OTH articles

[Chuck]

Attached is JP's article "Notes: Three degrees of St. Bonaventure athletics ."

Following is from article.
-- ESPN recently undertook the task of ranking the top 74 players in NBA history — choosing that number due to the fact the NBA is currently in its 74th season — revealing its list in three parts, from No. 74 to No. 1.
-- Lanier checked in at No. 71
-- Bona fans, of course, will never forget what he meant to their program, how he led the Bonnies to a top three ranking and the NCAA Final Four in 1970. What some might not so easily remember, however, is the fact that he averaged an impressive 20 points and 10 rebounds for over a decade in the NBA.
-- Shaquille O’Neal, Kobe Bryant, Tim Duncan, Larry Bird, Wilt Chamberlain, Magic Johnson, Bill Russell, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, LeBron James and Michael Jordan.

www.oleantimesherald.com/olean/notes-three-degrees-of-st-bonaventure-athletics/article_5e9d5a9c-fc95-5df7-96db-3c322a495017.html

[Chuck]

ESPN's "Ranking the top 74 NBA players of all time: Nos. 74-41."

Following is Lanier's write up from Tim Bontemps.
1970-80 Detroit Pistons; 1980-84 Milwaukee Bucks

20.1 PPG, 10.1 RPG, 3.1 APG

An injury in the Elite Eight in 1970 while playing for St. Bonaventure led to the first of Lanier's eight knee surgeries during his career, and it sapped him of some of the athleticism that made him the No. 1 pick in the 1970 NBA draft. But he still managed to make eight All-Star appearances -- seven of which came with a Pistons team that mostly toiled in obscurity in the '70s -- before winning five straight division titles with the Bucks in the early 1980s. -- Tim Bontemps

www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/29105574/ranking-top-74-nba-players-all-nos-74-41

Attached profile on Tim Bontemps was posted last year on the Bandwagon.

www.post-journal.com/sports/local-sports/2019/04/area-native-dreamed-of-sportswriting-career-now-covers-the-nba%E2%80%88for-espn/

[ohs73]

I admit I get a kick out of reading not only the Bona nostalgia stories (including the 60s Mount Rushmore of the Stith bros, Crawford and Butler just posted), but also the hs articles. The recent series about the 1994-95 Bradford Owls dream season was especially good.

[Chuck]

Attached is JP's article "Picking the four best Bona players — of the 1960s."

Following is from article.

BILL BUTLER (1965-68) The case: Butler was the captain of the only Bona team (1967-68, the year of “The Ironman 5”) to go undefeated in the regular season AND reach the NCAA Tournament. Known for his aggressive play and polish, the 6-foot-3 forward finished with 1,462 points and 650 rebounds over three seasons, numbers that still rank Nos. 17 and 19 in program history. He also holds a share of the Bona record for most points in an NCAA Tournament game with 34 in a first-round win over Boston College in 1968.

FRED CRAWFORD (1960-64) The case: Crawford helped Bona to its first NCAA Tournament appearance in 1960-61, setting the program standard for points as a sophomore that year (614), a figure that has been topped only by Lanier (with 656). The 6-foot-4 forward still ranks in the top 10 in Bona annals in both scoring (8th, 1,738 points) and rebounding (6th, 789, 10.2 per game) — achieving those numbers in only three varsity seasons. His career 22.5 points per game scoring average still sits third in program history, behind only Lanier (27.6) and Tom Stith (27.0).

SAM STITH (1957-60) The case: The elder of the famed Stith brothers, Sam was a key player on a trio of NIT teams and served as captain of the 1959-60 team that finished fourth at the National Invitation Tournament. The New York City native finished his career with 1,112 points (34th all-time) and 620 rebounds (23rd). The 159-60 season was perhaps the most magical for the Stiths, as the brothers combined to average 52 points per game — Sam at 20.5 and Tom at 31.5. Combined, they led the Bonnies three NITs and one NCAA Tournament appearance over four years.

TOM STITH (1958-61)The case: One of the program’s true legends, the younger Stith was the best player of his era and remains one of the most decorated in Bona annals. A prolific scorer with an unstoppable hook shot, Stith was co-captain of the Bonnies’ first NCAA Tournament team (1960-61) and was their first consensus All-American (receiving the honor in both 1959 and ‘60).
At the time of his graduation, Tom was Bona’s all-time leading scorer with 2,052 points, a figure that remains fifth in program history (and second among three-year players, behind only Lanier). He still holds the Bona record for points in a season (830 in 1960-61) and single-season scoring average (31.5 in 1959-60) and is 13th in rebounds (691). Among Stith’s career honors: Associated Press and United Press International All-American (1960,‘61).

www.oleantimesherald.com/olean/picking-the-four-best-bona-players-of-the-1960s/article_782877d9-b649-5efd-bf72-ca2ba3c022ed.html

[Chuck]

JP's criteria having played in "one or more postseasons" excludes George Carter for 60s Mount Rushmore. Like Mal Duffy from the 50s, George Carter has numbers belonging to this group.

