By SPENCER BATES
batesoleanstar@gmail.com
KINGSTON, RI — According to St. Bonaventure men’s basketball coach Mark Schmidt, the key to righting the ship on the road against Rhode Island after two consecutive losses is as simple as “we just gotta play better.”
Of course, there are more focused aspects of the game that he intends on addressing, but the overarching message is just that.
“You start 10-0 on the road, we gotta play better defense, we gotta rebound the ball better, we gotta take care of the ball better, we gotta run better offense, all areas. Against (George Washington), I thought, defensively, we didn’t do a bad job. We forced 20 turnovers, got points off turnovers, second-chance, fast break points. We just didn’t get the ball in the paint enough, we didn’t rebound the ball well enough, and against anybody in our league, if they’re going to win points-in-the-paint and they’re going to win second-chance points, it’s hard to win. We got to do those things against Rhode Island.”
The disparity in the rebounding department was a focal point for the Bonnies in their loss to GW their last time out. The Revolutionaries roped in 39 rebounds — 13 on the offensive end — to the Bonnies’ 24. And of those 24, center Noel Brown was responsible for a team-high eight.
The physical battle on the boards has been a big key in Schmidt’s game plans all season long, but while he may have been pleased with the way his big man focused on the glass, he is adamant there needs to be more dedication from everyone else on the floor.
“Noel had eight rebounds the other night, but our two’s, three’s and four’s only had four total,” Schmidt said. “It’s got to be more of a team effort to rebound the ball. We don’t have one guy that is going to get 15, 20 rebounds, we got to do it collectively. In the last couple games, we haven’t done that. When the other team gets more opportunities, and second-chance points, it’s not a good thing and that’s an easy way to lose.”
Schmidt is also looking for his team to return to the downhill playstyle that led to their early-season success. He admitted that in his side’s last two games, they allowed themselves to get slowed down and, in turn, failed to find open routes to the rim.
When the team is shooting well from deep, like they did against Dayton on Jan. 28, that ends up being less of a problem, but when that is not the case, which ends up being more often than not, the offense falters.
“We’ve struggled all season in the half court,” Schmidt said. “We don’t have great shooters, we struggle from beyond the arc. When we make 10, 11, 12 3s, then we win. But we got to go downhill. The physicality in the last two or three games, they’ve got into us, and they’ve prevented us from going downhill, prevented us from running our ball-screen offense. We just got to do a better job of creating space and going inside. … Hopefully against Rhode Island, it will be more effective.”
This will mean Schmidt will not only need increased effort on the glass, but in running the offense as well. Specifically, from the likes of Lajae Jones, Chance Moore and Jonah Hinton, who each struggled in their own ways against George Washington.
“(Lajae) just didn’t have a good game,” Schmidt said. “Him and Jonah and Chance scored 10 points and got four rebounds. … We can’t win with those three guys shooting 5-for-19, 1-for-7 from 3s. It doesn’t matter what Noel does and what Melvin (Council Jr.) does, those three guys are main guys, and when they play, and they’re productive, we can beat anybody in this league. But when two or three of your starters have off-games, like they did against George Washington, it’s hard to win.”
And as Schmidt and Bona desire to see the return of their downhill, fast-paced playstyle, a key for them will be Moore, who showed a tremendous ability to get that job done in the non-conference portion of the campaign. However, he has found himself struggling as of late, with A10 teams using the tape on him to great effect.
“As I tell the players all the time, the more games you play, the more tape’s out there and the scouting becomes better and better and better,” Schmidt said. “They take away your strengths and Chance has struggled from the three point line … they’re taking away his driving lanes and then making him shoot. He’s got to find a way to get to the basket in terms of offensive rebounding, being more active on the offensive glass, attacking better and picking his spots. … You don’t want to play to your weakness. You want to continue to play to your strengths. … The better Chance is, the better we are … and we need to get him back.”
Now, while the emphasis on offense may be geared towards getting downhill through a variety of means, a multifaceted attack by the Rams is exactly what the Bonnies will be hoping to prevent.
Sebastian Thomas, Jaden House and Jamarques Lawrence provide Rhode Island with 18.6, 11.5 and 9.2 points per game respectively, each doing so through a variety of means, all of which can be lethal if given the green light.
“They’re talented, Thomas can really score, he handles the ball, he’s as important to them as Melvin is to us,” Schmidt said. “(House) is downhill, aggressive, just a really good player. He doesn’t shoot the ball great, but gets the rim whenever he wants. And (Lawrence) is the shooter. So, they got a good skill set, they’re physical, they got good size and the two guys inside, they create problems.”
As for the battle down low, Noel will have his hands full with Javonte Brown, a big man with a similar build. But as for what Noel needs to do to have success and win the battle, it’s as simple as staying true to his own game, according to Schmidt.
“Noel’s got to just do what he does,” Schmidt said. “Score inside for us, play the physical defense that he does, rebound the ball. … No matter who you’re playing against, in the Atlantic 10 you’re always going to play against a good big guy. There’s not going to be any difference tomorrow night against Rhode Island. Noel just has to be Noel.”
At the end of the day, Schmidt is really just looking for more of an overall effort in a number of different areas. And with the end of the regular season on the distant horizon, stealing some on the road has become all the more important.
St. Bonaventure will tip-off against Rhode Island on Feb. 12 at 7 p.m. in the Thomas M. Ryan Center.
