My 2 cents

[Hermit]

One aspect of the Bonnies that has not been discussed much here are the comments from coach, and also some of the players, indicating that they want to “run”. I’ve heard that said before, but this year, I think they really mean it.
Dasonte and Melvin both like to push the ball. The wings can run. So can the bigs.
The things I will be looking for tonight will be:
Defense and rebounding fuel a running team. Will Bonnies respond?
How deep will the bench go. It could go 9-10, or more
Who will lay claim to the “3”, or small forward position? Right now it is “by committee “
Bonnies are still very much a work in progress and face a talented team that I would say is also a team that is a work in progress. There are many similarities with the teams.
The students will do their part. I hope the reds show up in force,
because , like it or not, the Bonnies will have their hands full tonight and will need that extra advantage…The RC!

[Chuck]

Adding to Hermits post.
— “Running” it seems obvious with the athleticism of this team, but we expect this every year. A running team is something we see every year in practice. Will we see it tonight? Unfortunately, I’m less optimistic than Hermit.
— “Rebounding” team has to be better than last year. Bonnies had a total of 6 rebounds better than Richmond, who finished last in rebounding in A-10. Best rebounder on the team is Lajae and then you have Melvin who led Wagner in rebounding. Jaxon was the 2nd leading rebounder for Valpo (just 17 less rebounds than leading rebounder). Pretty incredible when you consider Jaxon had 228 less minutes of PT. Then add Mike averaged an incredible 13.2 rebounds per 40 minutes. His 173 rebounds is more than any Bonnie last year. Mike had just 65 more minutes of PT than Noel, but had 100 more rebounds (173 to 73).
— “Defense” was alright last year (finished 8th in A-10) but it should be better this season. Watch tonight and you will see Melvin and Dasonte excel at man defense. Team didn’t have anyone like them playing man defense. Lajae is also a solid man defender.
— “Who will lay claim to the 3” my most interesting question for this season. Starters for last 3, first game of season had Anour and Linton. Will Jaxon be the starter for majority of season? I’m betting no.
— “How deep will the bench go”might not get a good answer tonight. If the game is close, Schmidt probably will rely on his starters.

Schmidt has talent on his bench, but when was the last time he used a deep bench. “9-10 players” off the bench is an extremely high number for Schmidt. Three is a more realistic number with backup center, forward and guard. Hope I’m wrong. We need reserves coming back next year.

[ceharv]

Chuck - I agree that going 9 or 10 deep is wishful thinking based on Schmidt’s history. In fact it would be revolutionary if 9-10 guys got meaningful minutes. There seems to be a consensus here that this team is positioned better than most Bonnie teams to have a deep bench. But even if that is correct, it doesn’t mean it will happen. To state the obvious, we’ll find out soon enough. And we’ll finally be able to stop bugging you for reports on practices. Thanks to ESPN+ we can watch for ourselves, come to our own conclusions and then argue about them here.

[BONA82.5]

LETS GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

[wgt]

I expect an 8 deep team of contributors. What I found most impressive about the Alfred game (overall they did not impress) was their skill at caring for the rock. I saw lots of movement and passing with only 8 TOs for a team learning to play with each other. Saw that as a bright spot I would love to believe is true. A requirement for an uptempo running squad,

[BONA82.5]

SBU's starting lineup: Chance Moore, Dasonte Bowen, Lajae Jones, Melvin Council Jr., and Noel Brown.
COACH got that right - from what I saw ...

Hinton / Folarin / Bolanga coming off the PINE. There's your Schmidt "8".

Excited to see what this group can do - Feeling a much different (better) energy from this team over last year's squad.

[kccgold]

It didn’t feel like Hinton played great or anything but if you look at the box score he only played 11 mins and had 3 assists in that time, tied for the team high. That’s going to get him more minutes for sure

[coach]

Nov 5, 2024 6:39:33 GMT -5 kccgold said:

It didn’t feel like Hinton played great or anything but if you look at the box score he only played 11 mins and had 3 assists in that time, tied for the team high. That’s going to get him more minutes for sure

also, depends on if those assist were during garbage time or critical time.

[BONA82.5]

Those assists were while he game was tightly contested. Hinton played with confidence and he showed good handles and vision. Played great defense and didn't force it on offense. The kid is "plug and play" off the bench. Hoping to see him knock down some open looks from 3 next game too ...