Atlantic 10 Basketball: Observations from first month of 2018-19

Courtney Stockard means everything to the Bonnies

What Courtney Stockard adds to the Bonnies has been made obvious over the last four games. Since returning from knee-surgery a couple of weeks ago, he’s helped bring the previously 1-5 Bonnies into almost respectable territory at 4-6. The roster does have some decent talent outside of him and LaDarien Griffin (who has been out since the home-opener) but it’s very young and inexperienced overall. UNLV-transfer Jaylen Poyser has been as good as advertised with 15.5 points per game, and freshmen like Kyle Lofton (13.3 points per game) and Osun Ossuniyi (2.6 blocks per game) have shown flashes as well, but they’re still establishing roles and building chemistry and haven’t quite learned how to close out games.

Over the last four, Stockard has accumulated 70 points, 24 rebounds, and just 10 turnovers, and the team’s only loss has been to the ranked Buffalo Bulls. He’s the type of versatile athlete and steadying veteran presence the Bonnies desperately need at this point, and he’ll need to maintain his current level of play to keep the Bonnies afloat until Griffin returns. Once Griffin is back, the team may not be an A10 title contender, but they should be able to give anybody in the conference a game.