By CHUCK POLLOCK, Wellsville Sun Senior Sports Columnist
ST. BONAVENTURE — For the second straight year, the St. Bonaventure basketball team finds itself in an embarrassing situation as it relates to the National Invitation Tournament.
We’ll get to the current fiasco and why it happened first.
The Bonnies, playing their opening-round NIT game against Kent State at the Reilly Center, before an oh-by-the-way crowd of 3,024, started on fire. They were knocking down threes and winning the race up and down the court. Four minutes into the game they led by 12. But by halftime Kent State had answered, leading by one. And, after intermission, the Golden Flashes were in complete control, stretching their lead to an embarrassing 22 points. When it was over, Kent State owned a 75-56 victory versus a team against which it holds a “secret scrimmage” every preseason.
In a word, it was disturbing.
HAPPILY, it was not as bad as last season when a total miscommunication caused the Bonnies to decline the NIT invitation and cost athletic director Joe Manhertz his job whether he was fired or resigned.
It was Manhertz who delivered the message to the NIT selection committee that the undermanned Bonnies — there were several injuries and other players bailed for the transfer portal — were saying “thanks but no thanks” to the bid.
It could be argued that Manhertz became a bit of a scapegoat but his tenure at SBU ended on merit. This is a school whose history is married to the NIT, having won it in 1977 and made, including this season, 18 trips to college basketball’s oldest and most revered basketball tournament.
When Manhertz announced St. Bonaventure was abdicating its spot, the Bona alumni erupted in fury and called for the AD to be removed immediately. One reason is that his explanation totally showed no awareness of SBU’s culture. Basically, he said he had no idea that turning down an NIT bid would be an issue to the alums.
It was a galling and humiliating episode made worse by the revelation that, though only on the job for less than a year, Manhertz was already sniffing around for another position. Sure enough, after the NIT incident, he was hired as Senior Associate Athletic Director at Bona’s A-10 rival, Virginia Commonwealth.
THIS YEAR, coach Mark Schmidt came into last night’s NIT game having crafted a 22-win season, the third-most in his tenure and seventh 20-victory effort in 18 years at Bona which now has 19 20-win campaigns since 1952.
After beating Duquesne in the opening round of the Atlantic 10 Tournament, the Bonnies fell to VCU but that 22-11 record earned them an NIT bid.
Schmidt, as with last season, was operating with a short bench with his five starters all averaging over 30 minutes, three of them exceeding 33. But he’s always defended that approach pointing out “these are 22-year-old-men who benefit from 16 timeouts and other stoppages … they can handle it.”
One reason those starters played so much this season is that two players suffered season-ending injuries and another is choosing to redshirt.
But things got worse Saturday.
Redshirt freshman forward Duane Thompson allegedly borrowed a fellow student’s car, got drunk, and crashed into a tree on campus injuring sophomore guard Miles Rose when the airbag exploded in his face.
New York State police said the incident took place at 2:09 a.m. on Claire Road. Troopers charged Thompson, 20, of Randolph, Massachusetts, with driving while intoxicated and a blood alcohol level greater than .08 percent, which is a misdemeanor for a first offense. He was issued an appearance ticket and released.
Reportedly, Schmidt immediately dismissed Thompson from the team. That left him with his five starters, and sub Noah Bolanga. Rose, who plays infrequently, saw no action against Kent State.
For the record, against the Golden Flashes, guards Melvin Council Jr. and. Jonah Hinton played all 40 minutes, center Noel Brown 37 minutes, guard Chance Moore 36 and guard LaJae Jones 29, which permitted walk-ons Jack DeRose and Broek Ostrum to get a minute of court time.
Noah Bolanga, Schmidt’s only true sub, played 16 minutes.
It was a disquieting finish for the Bonnies.
Three of his players have finished their careers –Brown, Council and Moore — but unlike the last two seasons he’s not rebuilding an entire team.
Two junior guards — Jaxon Edwards (groin) and Dasonte Brown (foot) – figure to return as well as freshman redshirt Ebrahim Kaba. Jones, a junior, sophomore-to-be Xander Wedlow (out late in the season with a knee injury) and Bolanga, also a sophomore to be all figure to be back.
(Chuck Pollock, a Wellsville Sun and Olean Star senior sports columnist, can be reached at cpollock@wnynet.net.
