(Mark Schmidt Photo Credit: GoBonnies.com)
By Chuckie Maggio @chuckiemaggio
When the Atlantic 10 converges on Pittsburgh on Tuesday for its men’s basketball Media Day, the most discussed topics will be the preseason poll and All-A-10 teams, per usual. Nothing gets the season kicked off quite like debates about where teams are ranked, who the preseason favorites are and what players got left off a team.
For years, St. Bonaventure hasn’t really had much to look forward to on Media Day. The Bonnies have been ranked consistently low in the vote, conducted by select media members. More often than not, the team has outdone its preseason ranking and proven the pundits wrong.
This year, SBU has received more media attention and respect than it has in past Octobers- that’s what a share of the league’s regular season title and NCAA snub will do to team visibility. But as coach Mark Schmidt has said more than a few times over the years, “We didn’t believe (the media) when they said we were bad. Why should we listen to them now when they say we’re good?”
Here’s a season-by-season look at the A-10 preseason polls during the Schmidt era, and how the team has ended up:
2007-08 season:
Preseason poll: Bonnies picked last of 14 teams. Xavier voted preseason favorite.
Season: Bonnies finish last after finishing 2-14 in the A-10 and 8-22 overall. Xavier won the regular season title with a 14-2 conference record.
2008-09 season:
Preseason poll: Bonnies picked last of 14 teams. Xavier voted preseason favorite.
Season: Bonnies finish 11th with a 6-10 A-10 record (15-15 overall). Xavier won the regular season title with a 12-4 conference record.
2009-10 season:
Preseason poll: Bonnies picked 11th of 14. Dayton voted preseason favorite.
Season: Bonnies finished eighth with a 7-9 A-10 record (15-16 overall). Temple and Xavier shared the regular season title with 14-2 conference records. Dayton finished seventh, going 8-8.
2010-11 season:
Preseason poll: Bonnies picked 13th of 14. Temple voted preseason favorite.
Season: Bonnies tied for eighth with Duquesne with an 8-8 A-10 record (16-15 overall). Xavier won the regular season title with a 15-1 conference record. Temple was second at 14-2.
2011-12 season:
Preseason poll: Bonnies picked fourth of 14. Xavier voted preseason favorite.
Season: Bonnies tied for third with Xavier at 10-6 (Bonnies defeated Xavier in A-10 Tournament final). Temple won the regular season title with a 13-3 conference record.
2012-13 season:
Preseason poll: Bonnies picked 11th of 16. St. Joe’s voted preseason favorite.
Season: Bonnies tied for 11th with Dayton and George Washington at 7-9. Saint Louis won the regular season title with a 13-3 conference record. St. Joe’s tied for eighth with an 8-8 record.
2013-14 season:
Preseason poll: Bonnies picked 12th of 13. VCU voted preseason favorite.
Season: Bonnies finished ninth at 6-10 (18-15 overall). Saint Louis won the regular season title with a 13-3 conference record. VCU finished second at 12-4.
2014-15 season:
Preseason poll: Bonnies picked 10th of 14. VCU voted preseason favorite.
Season: Bonnies tied for sixth at 10-8 (18-13). Davidson won the regular season title with a 14-4 conference record. VCU tied for fourth at 12-6.
2015-16 season:
Preseason poll: Bonnies picked eighth of 14. Dayton voted preseason favorite.
Season: Bonnies shared the regular season title with Dayton and VCU with a 14-4 conference record.
As the summaries show, Bona has either matched or exceeded its preseason ranking in each season since Schmidt was hired in 2007. More often than not, the team can be described as “overachievers” when you look at the projections.
The SBU program isn’t going to lose sleep over where its picked on Tuesday, mainly because of how much evidence there is that media members haven’t (collectively) pinpointed the brown and white correctly over the years.
intrepidsbu.com 