GEORGE CARTER (1964-67) The case: Carter was the leading scorer for 2 of his 3 seasons as a Bonnie. As a senior, junior Bill Butler outscored him by just 34 points for the season. Carter was the leading rebounder for all 3 seasons.

Carter's career average of 18.8 ppg is 9th on Bonnies all time scoring average. 6 of the players ahead of Carter have their jersey's hanging from rafters of Reilly Center. Glenn Price at 5th, Mal Duffy at 8th and Carter at 9th do not have their jerseys retired.

George Carter's numbers are considerably better than Sam Stith's. Carter's career average of 18.8 ppg is 9th, while Sam Stith's career average of 14.8 ppg is 22nd.

Even more impressive is Carter's rebounding. Carter's 12.5 rpg is Bonnies 2nd all-time leading career rebounder. Only Bob Lanier has a higher average per game over his career. Among the top 25 career rebound leaders, Tom Stith's 9.1 rpg is 9th and Sam Stith's 8.3 rpg is 10th.

d2o2figo6ddd0g.cloudfront.net/y/k/oyrbopk5r65et0/2020_Record_Book.pdf

[bjif]

Just reminiscing a bit that George Carter might have been the "best athlete" to ever play at Bona's. George was a quiet leader but tough as nails on the basketball court. The old Street & Smith publication acknowledged Carter as one of the best forwards in the East. Sorry not sure of the year.
The Buffalo Bills were very interested to have George play for them and loaned him a Ford convertible to drive. That convertible came in handy as he and I drove to Gannon for an afternoon game in baseball after late classes had us miss the team bus. We got to the ballpark as the game was just starting. Bonnies had 2 men on as I recall and George was hitting 3rd. He barely tied his spikes, grabbed a bat and hit the 1st or 2nd pitch over the left center field fence at 400ft. No warmup no nothing, just a great athlete in motion
His ABA career speaks for his consistency in performance regardless of sport. His jersey clearly belongs up in the rafters unless there were extenuating academic issues that have also prevented others from being acknowledged.

[mnbonnie]

This is not OTH per se, but I didn't know where to but it. It's a piece from Chuckie Maggio on Bob Lanier and Bob Lanier, sr.

ttps://pickinsplinters.com/2020/0

[mnbonnie]

This is not OTH 

[chuckiemaggio]

May 19, 2020 20:56:00 GMT -5 mnbonnie said:

This is not OTH per se, but I didn't know where to but it. It's a piece from Chuckie Maggio on Bob Lanier and Bob Lanier, sr.

ttps://pickinsplinters.com/2020/0

Thanks for sharing! Here’s a working link: pickinsplinters.com/2020/05/19/lanier-sr-made-sure-the-dobber-didnt-leave-school-early/

[Chuck]

Olean Times Herald has article about timeline of the reopening of the 4 phases "What comes after the Phase 1 reopening in WNY region?"

Brief summary and in particular reopening of Bonas.
-- Scheduled reopening of Phases will be 2 weeks.
-- At the end of the two-week period for a Phase, if the region meets the state metrics, it will get the green light to proceed with next Phase.
-- WNY Region is currently in Phase 1. Phase 1 started yesterday.
-- Phase 2 is scheduled for June 1st.
-- Phase 3 is scheduled for June 14.
-- Phase 4 is scheduled for late June at the earliest.
-- Phase 4 is the reopening of education.

If and it is a big if, if COVID-19 does not spike, Bona should be back in session on time. The Coronavirus news has recently been moving in a positive direction.

www.oleantimesherald.com/coronavirus/what-comes-after-the-phase-1-reopening-in-wny-region/article_129d5bce-702b-5637-83b6-d31f4965349f.html

[Chuck]

Attached is JP's article "The 1967-68 Walsh boys basketball team."

I found the following really impressive.
-- Walsh team had 4 D1 athletes, "featuring a lineup that included Dan Metzler, who was recruited by Bob Cousy and went on to play at Boston College, John Karuch (Niagara), Pete Aiello (Niagara) and Steve Stayer (UB football)."
-- "It established itself as a 60s version of the Showtime Lakers, averaging over 80 points (before the 3-point line), including six 90-point games and two in the 100s."
-- "It became an attraction, drawing crowds of 6,000 to St. Bonaventure’s Reilly Center for the wins over Bishop Ford and St. John’s."

www.oleantimesherald.com/olean/the-1967-68-walsh-boys-basketball-team/article_728a310b-3277-5fb9-863c-a4aa49fc800c.html

[Chuck]

Attached is from JP's article "Uncertainty is starting to set in for Bona hoops."

