ST. BONAVENTURE, N.Y. — With the university having transitioned to online classes for the remainder of the semester, St. Bonaventure’s basketball players were forced to head home earlier than normal.
At least one won’t be coming back.
Bobby Planutis, a redshirt sophomore, is leaving the Bona program, Verbal Commits, the popular college hoops recruiting site, tweeted Friday night. Though he’s only completed three academic campaigns — one at Mount St. Mary’s and two at Bona — he’s listed as a grad transfer by Verbal Commits and would be able to play elsewhere immediately, with two years of eligibility remaining.
It wasn’t immediately known where Planutis might be transferring.
Planutis garnered a fair amount of hype after transferring in the spring of 2018 from Mount St. Mary’s, where, as a 6-foot-8 forward, he shot 49 percent from 3-point range (33-of-67) as a freshman. He was going to give the Bonnies an element they hadn’t exactly had before under coach Mark Schmidt — a “stretch” power forward who could consistently produce from the perimeter.
And though the Hazleton, Pa., native initially endeared himself to the fan base with his hustle, instincts and rebounding ability, he never quite became the player Bona followers envisioned upon his arrival.
Planutis appeared in all 31 games, making three starts, while averaging 5.4 points and 4.2 rebounds in 21 minutes per contest. He also finished third on the team in offensive rebounds (44) and brought undeniable energy during his time on the floor.
The primary issue was that he was never able to find the stroke he had with the Mountaineers.
Billed as a shooter, Planutis missed his first 11 treys over the first five games of the season, seemingly increasing the pressure on him to find his rhythm. And though he did eventually get a few to go down, scoring in double figures in consecutive games against Florida Atlantic (in the Boca Raton Beach Classic title game) and Hofstra, those struggles followed him, as he finished the year a mere 17-of-69 (25 percent) from distance.
Planutis tallied a season-high 14 points against FAU and a season-best 10 rebounds in a season-opening loss to Ohio. He scored at least nine points in three of the Bonnies’ first four Atlantic 10 games, including 13 at George Washington and 12 against UMass, helping Bona to go 4-0 in that stretch.
Eventually, his overall production fell as his shooting struggles continued.
In that time, Planutis went from being a fan favorite to, fair or not, one of the more criticized players on the roster.
As a result, and with the rise of freshman forward Justin Winston, Planutis’ minutes fell down the stretch. He received 14 or fewer minutes in seven of the last 10 games of the year, including just five in a loss to La Salle on Feb. 29 and 11 in a season-ending setback to Saint Louis.
Planutis’ transfer means that the Bonnies’ big class of rising juniors has one less player, leaving that group at Kyle Lofton, Dominick Welch, Osun Osunniyi, Jaren English and Alpha Okoli.
As it stands, Bona now has 11 players on scholarship, including Miami (Ohio) transfer Jalen Adaway, who sat this season, and incoming freshman Quintin Metcalf, a 6-foot-8 forward currently at Mercersburg (Pa.) Academy. Barring any other departures, it would still have two scholarships available for next season.
Planutis’ exit also continues a growing trend in college basketball of an inflated number of transfers after each season. As of Friday, just eight days after the sudden end to the 2019-20 campaign due to the COVID-19 outbreak, 400 players were on Verbal Commits’ transfer list.
It’s unclear how the Bonnies’ spring signing situation might unfold in the wake of the coronavirus standstill.
