logo
Weather page
GET THE APP
ePaper
google_play
app_store
  • Login
  • E-Edition
  • News
  • Sports
  • Obituaries
  • Opinion
  • Classifieds
    • Place an Ad
    • All Listings
    • Jobs
  • Special Sections
  • Photo Gallery
  • Contests
  • Lifestyle/Entertainment
  • Games
    • News
      • Local News
      • PA State News
      • Nation/World
    • Sports
      • Local
      • College Sports
      • State
      • National
    • Obituaries
    • Opinion
      • News
        • Local News
        • PA State News
        • Nation/World
      • Sports
        • Local
        • College Sports
        • State
        • National
      • Obituaries
      • Opinion
    logo
    • Classifieds
      • Place an Ad
      • All Listings
      • Jobs
    • E-Edition
    • Subscribe
    • Login
      • Classifieds
        • Place an Ad
        • All Listings
        • Jobs
      • E-Edition
      • Subscribe
      • Login
    Home Sports Pick your Bona starting five from these legends
    Pick your Bona starting five from these legends
    Basketball, College Sports, Columns, Local Sports, Sports
    J.P. BUTLER Special to the Era  
    April 10, 2020

    Pick your Bona starting five from these legends

    ST. BONAVENTURE, N.Y. — The original story, one of my first on the beat, ran way back in August of 2008, and a revised version appeared seven years later.

    My intention was to ease into the new role with something fun. And so, I came up with what I described as my “All-St. Bonaventure Basketball Teams,” a collection that came with one stipulation: The selections went back only as far as 1993-94, the first year I began attending games on a regular basis.

    Since then, this space has been used to put a Bona spin on a handful of offbeat sports themes, which generally come to light in the offseason, during the dog days of summer or, in this case, a complete sports standstill caused by a global pandemic.

    I’ve presented, and then updated, my All-Bona Teams.

    We’ve asked who would be on your Mount Rushmore for Bona basketball.

    We’ve introduced the idea of a G.O.A.T (Greatest Of All Time), though with Bona, there’s no real debate as to who that player is.

    Last summer, the program itself undertook a massive project, combining a fan vote with a four-person panel to come up with Bona’s 20-player All-Time Team in conjunction with its centennial season celebration.

    And from that comes the next task for Bonnies fans, a commonly-used national sports query that we’ll serve up with a Bona twist:

    You’re given $15 as a kind of salary cap. Choose your preferred “starting five” from the following list of 25 players (the 20 from the All-Time Team, plus five who just missed the cut) and their adjoining dollar values.

    $5: Bob Lanier, Andrew Nicholson, Tom Stith, Jaylen Adams, Greg Sanders

    $4: J.R. Bremer, Fred Crawford, Essie Hollis, Earl Belcher, David Vanterpool

    $3: Sam Stith, Glenn Hagan, Marques Green, Tim Winn, Bill Butler

    $2: Mark Jones, George Carter, Bill Kalbaugh, Glenn Price, Matt Gantt

    $1: Matt Mobley, Marcus Posley, Courtney Stockard, Jim Baron, Rocky Llewellyn

    Aside from the universal $15 challenge, which has been applied to any number of sports and specific teams over the years, the idea for this particular question stemmed from a recent tweet from the official Bona basketball account.

    It put up a list of 30 players, with the following charge: “One game you must win. Pick your lineup from these St. Bonaventure basketball legends (and for good measure, why not throw in your 6th man, too).

    “Who ya got?”

    The question received a couple dozen responses and featured an array of choices, with most people seemingly being partial to players from their “generation.” Among those to respond was alumnus and esteemed New York Post columnist Mike Vaccaro, who went with the following lineup: Adams, Vanterpool, Lanier, Tom Stith and Fred Crawford, with Sanders and Posley as his sixth and seventh man, respectively.

    As far as the $15 challenge goes, for my money, I’d probably go with the following group of five: Lanier, Hollis, Green, Price and Posley. That way, I’d have all my bases covered: a dominant big man, a high-scoring forward, a tremendous point guard, one of the program’s top rebounders and a guard who not only filled it up on a regular basis, but was one of the most clutch players in Bona history.

