ST. BONAVENTURE, N.Y. — It’s easily the biggest offseason plotline of the Mark Schmidt era.
What will the St. Bonaventure men’s basketball team’s five senior starters choose to do with their immediate future?
The Bonnies’ accomplished quintet was given a unique opportunity ahead of the 2020-21 season, when the NCAA announced a blanket extra year of eligibility, regardless of how the campaign played out, due to the COVID-19 pandemic. That group then led Bona to an Atlantic 10 championship and NCAA Tournament appearance that winter and a trip to the NIT semifinals this March.
Having logged close to a full four-year career, those seniors closed out this season with a key question looming: Will one or more come back for further development and the chance to attain the return trip to the Big Dance that eluded them this year? Or will their time at Bona be over by virtue of transferring or pursuing their professional careers.
One has made a choice. Another said he’s close to doing the same.
JALEN Adaway will not use that fifth year of eligibility and will instead turn pro, with the intention of declaring for the NBA Draft, the senior guard announced on his social pages Friday afternoon.
His decision capped a busy first full offseason week for Bona in terms of player movement, as two others — freshman guard Joryam Saizonou and redshirt sophomore Karim Coulibaly — entered the transfer portal, per verbalcommits.com. Senior Osun Osunniyi will reportedly make his decision as early as this weekend.
Adaway may have inadvertently revealed his status over a week earlier when he participated in the College Slam Dunk Championship, aired on ESPN. In doing so, he apparently forfeited the ability to come back for another year, as, per Pickin’ Splinters, once athletes compete in all-star contests with cash prizes, they waive their amateur status and are ineligible to return to intercollege athletic competition. The dunk contest featured a cash prize of $5,000.
But that’s now a moot point.
Adaway has decided to move on, bringing to an end a fantastic two-year run in which he served as an integral piece on last year’s tournament team and was the Bonnies’ leading scorer and an Atlantic 10 First Team All-Conference selection this winter.
He made that known with a heartfelt message to Bona fans with the caption, “Thank you Bona Nation! Forever I rep.”
“FIRST and foremost I want to say how grateful I am to be in a position where I can bring positivity and joy upon others while doing something I love, day in and day out,” he wrote. “Mom, Aja, you made this possible and my love for you will forever be endless. You were my world and always will be.
“These last few years at St. Bonaventure have been the biggest in terms of my overall growth, both on and off the court. I want to thank Coach Schmidt for taking a chance with me and letting me represent a 1 of 1 place I now call home. … I am so grateful to call myself a Bonnie and will cherish that for the rest of my life and more.”
The Miami (Ohio) transfer concluded, “As a kid I told myself I would be a pro one day. Now, I’m in a position to keep that word of mine and fulfill my ambitions. I will be entering my name in the 2022 NBA Draft and pursue my professional career.”
FOR THE other four seniors, a verdict seems imminent, especially considering the ramifications it would presumably have on recruiting as Schmidt goes to retoole his roster for the 2022-’23 campaign. But Osunniyi has been the only other to acknowledge that an announcement is forthcoming.
“I’ll probably have my decision made by the end of this weekend, probably like Saturday or Sunday I’ll have my decision made,” the 6-foot-10 center told SBU-TV this week. “But it’s been a lot of talking with my family and coaches the last couple days.”
Saizonou’s choice to exit, meanwhile, wasn’t terribly surprising, though bench departures this year are more interesting due to the idea that more playing would almost certainly be available next season. The 6-foot-3 Netherlands native played a total of just 17 minutes this winter as Schmidt used the bench ever so sparingly outside of Coulibaly and (occasionally) Quadry Adams.
Coulibaly’s decision, however, is a bit more perplexing.
The 6-foot-9 forward was the one reserve who made a true impact this year, appearing in all 33 games, making one start and averaging 10 minutes per game after transferring in from Pittsburgh. He was relatively productive in those windows, averaging four points and two rebounds and shooting 54 percent from the field (54-of-108) while primarily serving as Osunniyi’s backup. He had six or more points in 10 outings, including his six-point game against Xavier in the NIT semifinals.
What made it somewhat of a surprise is that he likely had the inside track for the starting center spot next season, depending on what Osunniyi decides.
(J.P. Butler, Bradford Publishing Company group sports editor, can be reached at jbutler@oleantimesherald.com)
