Additions and SubtractionsMeet the NewcomersSt. Bonaventure

Meet the Bonnies Offseason Additions

Blake Silverman
Posted onAug 23, 2023 at 11:00 AM
Updated onUpdated on Aug 22, 2023 at 1:23 PM

ST. BONAVENTURE, N.Y. – Recent seasons have seen change as the only constant for the Bonnies. Last season, head coach Mark Schmidt fielded a roster with the least returning minutes of any team in the country. Now, St. Bonaventure saw four players leave through the transfer portal, leaving a number of open roster spots for Schmidt and co. to reload.

Key returners include last season’s leading scorer Daryl Banks III, starting big and Gotham Classic MVP Chad Venning, A-10 All-Rookie wing Yann Farell, and point guard Kyrell Luc.

The Bonnies leveraged the transfer portal to bring in a handful of players primed to take on a heavy workload immediately. Bonas also brought in a couple of freshman with hopes to make a long term impact for the Brown and White.

Meet the newcomers in Olean who are gearing up to mold the Bonnies into the A10’s most improved team and a top contender in the conference:

Charles Pride

Pride comes to Bonas as a graduate transfer after four seasons at Bryant. He started 97 of his 112 career games with the Bulldogs, scoring 1,528 points, which is good for fourth in program history. He ranks second in career rebounds (750) and sixth in total assists (250). Pride is Bryant’s all-time leader in career steals with 144.

Named to the All-America East conference second team averaging 14.6 points per game (PPG) as a senior following first team All-Conference honors in his junior season with 17.7 PPG and 8.6 rebounds per game (RPG), Pride will immediately become a top option for Schmidt. He’s a career 34.6% 3-point shooter, shooting at a 37% clip as a senior on 5.0 3-point attempts (3PA) per game.

As a primary option for the Bulldogs, Pride will see a similar role in Schmidt’s offense. Defensively, he can guard the opposition’s main scorer, working to get into passing lanes and poke the ball away to generate quick transition offense. Pride is a strong rebounder from the guard spot.

Mika Adams-Woods

Adams-Woods is a 6’3″ sharp-shooting lefty guard coming to Bonaventure for his graduate season after four seasons with Cincinnati. He was a career starter for the Bearcats, shooting 36% from three as a senior. He scored in double-figures 18 times out of his 36 games played last season.

The Syracuse native joined the Bonnies new roster for his fifth year of eligibility just two weeks after Pride’s commitment, adding multiple seasoned players to Schmidt’s arsenal.

“We are really excited that Mika has decided to join our program,” Schmidt said in a St. Bonaventure news release. “He is someone who has played at a high level for the last four years and proven his ability to be an impact player in a variety of ways. He’s long and can create a lot of issues defensively for opponents. He’s a lefty with good range and knack for making the right play. He will add to a talented group we have in our backcourt and we’re looking forward to him getting to work with us this summer.”

Adams-Woods provides additional back court depth for Bonaventure alongside Pride and roster mainstays in Luc, Banks III, and Moses Flowers.

Noel Brown

Schmidt stayed within the A10 to bring Brown aboard. The 6’11” big man heads to the Bonnies as a redshirt junior after spending past seasons at George Washington, where he appeared in 68 games including 17 starts.

Last season, Brown appeared in all 32 games, starting six for GW, shooting 58.1% from the field in 11.3 minutes per game (MPG). He averaged 3.2 PPG and 2.3 RPG as a junior.

Brown will add front court depth to Bonaventure’s rotations behind Venning, who manned the post for the Bonnies last season.

“Noel is athletic, strong and will bring some added physicality to our front court,” Schmidt said in a St. Bonaventure news release. “He can defend, rebound and has showed the ability to score with his back to the basket in limited opportunities. Noel fits our style well and we expect him to make an impact next season. It’s also nice that he knows the Atlantic 10.”

The freshmen: Miles Rose and Duane Thompson

After a number of departures in the transfer portal, Rose and Thompson will take two open scholarship spots. The workload for the two true freshmen is currently unclear, although Schmidt has mentioned that he expects both players to make an immediate impact for the Bonnies next season.

Rose and Thompson both played prep ball at Putnam Science Academy. Pride and sophomore forward Barry Evans played at PSA as well, along with 2022 Bonnies greats Kyle Lofton and Osun Osunniyi.

“We’ve obviously had a lot of recent success with guys from Putnam Science Academy; they run it like a college program and really coach the guys up. It’s also always exciting to add local talent, this time from Rochester. Miles will be ready to play and we expect him to contribute right away next season.” Schmidt said in a St. Bonaventure news release.

As a 6’4″ combo guard, Rose adds an additional scoring threat in the back court should Schmidt decide to include him in rotations this season. He brings a sense of familiarity to the roster after winning a prep championship with Evans at PSA. Rose helped guide PSA to another national prep championship this past season as the team’s starting point guard.

Thompson was also a key contributor to PSA’s recent championship team. The 6’8″ wing received multiple A10 offers, as well as offers from power-five schools Creighton, Seton Hall, and Virginia Tech.

“Both Duane and Miles were playing their best basketball at the end of the season and that really helped us win the title.” PSA head coach Tom Espinosa said of Thompson and Rose in a St. Bonaventure news release.

While the immediate role for both Thompson and Rose is up in the air, the Bonnies have two young, promising players on campus to develop for the foreseeable future.

(Featured Image Courtesy of St. Bonaventure Athletics)