Last season, St. Bonaventure and their coaching staff were faced with a rebuild unforeseen ever before with the Bonnies returning just 0.1% of their minutes continuity and an ostensibly brand new team.
That being said, last season’s 14-18 overall record and a 8-10 finish in A-10 conference play was below the standards fans in Olean have been used to since Schmidt has taken over the helm prior to the 2007-08 season, but solid considering the context.
The biggest surprises were in the frontcourt. Morgan State transfer Chad Venning transformed his body and developed into one of the best big men in the conference while freshman forward Yann Farrell, one of the highest rated recruits in program history, earned an A-10 All-Rookie team selection thanks to his smooth shooting and strong rebounding.
Freshman Barry Evans, yet another addition from the trusted Putnam Science Academy pipeline, played solid defense and was one of the team’s best offensive rebounders.
Entering last season, the backcourt was expected to be a strength: the leader was Saint Peter’s transfer Daryl Banks III, whose 38.3 minutes per game ranked for second highest in the nation, which comes to no surprise as Schmidt keeps tight rotations.
In addition to Banks III, Holy Cross transfer Kyrell Luc was the Bonnies’ two-way point guard while Hartford transfer Moses Flowers was a savvy shooter as a part-time starter.
This returning trio would rank among one of the better backcourts in the conference if Schmidt decided to stand pat, but for the second straight offseason the Bonnies’ staff mined the transfer portal to continue to bolster their backcourt, adding two grad transfers: Cincinnati combo guard Mika Adams-Woods and Bryant guard Charles Pride.
At first glance, it is hard to imagine why two transfers of this caliber would join a backcourt that returns three guards who all averaged 25 minutes or more per game last season, but we’ll dig deeper to investigate how Schmidt might best mix-and-match to optimize his rotations.
Crazy as it sounds, will next season be the one where Schmidt flexes his depth?
Before we delve into potential rotations, here is a snapshot of each guard (all shot charts via cbbanalytics.com):
Mika Adams-Woods 6’3 180 grad transfer; hometown: Syracuse, NY
2022-23 stats at Cincinnati: 9.1p, 2.4r, 3.2a, 1.5 TO, 49.6 2P%, 1.4 3PM, 36.6 3P%
about half of shot attempts from three, 1.2 FTA, 83.7 FT%, 1.1 STL
Ranked 5th in offensive efficiency and 3rd in defensive efficiency on the Bearcats’ roster according to Evanmiya.com
A thirty minute-per-game player at Cincinnati, Mika Adams-Woods is the lynchpin to Schmidt’s decisions with the guard rotations.
A jack-of-all-trades combo guard, Adams-Woods was the Bearcats’ starting shooting guard but soaked up minutes at point guard when starting point guard David DeJulius was on the bench.
With Adams-Woods’ ability to play both guard positions puts Kyrell Luc’s role as the cemented full-time point guard in jeopardy. He is a strong defender and unselfish passer, but Luc’s shooting inefficiency (38.2 2P%, 30.4 3P%) and less than ideal turnover rate (3.0 per 40) makes it hard to justify playing 33 minutes per game next year, especially with a capable distributor and scorer like Adams-Woods now in the fold.
Projecting ahead, a starting backcourt of Luc, Banks III and Adams-Woods seems likely, but with Luc getting minutes closer to the mid-to-high 20s and Banks III down to the high-20s to low-30s, minutes similar to Adams-Woods’ projections as I expect him to play all three backcourt positions.
Charles Pride 6’4 200 grad transfer; hometown: Syracuse, NY
2022-23 stats at Bryant: 14.6p, 6.1r, 2.4a, 1.4 TO, 52.4 2P%, 1.9 3PM, 37.0 3P%,
about half of shot attempts from three, 3.4 FTA, 84.8 FT%, 1.3 STL
Ranked 1st in offensive efficiency and 2nd lowest in defensive efficiency on the Bulldogs’ roster according to Evanmiya.com
An important weapon in Jared Grasso’s high-octane Bryant offense for the last four years, Charles Pride is a rare guard who can combine efficiency with volume and is also an excellent rebounder for his size.
Despite his gaudy stats, Pride has never led Bryant in scoring, but is capable in taking over a game if need be based on his ability to make plays and hit clutch shots when the pressure is at its highest.
Nathan Mook of Rhody Vault and A-10 Vault writes: “Charles Pride was coveted by several Atlantic 10 teams because of his versatility, shooting and ability to rebound at the guard position. He will have an immediate impact for Schmidt in the Bonnies’ ball screen, motion offense. His versatility is what makes him so good. Pride does not need the ball to make an impact.”
As valuable he is on offense, Pride’s defensive liabilities best suits him as a high-impact instant offense bench piece who will contribute at the 2 and 3 guard spots and even allows Schmidt to play four-guard lineups, as an option for when Yann Farrell is on the bench, with Pride playing akin to the Jaden Adaway role during the 2020-21 and 2021-22 seasons.
There is some overlap between what Pride and returning senior Moses Flowers provides for the Bonnies: like Pride, Flowers is an efficient shooter who can score in volume when needed but is a more consistent defender than Pride that allows him to mesh well in a variety of combinations.
To maximize Pride’s offensive abilities while keeping the Bonnies’ defense fortified, Schmidt could choose to limit Pride’s time on the court with Yann Farell and instead to pair Pride alongside Evans, a lengthier and more versatile defender at the power forward.
Irregardless to prospective roles, few teams in the A-10 have a quintet of guards as talented as St. Bonaventure’s, which will bring versatility and creativity to his rotations unforeseen in Olean in years.
Minutes Projections for St. Bonaventure’s Guards
Banks III - 30 mpg
Adams-Woods - 29 mpg
Luc - 25 mpg
Flowers - 20
Pride - 16
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