He wasn’t made to discuss sky-high expectations, being the unanimous preseason favorite or the massive target on his team’s back.

No, on this day, in this year, Mark Schmidt was able to keep it light.

Oh, the 16th-year St. Bonaventure men’s basketball coach still addressed the uniqueness of constructing an entirely new team for this season. He was given just as much time, however, for some of the other subjects near to him, such as the State King in Olean, Cuba Lake and Bona’s passionate fan base.

And perhaps that was as big an indication as any of where Bona stands just a year after serving as the league’s unquestioned frontrunner and on the heels of one of the most successful six-year stretches in program history:

The slate is once again blank.

Bona can return to being the hunter rather than the hunted, the underdog, the overlooked, a role it’s relished time and again in years past. That was made even clearer at Atlantic 10 Media Day inside Brooklyn’s Barclays Center, an in-person event again for the first time since 2019.

Bona was chosen to finish 10th of 15 teams in the conference’s 2022-23 preseason poll, released Thursday as part of the festivities. It’s the first time a Schmidt-led team was selected that low since 2014-15 (also 10th). That year, with a budding superstar tandem in Marcus Posley and Jaylen Adams, it finished tied for sixth while knocking off the A-10’s preseason favorite (VCU) and league champion (Davidson).

The Bonnies also had no players chosen to any of the three six-player all-conference teams, as all 18 slots went to players who made a notable impact with an A-10 last season, and none to potentially high-impact transfers. That marked the first time since 2013-14 that they had nobody highlighted in the preseason.

But that all makes sense when you consider that Bona is comprised entirely of players who have yet to prove themselves at this level. And that certainly isn’t lost on its head coach, whose team is back in the position of needing to prove the doubters wrong.

“We have four points and two rebounds back,” emphasized Schmidt, whose Bonnies had been picked to finish fifth or better in five of the last six years, “and that’s total, that’s not average. We have a whole new team. It’s the portal, it’s the NIL, this is how we are …

“Our trajectory, we’re going to hopefully get better as the season goes along, that’s the key, if we can do that. But we have a young team. We have a couple veteran guys, but those veteran guys are young in our system, so it’s like we’re taking baby steps as we start the season.”

Dayton, with all five starters back, including Player of the Year candidate DaRon Holmes II, from another rising UD team that went 24-11 and reached the NIT last year, was chosen as the preseason No. 1. Saint Louis, with four starters back, plus the return of Javonte Perkins, a 2021-22 POY candidate before missing all of last season with a knee injury, was picked to finish second.

Those two had figured to be the teams to beat since the end of last season.

VCU, which coach Mike Rhoades described as his deepest team in six years, led by first-teamer Ace Baldwin Jr., was selected third while newcomer Loyola-Chicago, a tournament team in 2021-22, and George Mason, with first-teamer Josh Oduro back, rounded out the top five.

Bona, with its myriad question marks, understandably had no honorees a year after having three chosen to the all-conference teams. It does, though, have four players who have earned that status in other leagues: Daryl Banks III (a two-time All-MAAC and All-MAAC Rookie Team selection), Moses Flowers (2022 Third Team All-America East selection), Kyrell Luc (2022 Patriot League Rookie of the Year) and Anquan Hill (2022 Northeast Conference Rookie of the Year).

That’s the crop of talent, which also includes four-star recruit Yann Farell and former Binghamton area star Brett Rumpel, upon which Schmidt will look to direct the program in the post-Kyle Lofton/Osun Osunniyi era. And if anyone can keep a roster of this potential in the mix for a top-half A-10 finish or better, it’s Schmidt, his friend and colleague Chris Mooney noted at Media Day.

“He’s a great coach and he’s experienced,” the longtime Richmond coach said of Schmidt. “He knows exactly who he is and how they are. There’s no confusion or … there’s nothing like they’re trying to figure out any identity, so that’s a huge advantage. They recruited well out of the transfer portal so I think they’re going to be a little bit better than he’s letting on.”

2022-23 ATLANTIC 10PRESEASON POLL (first place votes in parentheses) 1. Dayton (22) 2. Saint Louis (7) 3. VCU 4. Loyola-Chicago 5. George Mason 6. Davidson 7. Richmond 8. Massachusetts 9. Rhode Island 10. St. Bonaventure 11. Fordham 12. George Washington 13. Saint Joseph’s 14. La Salle 15. Duquesne

PRESEASON ALL-CONFERENCEFIRST TEAM Foster Loyer, Sr., G, Davidson Yuri Collins, Jr., G, Saint Louis Ace Baldwin Jr., Jr., G, VCU DaRon Holmes II, So., F, Dayton Tyler Burton, Sr., F, Richmond Josh Oduro, Sr., F, George Mason

SECOND TEAM Malachi Smith, So., G, Dayton Gibson Jimerson, R-So., G, Saint Louis James Bishop, Sr., G, George Washington Noah Fernandes, Sr., G, Massachusetts Javonte Perkins, Sr., G/F, Saint Louis Toumani Camara, Sr., F, Dayton

THIRD TEAM Darius Quisenberry, Gr., G, Fordham Braden Norris, R-Sr., G, Loyola-Chicago Brayon Freeman, So., G, Rhode Island Erik Reynolds II, So., G, Saint Joseph’s Jayden Nunn, So., G, VCU Francis Okoro, Sr., F, Saint Louis

ALL-DEFENSIVE TEAM Yuri Collins, Jr., G, Saint Louis Ace Baldwin Jr., Jr., G, VCU Malachi Smith, So., G, Dayton Hason Ward, Jr., F, VCU DaRon Holmes II, So., F, Dayton Francis Okoro, Sr., F, Saint Louis