St. Bonaventure Basketball: 2020-21 season preview for the Bonnies
Starters
The Bonnies are notable for not having a single senior on the roster. Instead, they feature nine juniors, two sophomores, and three incoming freshmen. Most of the team’s success lies in the hand of nearly all of their juniors – meaning this team, barring any professional temptations, will have another shot in 2021-22.
Almost certainly, the same starting lineup as last season will lead the Bonnies again this year – and beyond. Their success begins at the point guard position, dominated by an All-Conference caliber talent in Kyle Lofton.
Lofton led St. Bonaventure in scoring last season with a 14.1 point average in over 38 minutes of action a game. He is a quality shooter at 42% (FG) and 34% (3PT), but his assist numbers are the best in the A-10 – his 6.0 assist per game average ranks 21st nationally, and he is 40th in assist-to-turnover ratio (2.33).
The point guard was a First Team All-Conference selection last season, joining the ranks of Dayton’s Obi Toppin and Richmond’s Jacob Gilyard. This year, he finds himself on the All-Conference Second Team alongside Richmond’s Blake Francis and St. Joseph’s Ryan Daly – two of the premier scorers in the league.
He is joined in the backcourt by Dom Welch, who led the team in three-point FGs with 72 (37% clip). A nearly-12 point scorer, Welch – a 6-5 guard – led the team in total rebounds for the season, collecting 214 caroms and registering five double-doubles in the process.
Welch’s scoring has come through clutch in marquee victories – a 16-point and 12-rebound performance was instrumental in the team’s win over Richmond, and he scored a career-high 22 in an overtime victory at Fordham.
After being immediately placed into the starting lineup after missing the first six games of the season, Jaren Holmes will return to the small forward spot where he flourished last year. Holmes – whose last name was English before changing it this year to reflect his mother’s last name – was the team’s second-leading scorer last year at 11.9 ppg, and was – by percentage – the team’s best shooter beyond the arc at 40%.
Justin Winston – the lone sophomore in the starting lineup – will resume duties at power forward after a freshman season that saw him start 28 games and make an immediate impact. A 44% shooter from the floor, Winston averaged 8.7 points and 3.4 rebounds last year and showed up offensively when needed, scoring 19 against Rutgers and 20 twice over Saint Joseph’s.
Osun Osunniyi rounds out the lineup at center, entering this season with high expectations. A preseason All-Conference Third Team and All-Defensive Team honoree, Osunniyi is a force to be reckoned with inside. At 6-10, his 2.46 BPG average is the 20th-best nationally, and his 61.5% shooting clip and 8.4 RPG mark are the highest marks on the team.
Osunniyi – who was the only player in the A-10 last season to rank in the top five in field goal percentage, blocks, and rebounding – missed seven games last year due to injury, but still finished with a 10.8 point average. He joins those in the starting lineup who had multiple 20-point performances last year, scoring exactly that at George Washington (on 8-8 shooting) and 23 (10-15) against Duquesne.