record: 124-123 at St. Bonaventure, 206-213 overall
Who’s Out:
The most notable absence will be that of seven-footer Youssou Ndoye. During his senior season, Ndoye averaged 11.8 points, 10.1 rebounds and 2.6 blocks. That is a lot of production to replace and massive presence that cannot be replaced. Ndoye was also on the floor a lot. He averaged nearly 32 minutes per game and that is impressive for a seven-footer. Fellow big man Chris Dees has also run out of eligibility after averaging 1.1 point and 2.0 rebounds during his senior season. The only other senior on the roster last season was Andell Cumberbatch. The 6-4 guard shot a team high 36.2 percent from beyond the arc and averaged 10.1 points per game. Iakeem Alston, Jalen Adams and Xavier Smith have all opted to transfer. Alston, who spent just one year at St. Bonaventure, was supposed to be a major contributor, but averaged just 10.6 minutes per game.
Who’s In:
Versatile wing Courtney Stockard should step right into a major role for Coach Schmidt. His time at the junior college level gives St. Bonaventure some much needed experience out of this class. Stockard is 6-5 and can shoot like a guard and rebound like a forward. At Allen Community College in Kansas last season he averaged 23.2 points and 9.0 rebounds. Four incoming freshmen will need to at least provide some depth this year too. Nelson Kaputo is a pure point guard with Canadian national team experience. He will likely step right into the backup point guard spot. LaDarien Griffin, Derrick Woods and Jordan Tyson will do what they can to help replace Ndoye. Griffin is more of a combo forward who will get up the down the floor in a hurry. Woods is another long and athletic forward. Unlike Griffin, Woods will spend most of his time at the power forward spot. Tyson, at 6-10 and 225 pounds, has the most potential to make a Ndoye-like impact. He redshirted last season and is getting closer to being ready to contribute major minutes.
Who to Watch:
The experienced options in the frontcourt are pretty good too. Dion Wright proved to be an efficient and effective forward during his junior year. He averaged 13.5 points, 7.0 rebounds and shot 54.2 percent from the floor. At 6-7 and 220 pounds, Wright certainly is not as imposing as Ndoye, but he is a good interior scorer and a very tough rebounder. Not having Ndoye by his side will have the opposing defense focusing more on Wright, yet he is capable of beating double teams. Denzel Gregg can take advantage of the attention given to Wright. Gregg, a 6-7 junior, was often the first player off of the bench last year and averaged 3.7 points and 3.2 rebounds. Gregg is more of a wing than a forward, but he is big enough and strong enough to play the four spot if Coach Schmidt needs to play a smaller lineup.
Final Projection:
While the development of the frontcourt could be the main factor in determining the success or failure of this year’s team, Jaylen Adams is the most important player. The point guard had a superb freshman campaign, but missed the last nine games of the season with an injury. Adams came into the program as a pass first point guard, but he ended up averaging 10.0 points and 4.5 assists. Most impressively, Adams only committed 2.0 turnovers per game. That is an impressive ratio for a freshman. Adams is enough of a shooter to keep the opposition honest, but this team needs more shooters. Idris Taqqee probably will not be that shooter, although he should see some minutes on the wing after an inconsistent freshman campaign. With a healthy Adams and some quality depth provided by the newcomers, St. Bonaventure will be pushing for 20 wins.
Projected Postseason Tournament: NIT
Projected Starting Five:
Jaylen Adams, Sophomore, Guard, 10.0 points per game
Marcus Posley, Senior, Guard, 16.7 points per game
Courtney Stockard, Junior, Forward, DNP last season
Denzel Gregg, Junior, Forward, 3.7 points per game
Dion Wright, Senior, Forward, 13.5 points per game
By the Numbers:
Scoring Offense: 67.3 (178th in nation, 7th in conference)
Scoring Defense: 64.7 (129, 7)
Field-Goal Percentage: 42.5 (220, 9)
Field-Goal Defense: 42.2 (125, 6)
Three-Point Field Goals Per Game: 5.1 (288, 10)
Three-Point Field-Goal Percentage: 31.4 (288, 10)
Free-Throw Percentage: 70.6 (117, 2)
Rebound Margin: 4.0 (54, 1)
Assists Per Game: 12.4 (186, 10)
Turnovers Per Game: 12.4 (160, 7)
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