Post by Chuck on Jun 3, 2009 21:26:03 GMT -5
Tuesday, June 2, 2009 6:54 PM EDT
Bona builds for the future
By J.P. Butler
Olean Times Herald
ST. BONAVENTURE - Kelvin Agee is sure that he can play in the Atlantic 10 Conference. The St. Bonaventure men’s basketball team wants to give him the chance.
The Niagara Falls star will attend St. Bonaventure and walk on to the men’s basketball program in hopes of securing a scholarship in the future, coach Mark Schmidt announced Monday morning.
The 6-3, 175-pound shooting guard chose the Bonnies after talks with schools such as Northeastern, Central Connecticut, Buffalo, Canisius and Niagara fell through. Agee will follow a path similar to current Bonnie and Olean native Jake Houseknecht and redshirt his first season.
“He has a little bit of a chip on his shoulder,” Schmidt said Monday via phone. “He thinks he can play in the Atlantic 10 and I think he has a chance to be a really good player.
“Coming from a great program like Niagara Falls, for him to come to Bonaventure to be a walk-on is tremendous. It’s a great fit for him and a great fit for us. He can learn the system and then step in and really be a contributor in his freshman season.”
A first team all-state selection, Agee led Niagara Falls to a 24-1 record, a Niagara Frontier League title, a Section 6 championship and a Far West Regional title during the 2008-’09 season. The combo guard averaged 22.8 points, 7.8 rebounds and 3.2 assists en route to being named the Niagara Gazette Player of the Year and to the Buffalo News All-Western New York first team.
Agee led the Wolverines to the state final four for the sixth time in the school’s nine-year history this past season. He made the most of his playoff run, pouring in 27 points while adding a school-record 11 steals and nine rebounds in a win over Greece Athena in the Class AA Far West Regional.
Schmidt, entering his third year as coach of the Bonnies, said he didn’t offer Agee a schoarlarship right away because the team doesn’t need another shooting guard just yet.
“Right now we don’t need another guard,” he said. “Chris (Matthews) is a senior, and when Chris graduates, that’s when we’ll need a combo guard. We weren’t going to give a 2-guard a scholarship this year just because we don’t need that position.
“We want him to learn the system, become comfortable with the Division I atmosphere and get acclimated to the university both academically and socially.”
By the start of the 2010-’11 season, Schmidt feels Agee will be ready.
“He needs to get stronger like most high school kids need to do, but his upside is tremendous,” he said. “He’s quick with the ball, he can get to the basket and he’s become a better shooter from outside. He has all the athletic ability you could want in a guard.”
The college recruitment process was a difficult one for Agee. Some of the schools he anticipated playing for never offered. For someone with that many credentials, Agee felt slighted.
But after a successful unofficial visit and a phone conversation with former Bonnies great and fellow Niagara Falls native Tim Winn, Agee is right where he wants to be.
“Getting to play with the team and getting to know Coach Massey a little better played a big part,” he said. “When I played with the team they welcomed me. They made me feel like I was already part of the team. There was kind of a family thing going on and I really like that.”
Agee, who scored 1,043 points and grabbed over 400 rebounds in a memorable three-year career, is looking forward to the challenge.
“This is a good opportunity for me to prove my talents to people,” he said. “I felt like I was under-recruited and now it’s time to prove that.”
Bona builds for the future
By J.P. Butler
Olean Times Herald
ST. BONAVENTURE - Kelvin Agee is sure that he can play in the Atlantic 10 Conference. The St. Bonaventure men’s basketball team wants to give him the chance.
The Niagara Falls star will attend St. Bonaventure and walk on to the men’s basketball program in hopes of securing a scholarship in the future, coach Mark Schmidt announced Monday morning.
The 6-3, 175-pound shooting guard chose the Bonnies after talks with schools such as Northeastern, Central Connecticut, Buffalo, Canisius and Niagara fell through. Agee will follow a path similar to current Bonnie and Olean native Jake Houseknecht and redshirt his first season.
“He has a little bit of a chip on his shoulder,” Schmidt said Monday via phone. “He thinks he can play in the Atlantic 10 and I think he has a chance to be a really good player.
“Coming from a great program like Niagara Falls, for him to come to Bonaventure to be a walk-on is tremendous. It’s a great fit for him and a great fit for us. He can learn the system and then step in and really be a contributor in his freshman season.”
A first team all-state selection, Agee led Niagara Falls to a 24-1 record, a Niagara Frontier League title, a Section 6 championship and a Far West Regional title during the 2008-’09 season. The combo guard averaged 22.8 points, 7.8 rebounds and 3.2 assists en route to being named the Niagara Gazette Player of the Year and to the Buffalo News All-Western New York first team.
Agee led the Wolverines to the state final four for the sixth time in the school’s nine-year history this past season. He made the most of his playoff run, pouring in 27 points while adding a school-record 11 steals and nine rebounds in a win over Greece Athena in the Class AA Far West Regional.
Schmidt, entering his third year as coach of the Bonnies, said he didn’t offer Agee a schoarlarship right away because the team doesn’t need another shooting guard just yet.
“Right now we don’t need another guard,” he said. “Chris (Matthews) is a senior, and when Chris graduates, that’s when we’ll need a combo guard. We weren’t going to give a 2-guard a scholarship this year just because we don’t need that position.
“We want him to learn the system, become comfortable with the Division I atmosphere and get acclimated to the university both academically and socially.”
By the start of the 2010-’11 season, Schmidt feels Agee will be ready.
“He needs to get stronger like most high school kids need to do, but his upside is tremendous,” he said. “He’s quick with the ball, he can get to the basket and he’s become a better shooter from outside. He has all the athletic ability you could want in a guard.”
The college recruitment process was a difficult one for Agee. Some of the schools he anticipated playing for never offered. For someone with that many credentials, Agee felt slighted.
But after a successful unofficial visit and a phone conversation with former Bonnies great and fellow Niagara Falls native Tim Winn, Agee is right where he wants to be.
“Getting to play with the team and getting to know Coach Massey a little better played a big part,” he said. “When I played with the team they welcomed me. They made me feel like I was already part of the team. There was kind of a family thing going on and I really like that.”
Agee, who scored 1,043 points and grabbed over 400 rebounds in a memorable three-year career, is looking forward to the challenge.
“This is a good opportunity for me to prove my talents to people,” he said. “I felt like I was under-recruited and now it’s time to prove that.”