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St. Bonaventure Basketball: Bonnies sleeper contender for 2020 NCAA Tournament

DALLAS, TX - MARCH 15: Head coach Mark Schmidt of the St. Bonaventure Bonnies reacts against the Florida Gators in the first half in the first round of the 2018 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at American Airlines Center on March 15, 2018 in Dallas, Texas. (Photo by Tom Pennington/Getty Images)
DALLAS, TX - MARCH 15: Head coach Mark Schmidt of the St. Bonaventure Bonnies reacts against the Florida Gators in the first half in the first round of the 2018 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at American Airlines Center on March 15, 2018 in Dallas, Texas. (Photo by Tom Pennington/Getty Images) /
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This time of year should be centered around football talk and banter. However, it is not too early to begin talking St. Bonaventure Basketball.

St. Bonaventure basketball is approaching the start of their centennial team celebration (See more on the season here) and could not be coming at a more fitting time. Head coach Mark Schmidt is bringing the fandom and camaraderie back to the crowd and is doing the unimaginable. Back in 2007, the program was near the bottom of the nation. As of the end of the 2018-2019 season, Coach Schmidt has led the brown and white to two NCAA berths.

He passed a man who was donned as “the greatest coach in program history.” Now, he has become the winningest coach in St. Bonaventure history. It was an epic moment for the college. Now, go ahead and wonder what this has to do with being a sleeper for this coming campaign.

Schmidt has been able to bring in some top mid-major talent to play for him. Most notably, he was able to land Jaylen Adams, who went to a short stint in the NBA following his great career with the program. That certainly has not stopped the team from expanding. Recruiting staple and associate head coach Steve Curran brought in shot-blocking machine Osun Osunniyi in the 2018 class.

They acquired other players to build around Osunniyi as well in that group, including point guard in Kyle Lofton. Also, Cheektowaga (NY) high school standout, Dom Welch received substantial minutes from that group; he really began proving the ones that doubted him wrong during the A-10 championship tournament. That is plenty of returning sophomore talent. Think about it as a taco last year bringing in Welch, Osunniyi, and Lofton to build the shell. The addition of Planutis and Carpenter, among others, are condiments. They only add to a fantastic core.

Now, just think about the talent the brown and white is bringing in. Transfer Bobby Planutis sat his required season due to rules and incoming freshman Robert Carpenter should add to the team. Unlike other programs, these newbies will not have a hard time adjusting. This is because of the schedule structure that the boss has implemented. Being able to play a Division-III opponent at home is huge. It allows everyone, from rookies and veterans alike, to either adjust or readjust to the atmosphere of college ball.

The hope is that the returning talent for St. Bonaventure Basketball can withstand the key losses of All-Conference forward Courtney Stockard and double-digit scorer LaDarien Griffin. Besides the offensive production, both were key frontcourt rebounders and defenders. There will be a lot of pressure on Osunniyi down low to handle things without the Bonnies being taken advantage of in the paint.

St. Bonaventure finished fourth in the A-10 last season behind VCU, Dayton and Davidson. All three of those teams essentially returns their entire production and will be heavily favored to place in the top-3 again for the 2019-20 campaign. With the league itself getting around 2-3 bids for the NCAA Tournament lately, it’ll be tough for another team to slide in to get in position.

Next. Early A-10 rankings for 2019-20 season. dark

But of the rest of the A-10 programs, St. Bonaventure Basketball seems to have the best shot to crash the top-tier. It’ll rely on continued development for the trio of key sophomores but the ceiling for the Bonnies can be just as high as those top teams. If the role players also perform well enough, this is a team that no one will want to deal with – especially if they can make it to the grandest stage in March for the Big Dance.