2016-2017 Season Review
After winning a share of the Atlantic 10 regular season title in 2016, St. Bonaventure made it back to back seasons last season with 20+ wins. Mark Schmidt’s Bonnie’s went 20-12. In non-conference play, they went 8-4 with a win over Siena. They dropped games to Florida (7 point game), UALR, UNC Wilmington and Canisius. In Atlantic 10 play they went 11-7, which was good enough for 5th place in the league. They did not beat Dayton, VCU or Rhode Island, though they did play Dayton to a four point game on the road and took VCU to OT. In the A10 Tournament, they defeat UMass before falling to Rhode Island to end their season.
Key Losses
The Bonnies lose just two contributors from last season’s team, though they were two of their top four scorers. Forward Denzel Gregg graduated after averaging 12.0 points, 7.7 rebounds (team high) and 1.7 blocks (team high) per game. Forward David Andoh also graduated after putting up 7.6 PPG and 3.3 RPG. 6’9 Chinonso Obokoh, who was a graduate transfer last year and played 11.0 MPG in five games before suffering a season ending injury, will not be apart of the team this season.
Key Returners
The electric back court duo of Jaylen Adams and Matt Mobley is back for one more go around. Adams, a 6’1 senior, was a First Team All-A10 selection. He averaged 20.6 points (team high), 3.7 rebounds, 6.5 assists (team high) and 2.1 steals (team high) per game. Adams also hit 77 threes and played 37.4 MPG. Mobley is a 6’3 senior that earned Third Team All-A10 honors last season. Mobley put up 18.5 points, 5.8 rebounds (leading returner), 2.6 assists and 1.6 steals per game. He also hit a team high 86 threes at a 37.9% clip and played 38.3 MPG. Idris Tagge is a 6’4 senior that recorded 6.8 points, 5.3 rebounds, 1.8 assists and 1.3 steals per game. 6’8 sophomore Josh Ayeni averaged 6.7 PPG and 2.6 RPG in 17.1 MPG, while 6’7 junior LaDarien Griffin averaged 2.7 PPG and 2.2 RPG in 12.3 MPG. Amadi Ikpeze, a 6’10 sophomore, played 9.2 MPG and averaged 2.3 points and 1.9 rebounds, while 6’1 junior Nelson Kaputo played 8.7 MPG and scored 2.0 PPG (10 of 23 from three).
Key Newcomers
Mark Schmidt brings three newcomers on board this season. Ndene Gueye is a 6’10 junior from JUCO Kilgore. Jucorecruiting.com rates Gueye as the #63 2017 JUCO recruit. He averaged 14.6 points, 8.4 rebounds and 1.3 blocks per game last season while shooting 64% from the field. Tshiefu Ngalakulondi is a 6’6 forward that is an explosive athlete. He attacks the rim well. Izaiah Brockington is a 6’4 guard that is a playmaker on both ends of the floor. The Bonnies will also hopefully finally have 6’5 junior Courtney Stockard available to play this season after he battled injuries the last two seasons. In 2014-2015, Stockard averaged 23.2 PPG at JUCO Allen CC.
Final Take
The Bonnies haven’t been to the postseason since 2012 when they made the NCAA Tournament. Led by their electric back court of Adams and Mobley, that drought could end this season. Adams should be one of the favorites to win Atlantic 10 Player of the Year, while Mobley will be an All-A10 performer as well. The question is whether the front court can produce enough to support the back court. Ayeni, Griffin, and Ikpeze have to take steps forward while newcomer Gueye needs to make an immediate impact. It’s not a deep team, but Adams, Mobley and Tagge are used to playing big minutes anyways. St. Bonaventure will need to win the Atlantic 10 Conference Tournament to reach the Big Dance, but I can definitely see them snagging a NIT bid.
Always March 
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