    And since we’ve already brought it up, and a few more all-time-caliber players have passed through since its last update in 2015, why not use this opportunity to create a third iteration of my “All-Bona Basketball Teams”?

    (With this list going back to 1994, it essentially doubles as the First, Second and Third Bona teams from the last 25 years). Here’s how I would vote on those teams.

    How would your list look?

    FIRST TEAM

    G — Jaylen Adams

    G — Marques Green

    G — J.R. Bremer

    F — Andrew Nicholson

    F — Harry Moore

    SECOND TEAM

    G — Marcus Posley

    G — Matt Mobley

    G — David Vanterpool

    F — Courtney Stockard

    F — Dion Wright

    THIRD TEAM

    G — Tim Winn

    G — Kevin Houston

    G — Rashaan Palmer

    F — Demitrius Conger

    F — Caswell Cyrus

    First Five Out: Shandue McNeill, Ahmad Smith, Michael Lee, Youssou Ndoye, Peter Van Paassen.

    Next Five Out: Patricio Prato, David “Messiah” Capers, Matthew Wright, Jonathan Hall, Nii Nelson-Richards.

    Also Considered: Mike Gansey, Garland Mance, Denzel Gregg, Chris Matthews, Charlon Kloof.

    (J.P. Butler, Bradford Publishing Company group sports editor, can be reached at jbutler@oleantimesherald.com)

    Tags:

    basketball bona lineup marcus posley mike vaccaro player sport team tom stith

    The Bradford Era

    Local & Social
    Latest news for you
    Pa. charter school CEOs earn more money than superintendents and oversee fewer students
    PA State News
    Pa. charter school CEOs earn more money than superintendents and oversee fewer students
    By OLIVER MORRISON  pennlive.com 
    June 15, 2025
    HARRISBURG (TNS) — Brad Hatch grew up near Altoona and started his career as a teacher in the local school district, working his way up to assistant p...
    Read More...
    Pa. is supposed to ‘immediately’ suspend teachers charged with serious crimes. That doesn’t always happen.
    PA State News
    Pa. is supposed to ‘immediately’ suspend teachers charged with serious crimes. That doesn’t always happen.
    June 14, 2025
    PHILADELPHIA (TNS)— For months after he was arrested in March 2024 on charges of masturbating in a Montgomery County cemetery, Matthew Gagat continued...
    Read More...
    No Kings rally in Veterans Square
    Local News, Nation & World
    No Kings rally in Veterans Square
    By SAVANNAH BARR s.barr@bradfordera.com 
    June 14, 2025
    Veterans Square was packed Saturday afternoon as residents came together to express their discontent with the current administration during the local ...
    Read More...
    {"newsletter-daily-headlines":"Daily Headlines", "newsletters":"Newsletters", "to-print":"To print", "bradfordera-website":"Website"}
    Advocates, lawmakers push to limit solitary confinement in Pa. prisons
    Advocates, lawmakers push to limit solitary confinement in Pa. prisons
    June 14, 2025
    HARRISBURG (TNS) — Reform advocates are making another push to limit the use of solitary confinement in Pennsylvania prisons and jails, a long-running...
    Read More...
    {"bradfordera-website":"Website"}
    Varischetti Game to Showcase Local Players June 27
    Local Sports
    Varischetti Game to Showcase Local Players June 27
    Jo Wankel 
    June 14, 2025
    BROCKWAY - The 10th Annual Frank Varischetti All-Star Football game is slated for the end of the month, and several area players were recognized for t...
    Read More...
    State tourism officials: In 2026, Pa. will be the ‘epicenter of the sports world’
    Local Sports, Sports
    State tourism officials: In 2026, Pa. will be the ‘epicenter of the sports world’
    Jo Wankel 
    June 14, 2025
    (TNS) —As golfers teed off during opening day of this year's 125th U.S. Open Championship, state officials inside of a tent overlooking the course's 1...
    Read More...
    ePaper
    google_play
    app_store
    This Week's Ads
    Current e-Edition
    ePaper
    google_play
    app_store
    Already a subscriber? Click the image to view the latest e-edition.
    Don't have a subscription? Click here to see our subscription options.
    Mobile App

