By SPENCER BATES
ST. BONAVENTURE — For St. Bonaventure men’s basketball coach Mark Schmidt, every game is special, but when it comes to Atlantic 10 Conference play, the energy and anticipation cranks up a notch.
The Bonnies start their A10 season on Dec. 31 with a familiar opponent in VCU, the 2024-25 preseason conference favorite, the same team they opened league play against last season. The only difference being that they traveled to VCU for that game. This year, they host the Rams, but will be hoping for a similar result, as they defeated VCU 89-78 in last season’s opener.
Now, there’s not much that Schmidt can carry over from last year’s Bona team that swept the home-and-away series against VCU due to the few minutes returning to the squad this year — Noel Brown being the only player that saw minutes against the Rams.
However, VCU was able to return more than half of its offense from last season and, according to Schmidt, will look to do things in a similar vein.
“Really nothing,” Schmidt said of what he can apply to this year’s VCU matchup from previous ones. “The only guy that played against them last year was Noel. We got a whole new team, they got 65% of their offense back. … It’s not what I know, it’s what our players know. And Noel is the only guy that played against them last year. So it’s a whole new learning experience for our other guys that we have. They’re playing very similar to what they did last year in terms of their offense and what they’re trying to do defensively, but they’re playing better. … There’s a reason why they were picked so high in the conference in the preseason.”
A good amount of that returning offense for the Rams has come from Atlantic 10 Preseason First-Team selection Max Shulga and Second-Team selections Joe Bamisile and Zeb Jackson. Shulga, one of the best 3-point shooters in the nation last year, and Bamisile are both averaging over 16 points per game while Jackson is behind them with just over 11 per game.
According to Schmidt, the VCU trio is going to score, there’s no denying that. But what will be crucial for his side entering the game will be to make their lives as hard as possible and not allow any easy buckets.
“They’re the main guys,” Schmidt said of the VCU trio, “They’re really talented guys, and if they go off, then it’s going to be really difficult for you to beat VCU. So, we got to be able to, somehow, someway, contain them. They’re going to get their points. But we got to make it hard for them. But at the same time, they got other good players, they attack the glass, they can shoot it, they make 10 threes a game. Jackson could, could start for any team in this league. … You try to make it difficult on their better players, but at the same time, you can’t let a role guy come in and score 15 points against you.”
A defensive mentality is hardly new for this year’s Bona team, which currently ranks 10th nationally in scoring defense. But turning defensive stops into points will be crucial, according to Schmidt, as VCU sports the second-best defensive rating in the A10 behind the Bonnies.
“You win with defense and you can’t turn the ball over against VCU, they really pressure you, and that’s where they get a lot of their offense, off of their defense, very similar to us,” Schmidt said. “We have to have good ball security and every possession is going to be important. And it’s not just against VCU. I think, in conference play, every possession is so critical, because it’s going to come down to, for the most part, two or three possessions, and those two or three possessions could be the first three possessions of the game or the last three possessions of the game. You got to cherish every opportunity. It’s really hard to score against them, and I know you can’t score if you turn the ball over. So we got to really do a good job of executing and making sure that we get good shots. If we turn it over, we got to throw it in the stands, we can’t have live-ball turnovers.”
Schmidt has stated before that every game is special and that the preparation has to be the same for every game. But he did admit that once A10 play starts, things escalate to another level.
He said how these are the moments that these players who desired to play in the conference joined the program for and that this is the time in the year where they need to be playing at their best.
“We only play 32, 33 games a year, these kids are practicing 330 days a year, so every game is special,” Schmidt said. “But I think once you get in the Atlantic 10, no matter who you’re playing, they’re big games. That’s why the kids come to Bonaventure, to play in the Atlantic 10, to play in 18 conference games every year. No matter who you play, VCU, or give me another team, they’re all exciting games. Playing at home is exciting, playing in the Reilly Center, but it’s the Atlantic 10, and this is the time where you need to be playing your best basketball. Hopefully we can play well tomorrow.”
St. Bonaventure and VCU will tip-off in the Reilly Center on Dec. 31 at 2 p.m.
