photo: kentstatesports.com
By Jeff Uveino
ST. BONAVENTURE, NY — When Anthony Roberts received a transfer waiver from the NCAA in October, Mark Schmidt’s group of guards got even deeper than it already was.
Roberts transferred to the St. Bonaventure men’s basketball team from Kent State after the 2019-20 season. And, even though his waiver allows Roberts to play this season instead of having to sit out a year to meet NCAA transfer rules, the junior’s Bona debut has been delayed.
“He was in quarantine, so he hasn’t had an opportunity to play,” said Schmidt, Bona’s head coach, on Thursday. “It will probably be another game or two for him to get back into playing shape.”
Roberts missed the team’s season opener against Akron on Tuesday as a result of his quarantine, and will not play on Saturday when the Bonnies host Hofstra. When he is ready, however, Schmidt said that Roberts could help the team “right away.”
“I think he’s going to be a really good player,” Schmidt said of Roberts before the season. “He’s somebody that played at Kent State and had a lot of success. He can really score the basketball, and he can play the two and the one (guard positions).”
In his sophomore season with the Golden Flashes, Roberts averaged 12.9 points per game and shot 44% from the field. He was a 37% three-point shooter and 79% free-throw shooter, and scored 19 or more points in six different games.
Roberts also showed progression from his freshman to sophomore year, as he was given more playing time in year two. He averaged 11.5 more minutes played per game in his sophomore year than in his freshman season, and more than doubled his points per game average while shooting 8% higher from beyond the arc.
Roberts’ career-high scoring game came against SBU’s “Big 4” rival Buffalo, against whom he scored 23 points on 8-for-17 shooting from the field in February. The Bonnies are scheduled to play the Bulls on Dec. 22 at the Reilly Center.
“We’re expecting him to come in and help us right away,” Schmidt said. “He’s good enough and he’s shown it. Now he just needs to show it in the A-10.”
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