A teammate’s tardiness opened the door to the starting lineup for Duane Thompson.
Making his first college start, the St. Bonaventure basketball redshirt freshman played well enough to demand 13 minutes of court time and netted seven points in the Bonnies’ victory at Canisius on Saturday.
It was an audition for playing time that many of the Bonnies are playing through early in the season. Thompson and others will get another chance to be judged by coach Mark Schmidt tonight when they meet Florida Gulf Coast at 7 p.m. (ESPN+, Bonnies Online Network, 100.1 FM) at Alico Arena in Fort Myers, Florida.
“Some guys that are playing a lot of minutes now, in January they may not be playing as much,” Schmidt said when asked about a potential role for Thompson. “The roles aren’t defined. It’s going to take a while for that to happen. We have 10 or 11 guys that we can play. No one has really separated themselves from each other. We’re still trying to find combinations.”
Opening game starters Melvin Council Jr. (30.6 minutes per game), Chance Moore (30.5), Dasonte Bown (30.2), Lajae Jones (26.4), and Noel Brown (23.5) appear to be the only players with a clear lock on playing time.
Ten Bonnies played at least eight minutes against Cal State Northridge in the opener and nine played nine minutes or more against Canisius.
Thompson saw nine minutes of action in the opener as the power forward missed two field
goal attempts, made 1 of 3 free throws, and grabbed a rebound. He started against the Golden Griffins in place of Jones, who Schmidt said was late for a team meeting, and made 3 of 5 field goals, including a 3-pointer for his first college points.
For Thompson to get more playing time, Schmidt said the 6-foot-8 Boston native has to work on his conditioning and defense, specifically staying in front of faster guards on ball screens.
“He’s got a really high IQ for the game,” Schmidt said of Thompson. “When he concentrates and stays disciplined, he can be a really effective player for us. He’s been in the system for a year now, so he has a better feel for what we’re trying to do. But he’s got to be able to stay consistent and stay disciplined. When he does that, he’s an effective player.”
The Bonnies are 2-0 for the first time since 2021-22, when the eventual NIT final four Bona team started with five consecutive wins. To go to 3-0, they will need to overcome a Florida Gulf Coast team that Schmidt believes is better than its 0-2 mark.
“We have a lot of work ahead of us. Our guys understand that. You love to be 2-0, and that’s great, but we have to continue to get better. We’re playing a much better team tomorrow night and we better be ready for it.” Bona has struggled most at making (12 of 51) and defending the 3-point line (20-51), with Canisius drilling 14 of 32 from deep and the Bonnies just 5 of 19.
The Eagles have only made 15 of 55 3-point attempts in road losses to UNC Greensboro, 73-64, and TCU, 67-51. “If they look at the Canisius game, they’re going to have their eyes wide open. They’re going to say, ‘That’s the game where we can get out of our slump,’” Schmidt said.
“We gave up 14 threes,” he added. “That’s unacceptable. They have good shooters. It’s only the second game of the year. Throw the stats out the window.”
Florida Gulf Coast scored a 71-58 victory at SBU in December 2022, but only one current player, reserve Blaise Vespe, played in that game. The Bonnies, meanwhile, have an entirely different roster than two seasons ago. Forward Keeshawn Kellman leads the Eagles at 16.5 points per game and has made 15 of his 19 field goal attempts. Kellman finished second nationally at 68.4% shooting from the field last season.
Behind Kellman, the Atlantic Sun preseason defensive player of the year, FGCU was picked to finish fourth in the 12-team conference.
“They have good players,” Schmidt said of the Eagles, who are led by former Penn State coach Pat Chambers. “They beat us here two years ago pretty convincingly. We have our work cut out for us.”
Though unbeaten in two games and paced by reigning Atlantic 10 player of the week Moore (22.5 points per game), Schmidt said the Bonnies are “not even close” to where they need to be.
“If we go into the Atlantic 10 right now, we wouldn’t win a game,” he said. “Our guys understand that. It’s a process. We’re still learning each other.”
