St. Bonaventure Basketball: Analyzing the Bonnies’ recent hot streak

Good Freshmen getting even better

I’ve already mentioned the impact that Dom Welch has had on the Bonnies’ recent success, but it’s really his two classmates that have pushed them into the race for a double-bye. Point guard Kyle Lofton and center Osun Osunniyi have been important pieces all season, but they seem to have taken it up a level over the course of this hot streak.

Lofton, who’s at the top of the ‘Rookie of the Year’ race along with Dayton’s Obi Toppin, has improved his points per game from 13.3 in his first eighteen contests to 16.2 in the last eleven, and he’s eclipsed the 18 point mark on five occasions over the latter stretch. The graduation of electric point guard Jaylen Adams after last season left a gaping hole in the roster over the offseason, but Lofton, especially considering it’s his debut season, has come miraculously close to filling it. One already has to wonder if he might leave an even greater legacy than his predecessor once his Bonnies career is through.

Osunniyi doesn’t fill up the offensive end of the stat sheet like Lofton, but he’s already one of the most impressive defensive talents in the conference. His 2.3 blocks per game in his first eighteen college appearances seemed like an unsustainable number, but he’s somehow improved it by averaging an even 3.0 during the 9-2 stretch. His rebounding has also improved from 6.1 to 9.6 over the same respective time spans.

The overall takeaway from the numbers is that those two players, with Dom Welches’ help, have somehow turned a previously unheralded recruiting class into arguably the most promising freshman core in the conference. That’s both a credit to their hard work and a credit to the Bonnies coaching staff for continuing to find diamonds in the rough. Regardless of who deserves the praise, this is a Bonnies team that will be extremely fun to watch in Brooklyn, and it’s largely because of the rookies.