Welcome to the Atlantic 10 Women’s Basketball Tipoff for the 2018-19 Season. Today, we feature the St. Bonaventure Bonnies.
St. Bonaventure (Predicted A-10 Finish: 12th)
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At St. Bonaventure, monster seasons only seem to come out of nowhere. In fact, they've been more a testament to a program that appears to have mastered the art of gradually cycling toward success.
In 2011-12, a Bonnies squad picked to finish seventh in the Atlantic 10 rolled to a 31-4 record - 14-0 in A-10 regular-season play - and reached the NCAA Tournament's Sweet 16. Four years later, a St. Bonaventure team coming off a 15-15 campaign was picked to finish ninth and went on to finish 24-8 and nabbed another NCAA bid.
Time will tell if this is the year St. Bonaventure catches fire again. But upon listening to third-year coach Jesse Fleming talk up these Bonnies, one can't help but believe that this group is at least approaching the start of another winning cycle.
“I like our pieces a lot,” said Fleming, who spent 11 years as an assistant to former Bonnies coach Jim Crowley before assuming the head job in 2016. “We have everything as far as skill set of what I’ve been looking for and trying to recruit since I took over the job.”
The group features length, guards who are grinders, athleticism all around and talent in the post. In addition, increased depth should allow for better matchups - last year, a thin, injury-ravaged roster forced several Bonnies to play out of position.
In other words, no one should be surprised if St. Bonaventure follows up last season's eight-win campaign by vaulting into the thick of this year's A-10 race. Because if you go by history, that's how these Bonnies roll.
Coach: Jesse Fleming, (3rd season at St. Bonaventure and overall, 17-42)
Last year: 8-22 overall and 3-13 in the A-10 (lost to George Mason 89-79 in the first round of the conference championship).
They’ll miss: Mariah Ruff, the lone player in the Atlantic 10 last year to rank in both the top five in scoring (17.0 ppg) and assists (5.0 apg). Arielle Harvey (9.7 ppg) will miss the season due to injury.
Impact returners: 5-9 senior guard Mckenna Maycock, 11.6 ppg, 6.2 rpg, 47.6 3-point shooting; started 19 of 21 games; 6-2 sophomore forward Abigail Johnson(4 ppg, 7.5 rpg), 6-0 redshirt junior guard/forward Bree Paulson (7.4 ppg, 37 percent shooting from 3).
Newbies of note: 5-6 junior guard Claudia Del Moral gives depth to the point guard spot, having played one semester at Lamar, where the Spaniard averaged 10.2 ppg and 4.1 apg; 5-11 junior guard Dajah Logan, who started 27 games at College of Charleston two years ago; 6-1 junior forward Amanda Oliver, a two-time all-conference selection from Florida Southwestern College, expected to contribute on the boards.
Reasons to be optimistic:The Bonnies couldn’t catch a break with injuries last season, starting with Maycock, who missed a month due to a freak knee injury that hampered her entire conference season. That interrupted what looked to be shaping up as a marquee year for her, as she was averaging 13.6 ppg and 8.4 rpg at the time of the injury, “She just wasn’t the same player after that,” Fleming said. “She’s at full speed and looks great.”
Johnson, who suffered an early concussion and weathered a bad shoulder, is also back at full speed and Fleming touts her improved conditioning. “She’s a specimen,” he said. “She’s had a great summer.” Last year the Londoner played in just eight games; expect the Brit to contribute in a big way.
Paulson, who also was limited to eight games, is also healthy and expected to be an asset on the perimeter. “She’s a complete glue player for us,” Fleming said. “In the right spot at the right time, she makes big shots.”
Sophomore forward Emily Calabrese returns with reams of experience, having played in every game her freshman season, averaging 29 minutes in addition to her six points and five boards. “She probably the most experienced sophomore in the league,” Fleming said. “She’s learned how to play that post position even though she’s undersized. She’ll be able to swing from the 4 to the 5.”
X factor: The Bonnies should score plenty, but can they defend? Fleming wasn’t happy with the St. Bonaventure defense a year ago and has made that a point of emphasis in practice. “We were not a competitive team defensively last year,” Fleming said. “For us to do anything, we have to get back to where this program has been the last 10 to 15 years and that’s guard.”
Circle the date(s): Nov. 6 at Niagara; Nov. 13 Canisius and Dec. 23 at Buffalo, all Big 4 Western New York opponents, “are the litmus tests for us,” Fleming said. “I want to be good in the Big 4 and playing our best by the time we get to the A-10.”
Bottom line: If perimeter shooting is working for the Bonnies, they’ll be dangerous. If they can defend with discipline, look for them to get back in the top half of the A-10.