Following is from article.
-- Dion Wright is one win away from The Basketball Tournament title and the accompanying $1 million grand prize. Wright’s cut if Sideline Cancer can pull out a win: a pleasant $75,000.
-- Wright’s group will meet the fourth-seed Golden Eagles (Marquette alumni) for the TBT championship on Tuesday night in Columbus, Ohio, in a contest that will air live at 7 p.m. on ESPN.
-- Curran last week was named the No. 1 assistant in the Atlantic 10 by Stadium’s Jeff Goodman. Said one A-10 coach of Curran: “Works his (expletive) off, to start. Is always on the road. He really complements Coach (Mark) Schmidt well. They know exactly what they are looking for at St. Bonaventure and he does a great job of identifying under-the-radar talent that fits them. Secondly, I think they do the best job in the league of developing players.”
--Youssou Ndoye and LaDarien Griffin recently signed new pro deals overseas, and that Jaylen Adams will be joining the Portland Trail Blazers for the NBA’s restart.
-- Although it remains relatively clear today, July 13, the skies are beginning to look a little ominous in the distance as it relates to the Bonnies’ 2020-21 campaign, at least in terms of the scheduled start. With each passing day, it seems, trouble may be closing in."
-- In a poll of low- to mid-major coaches recently conducted by Goodman, 42 percent said they’d want to play the season normally; 38 percent were in favor of a January start/league-only schedule; 17 percent voted for a January start, but to play a full schedule that bleeds into May, and two percent said to cancel the season entirely.

www.oleantimesherald.com/olean/uncertainty-is-starting-to-set-in-for-bona-hoops/article_ae595326-d121-5bf1-acd3-06de6edcc4d7.html

[Dunga]

Jul 14, 2020 8:39:27 GMT -5 Chuck said:

-- Dion Wright is one win away from The Basketball Tournament title and the accompanying $1 million grand prize. Wright’s cut if Sideline Cancer can pull out a win: a pleasant $75,000.

Game is tonight, July 14th at 7:00PM EST on ESPN.

[Chuck]

Attached is JP's article "Nease reflects on 25 years as ‘Voice of the Bonnies’."

Brief summary of article
-- Gary Nease mentioned PVP as one of his favorite players in his 25 years as Voice of the Bonnies.
-- Schmidt responds to will there be basketball this winter? “I think so, but who knows,” answered Schmidt, who’s understandably as unsure of the future as the rest of society.
-- “We think there’s going to be basketball, but in what shape?” Nease continued. “That’s the question. How do you socially distance the Reilly Center? You get 800 students packed into that student section and you have 3,500 (season ticket holders). How do you socially distance? Who gets to go?"
-- Nease talked about the increase of Bonnie fans he sees at games on the road. “When I first started, (Bona) didn’t travel very well,” he noted. “Now you go to some of these places that are kind of outside the Bona alumni circle and there’s a good representation. That’s another thing that coach Schmidt has been able to do; he brought the excitement back to Bona basketball, and now people want to be there instead of just saying, ‘Oh yeah, they’re playing I’ll catch them on TV. They want to be at the game now.”

www.oleantimesherald.com/olean/nease-reflects-on-25-years-as-voice-of-the-bonnies/article_7d80ba68-065d-5dc5-8bbd-2ff9d356e4fa.html

[ohs73]

Jul 24, 2020 9:01:08 GMT -5 Chuck said:

Attached is JP's article "Nease reflects on 25 years as ‘Voice of the Bonnies’."

Brief summary of article
-- Gary Nease mentioned PVP as one of his favorite players in his 25 years as Voice of the Bonnies.
-- Schmidt responds to will there be basketball this winter? “I think so, but who knows,” answered Schmidt, who’s understandably as unsure of the future as the rest of society.
-- “We think there’s going to be basketball, but in what shape?” Nease continued. “That’s the question. How do you socially distance the Reilly Center? You get 800 students packed into that student section and you have 3,500 (season ticket holders). How do you socially distance? Who gets to go?"
-- Nease talked about the increase of Bonnie fans he sees at games on the road. “When I first started, (Bona) didn’t travel very well,” he noted. “Now you go to some of these places that are kind of outside the Bona alumni circle and there’s a good representation. That’s another thing that coach Schmidt has been able to do; he brought the excitement back to Bona basketball, and now people want to be there instead of just saying, ‘Oh yeah, they’re playing I’ll catch them on TV. They want to be at the game now.”

www.oleantimesherald.com/olean/nease-reflects-on-25-years-as-voice-of-the-bonnies/article_7d80ba68-065d-5dc5-8bbd-2ff9d356e4fa.html

Gary is a darn good broadcaster and a very nice fellow.