CLEVELAND — Mark Schmidt sat at his desk, conducting the next of what has likely been dozens of Zoom sessions since the spring.
Oh, his St. Bonaventure men’s basketball team had already taken the floor that day, finishing a three-hour practice just minutes earlier. But the scene was symbolic of what the Bonnies have had to endure of late: Schmidt has probably spent more time in his office since mid-November than on the court.
The situation has been frustrating, the 14th-year coach acknowledged. Bona has now twice had its season start delayed by a positive COVID-19 test, one that led to an 18-day in-house pause and the other to the cancellation of Saturday’s would-be season-opener against St. Francis (Pa.).
It’s hoping, and confident, however, that the third try will be the charm.
And that contest comes today (2 o’clock, ESPN3-TV, WPIG-FM, WHDL-AM), when Bona meets Mid-American Conference foe Akron inside a mostly cavernous home to the NBA’s Cavaliers, Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse.
THE REASON Bona believes it will, indeed, be playing basketball today: testing. Saturday was unique in that St. Francis was only expected to test on game day because its opponent from three nights earlier had since turned in a positive. In a typical situation such as this, though, teams only need to post a collective negative the day before, and both teams managed to check that box on Monday.
And because of that, Schmidt was upbeat.
“We’re just happy that we’re able to play hopefully (today) against Akron,” he said. “As I said before the St. Francis game, it’s a challenging year, we understand that, but we’ve got to make the most of it. However many games we’re able to play this year, it’s almost like each game is that much more important, because we’re not going to be able to play 27 games; right now, we’re guaranteed 22 games.
“It is what it is. I’m just thankful we’re able to play and five the kids the opportunity to do what they love to do.”
THE BONNIES have become tired of their practice-only circumstances, which were annoyingly extended another couple of days due to Saturday’s cancellation.
They’d grown sick of the monotony of being quarantined.
But it hasn’t necessarily become more of a challenge to keep his team engaged, Schmidt said. Remember, they went two-plus-weeks without getting to do any team-based activities at all.
“We were done for 18 days,” Schmidt said, “so it’s not like we were practicing. We took two-and-a-half weeks off and when we came back, it was more conditioning, trying to get the kids back in shape like we would if they were coming back from the summer time.
“They’re tired of practicing, but at the same time, the practices in the last week, right now I think we’ve been able to go four times with 10 guys. So it’s been different, but I think we’re all just appreciative of the opportunity to play.”
AND TODAY marks a big one for Bona, both in terms of opponent and location.
Akron has reclaimed its place as a top-end MAC team under third-year coach John Groce, having won last year’s regular-season title (at 24-7, 14-4) and the No. 1 seed in the league tournament before it was canceled. This year, it was selected to finish third of 12 MAC teams.
And though it lost four of five starters from last year, it welcomes back its most important player: Loren Christian Jackson. The 5-foot-8 senior guard was named the MAC Player of the Year last winter after averaging an impressive 20 points, five assists and three rebounds for the league’s top team. He had 19 points and nine assists in the Zips’ easy 97-49 season-opening win over Division II Cedarville on Saturday.
Much like Bona, Akron has experienced a vexing start to the year, seeing its first two games wiped out before finally opening on the same day Schmidt’s team was supposed to. But it promises to be a stern initial test for the still-waiting Bonnies.
“(He’s) one of the best point guards in the country,” Schmidt said of Jackson, whom Bona faced two years ago when its injury-riddled team lost to Akron, 61-49, in the Cayman Islands Classic. “He’s the engine that makes them go. They lost a number of guys off of last year’s team, but they didn’t lose the engine.
“He makes them go. He’s got elite quickness; he’s an elite scorer, but he’s not a pig. He gets in the paint, he’ll distribute the ball. He’s a big challenge.”
OF THE Zips, who drained 16-of-40 3-pointers against Cedarville, Schmidt added: “They’re a good team. Coach Groce knows what he’s doing. So it’s going to be a great challenge for us, especially in the first game where we haven’t done anything; no exhibitions, the first time we’re gonna play with the lights on and play when it matters.”
For Bona, it’s also a chance to win in an NBA arena for the second time in as many seasons after knocking off Rutgers in last year’s James Naismith Classic inside Toronto’s ScotiaBank Arena.
And that’s something it’s looking forward to after having so many other non-conference carrots taken away.
“The guys are excited about playing in an NBA Arena, fans or no fans,” said Schmidt, whose team is opening away from the RC for the first time since 2010-11, when it began the year at Canisius. “The NBA is what they dream of …
“That’s a big-time arena. The atmosphere won’t be what it’s (usually) like, but like I said before, it’s unique, it’s different. We’ve got to bring our own energy from our bench, from the guys that are out on the court. That’s it, that’s how it’s going to be for the whole year. It’s going to be just like those (preseason) ‘secret scrimmages’ that we have, but it’s going to count.”
