There are a couple of obvious differences, of course, between them.
This year’s St. Bonaventure men’s basketball team doesn’t have a soon-to-be Atlantic 10 First Team All-Conference selection about to return from injury the way the 2018-19 squad did. These Bonnies don’t have that same senior tandem (of Courtney Stockard and LaDarien Griffin) ready to lead the way; in fact, they don’t have any seniors, eligibility-wise, at all. Nor do they have even the few other returning veterans to help bridge two very different eras.
But the feeling emanating from the start of this season is largely the same.
Isn’t it?
In 2018, after losing the core to an NCAA Tournament team, Bona, in many ways, began anew, quickly starting three freshmen and a four-year transfer while battling a few early-season injuries. That team, as we know, took its lumps, starting out 1-5 with an unsightly showing in the three-day Cayman Islands event, losing to a Little 3 rival on the road and sitting 4-10 following an A-10-opening loss at George Mason before ultimately putting it all together in conference play.
EVEN AMID the struggles, as the inexperience shone through, the talent was apparent. You could see that Kyle Lofton had a certain savvy about him, that Osun Osunniyi was a budding defensive standout, that Dominick Welch could be a key contributor at both ends. And, for fans, that made it much easier to swallow a 20-point loss to Boise State, that 33-point setback at Syracuse.
Because you understood that, with a group this young, patience was required. And you could say to yourself: Sit tight. It’s coming.
Four years later, a very similar scenario has begun to unfold.
Granted, it’s only been three games — and this group, for as shaky as it’s looked at times, is a potential made free throw (vs. Canisius) and a better final 50 seconds (vs. South Dakota State, officiating notwithstanding) away from being 3-0. And as the likely favorite in each of its next two games, there’s a better chance that Bona will be 3-2 heading into its showcase contest with Notre Dame than 1-4.
STILL, THE parallels are ever-present. Bona, again after losing the core to an NCAA team, is starting three freshmen and now two four-year transfers. It’s again battling injuries, although this time to a much lesser extent, as redshirt freshman Brett Rumpel remains sidelined with a broken foot and Hartford transfer Moses Flowers missed only the season-opener due to a concussion.
The Bonnies lost to a Little 3 rival on the road. Their inexperience is the No. 1 reason they fell to both Canisius and SDSU. And there’s a good chance, given that youth, that they continue to take their hits … against the likes of ND, Rick Pitino and Iona and perhaps even Buffalo and Siena.
And all the while, you can see the potential bubbling just below the surface.
Yann Farell and Barry Evans, much like their predecessors, smack of stars in the making, the former exhibiting a smooth stroke and steely demeanor and the latter displaying an undeniable bounce and a keen ability from 16 and in. And both have already laid the initial groundwork for such, with Evans going for 12 and 8 in his collegiate debut and Farell posting a double-double of 16 and 11 on Tuesday night.
Anouar Mellouk has shown something of a knack around the rim. Kyrell Luc has been a ball of energy and quickness, allowing him to succeed at both ends. Daryl Banks III has been the scorer he was expected to be, and merely needs to stop forcing things and start playing within himself.
MUCH LIKE at this time in 2018, and as coach Mark Schmidt continues to say, there’s still a long way for this group to go. They’re still learning what to do, where they need to be, how to close games out. There’s still clearly a polish that needs to be achieved, both individually and as a team. And though it’s probably been overused over the years, Schmidt’s long-held sentiment rings true this season: “You learn to win by winning.”
And this group is still very much in class.
But much like that ‘18 squad, the future is almost unquestionably bright. As with those guys, most key pieces (aside from Banks III) have at least two years of eligibility remaining, and the majority have three. And like that season, the individual ingredients are there, they just need time to jell, to endure the early portion of this level together, to do all the good things they’ve done over three games more consistently.
Will this group go on the same kind of wild February run in which it wins nine of 10 games and reaches the A-10 championship together in Year 1? Probably not to that extent given, again, that Stockard isn’t waiting in the wings and the league is better at the top this year than it was in 2018-19.
But you can bet, with a Schmidt-coached team, that it will be much better come February than it is right now, that its talent will start to blossom, that it will begin to figure it out. And if you can come to terms with that, if you believe that to be ture, it becomes easier to tell yourself:
Sit tight. It’s coming.
(J.P. Butler, Bradford Publishing group sports editor, can be reached at jbutler@oleantimesherald.com)
