Welcome to A10 Talk’s postseason Top 25 player countdown where we’ll be breaking down the best players in the Atlantic 10 this past year, as voted on by our staff. Each day, we’ll release a new article as we unveil our list. Today, we start with #7 Courtney Stockard of St. Bonaventure.
What he did
There were plenty of doubts regarding St. Bonaventure’s 2018-19 season, and the Bonnies looked to be in for a rough time when November rolled around, as they lost 5 of their first 6 games. A big reason why the Bonnies struggled in November was due to Courtney Stockard’s injury, as the team’s vital senior would be on the bench for a solid portion of the non-conference season. Once back in the lineup, Stockard put together some very solid performances and helped the Bonnies absolutely crush Siena 82-40.
The remainder of the season would only get better for St. Bonaventure. A few conference losses would sting, including one in double overtime to Dayton where Stockard had a 36 point effort with 10 rebounds. However, Stockard, along with a growing group of freshmen, would go on to get hot and lead the Bonnies in the right direction heading into Brooklyn. Though St. Bonaventure’s season would end in the final game of the A-10 Tournament, Courtney Stockard went out with a bang, scoring 22 points in his final collegiate contest. Stockard had a tremendous 2 year career with the Bonnies, starting as a role player in 2017-18 behind Adams and Mobley and emerging as the dominant scorer and leader in 2018-19. No one picked the Bonnies to finish as high as they did this past season, and you can thank Stockard for a lot of that.
What he’ll do
Courtney Stockard will be missed in Olean as he graduates and takes the next steps in his basketball career. Averaging 15.1 points and 5.4 rebounds per game his senior year, Stockard was a very vital piece for the Bonnies who emerged very quickly under Mark Schmidt. Speaking of the Bonnies’ head coach, he’s done an amazing job making something out of nothing — last season looked to be a wash, but he helped grow a trio of freshmen into a foundation for the future. Now, the Bonnies look to be a fringe bubble team heading into 2019-20 thanks to these rising sophomores among others. The future is bright in Olean.
