Below is JP's "The argument for Welch as Bona’s ‘x-factor’ this year."
It was as well-rounded a team as we’ve seen in two decades.
Earlier this month, in a two-part 20th anniversary story, I described the 1999-00 NCAA Tournament group as perhaps the most balanced St. Bonaventure men’s basketball team of its generation.
The stats suggest as much. That team had six players average between nine and 14 points per game and an eventual NBA All-Rookie Team selection (J.R. Bremer) coming off the bench. But if that squad is the top candidate for most-balanced, last year’s group is at least part of that conversation.
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The 2019-20 Bonnies featured five guys between nine and 14 points and a sixth, Alejandro Vasquez, at 6.3 points. All six had at least one 20-plus-point game and all led his team in scoring on at least two occasions.
In 13 years under Mark Schmidt, Bona’s hoops teams have presented an array of looks: The 2012 and ‘18 teams boasted true stars in Andrew Nicholson, Jaylen Adams and Matt Mobley. The 2014-15 team is the only group, to date, in which all five starters averaged double figures. The 2013-14 squad also had a number of contributors (and was underrated offensively), with Matthew Wright at 16 points per game and, interestingly, SIX others between eight and 12 points.
From top starter to sixth man, though, no team was as equally balanced and talented as Schmidt’s 19-12 group from last season … and with everybody back this winter, the same team he has now (and will have again in 2021-22).
THOUGH LAST year’s version had two all-conference players in Kyle Lofton and Osun Osunniyi — and these two are the two most important due to how the former controls the offense and the latter changes things defensively — all six were, and will be, hugely critical to Bona’s success.
As such, it’s difficult to choose any one guy as this year’s “x-factor” candidate.
But here’s a brief argument for who should be tagged with that label in 2020-21: Dominick Welch.
Of those six, Lofton and Osunniyi have established themselves as two of the best players at their position in the Atlantic 10. And though neither has reached his ceiling, you know that these are your go-to guys at either end of the court.
Jaren English, meanwhile, cemented himself as an almost ideal complementary piece in the backcourt, and should serve as the same this winter. Vasquez and Justin Winston (the latter, especially) figure to only be better as sophomores, though each has plenty of learning, and growing, left to do.
That leaves Welch, whose stroke is as smooth as any Bonnie in recent memory, arguably the best-rebounding guard of Schmidt’s tenure and become a markedly better defender over his first two campaigns.
THE BUFFALO native had a strong sophomore year, averaging 12 points and seven rebounds, the latter of which ranked third in the league among guards (14th overall), while chipping in 2.1 assists and shooting 40 percent from the field. He was also among the A-10’s best 3-point shooters, ranking sixth in total treys (72) and 14th in percentage (.369).
The rising junior had a mid-conference year stretch in which he averaged an impressive 15 points and nine rebounds, with a pair of double-doubles (6 for the year). He had seven games with four or more 3s. As with any player, he also had stretches of inconsistency, lowlighted by a 40-minute, zero-point afternoon at George Washington.
But the point here isn’t to single out the struggles of one player or say that Welch is in any way needing to “prove it” more than any of the other five key returning Bonnies, plus eligible transfer Jalen Adaway.
Quite the opposite.
It’s to say that if anyone else on this team, currently, has the ability to vault into that all-conference discussion, it’s Welch. And if the 6-foot-5 guard is able to put all of those qualities together — the shooting, rebounding and defense, combined with an improved ability to take guys off the dribble — on a more consistent basis, Bona instantly becomes that much more of a serious A-10 contender.
TO SCHMIDT, of course, now’s the time for players such as Welch and Winston to “take the next step.”
“He’s long, he can get really off his feet, he’s a great rebounder,” he made sure to note on the Marching to Madness Podcast, hosted by Ken Cross, earlier this week. “He’s got to get better off the bounce, with his handle. But Kyle does a great job of getting inside, and Dom has been a shooter his whole life, so he can find those openings, get to the spot where he can catch and shoot.
“But both (Welch and English) are really highly competitive and have a good understanding of how to play; they’re veteran guys. Kyle’s the point guard, but we have two really good solid wings that can shoot the ball, take guys off the bounce and guys that are strong enough that they can rebound the ball, which is crucial in winning games.”
Of Winston, who averaged nine points, three rebounds and shot 44 percent from the floor (and got better as the season went along), he added: “Justin had a great freshman year. Just like every freshman, some ups and downs, but he’s a talented kid. He can go both inside and outside, he can take you off the dribble … he’s that (power forward) that can stretch the defense, can help Osun play 1-on-1 in the post.
“Justin’s like a 4-3 type of guy. He’s more comfortable, stronger, he’s a kid that loves to play, he’s always in the gym. We’re expecting him to have a great sophomore season.”
www.oleantimesherald.com/olean/the-argument-for-welch-as-bona-s-x-factor-this-year/article_734b9df6-5802-5c5a-915d-617b14e60eec.html