    Download Now

    The Bradford Era mobile app brings you the latest local breaking news, updates, and more. Read the Bradford Era on your mobile device just as it appears in print.

    ePaper
    google_play
    app_store
    Trending Recipes

    Help Our Community

    Please help local businesses by taking an online survey to help us navigate through these unprecedented times. None of the responses will be shared or used for any other purpose except to better serve our community. The survey is at: www.pulsepoll.com $1,000 is being awarded. Everyone completing the survey will be able to enter a contest to Win as our way of saying, "Thank You" for your time. Thank You!

    Get in touch with The Bradford Era
    Submit Content
    • Submit News
    • Letter to the Editor
    • Place Wedding Announcement
      • Submit News
      • Letter to the Editor
      • Place Wedding Announcement
    Advertise
    • Place Birth Announcement
    • Place Anniversary Announcement
    • Place Obituary Call (814) 368-3173
      • Place Birth Announcement
      • Place Anniversary Announcement
      • Place Obituary Call (814) 368-3173
    Subscribe
    • Start a Subscription
    • e-Edition
    • Contact Us
      • Start a Subscription
      • e-Edition
      • Contact Us
    CMG | Community Media Group
    Illinois
    • Hancock Journal-Pilot
    • Iroquois Times-Republic
    • Journal-Republican
    • The News-Gazette
      • Hancock Journal-Pilot
      • Iroquois Times-Republic
      • Journal-Republican
      • The News-Gazette
    Indiana
    • Fountain Co. Neighbor
    • Herald Journal
    • KV Post News
    • Newton Co. Enterprise
    • Rensselaer Republican
    • Review-Republican
      • Fountain Co. Neighbor
      • Herald Journal
      • KV Post News
      • Newton Co. Enterprise
      • Rensselaer Republican
      • Review-Republican
    Iowa
    • Atlantic News Telegraph
    • Audubon Advocate-Journal
    • Barr’s Post Card News
    • Burlington Hawk Eye
    • Collector’s Journal
    • Fayette County Union
    • Ft. Madison Daily Democrat
    • Independence Bulletin-Journal
    • Keokuk Daily Gate City
    • Oelwein Daily Register
    • Vinton Newspapers
    • Waverly Newspapers
      • Atlantic News Telegraph
      • Audubon Advocate-Journal
      • Barr’s Post Card News
      • Burlington Hawk Eye
      • Collector’s Journal
      • Fayette County Union
      • Ft. Madison Daily Democrat
      • Independence Bulletin-Journal
      • Keokuk Daily Gate City
      • Oelwein Daily Register
      • Vinton Newspapers
      • Waverly Newspapers
    Michigan
    • Iosco County News-Herald
    • Ludington Daily News
    • Oceana’s Herald-Journal
    • Oscoda Press
    • White Lake Beacon
      • Iosco County News-Herald
      • Ludington Daily News
      • Oceana’s Herald-Journal
      • Oscoda Press
      • White Lake Beacon
    New York
    • Finger Lakes Times
    • Olean Times Herald
    • Salamanca Press
      • Finger Lakes Times
      • Olean Times Herald
      • Salamanca Press
    Pennsylvania
    • Bradford Era
    • Clearfield Progress
    • Courier Express
    • Free Press Courier
    • Jeffersonian Democrat
    • Leader Vindicator
    • Potter Leader-Enterprise
    • The Wellsboro Gazette
      • Bradford Era
      • Clearfield Progress
      • Courier Express
      • Free Press Courier
      • Jeffersonian Democrat
      • Leader Vindicator
      • Potter Leader-Enterprise
      • The Wellsboro Gazette
    © Copyright The Bradford Era 43 Main St, Bradford, PA  | Terms of Use  | Privacy Policy
    Powered by TECNAVIA