WNY men's college basketball preview: St. Bonaventure looks for success, new coach at Canisius
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Western New York’s four Division I men's college basketball teams are set to kick off their seasons on Monday.
Here's a breakdown of each of the teams heading into the new season.
To see an outlook on the women's teams, click here.
St. Bonaventure
Coach: Mark Schmidt (18th season), 384-316 (302-226 at St. Bonaventure)
Last season: 20-13 (9-9 Atlantic 10), 87 NET, 102 KenPom
Preseason projections: 10th in Atlantic 10 coaches poll, 121 KenPom
Schedule highlights: Nov. 4 vs CSU Northridge (home opener), Nov. 9 at Canisius, Dec. 7 vs Buffalo, Dec. 14 neutral vs. Providence, Dec. 21 vs. Niagara, Dec. 31 vs. VCU (A10 opener), Mar. 5 vs. Massachusetts (home finale)
Returners: 6-11 GS Noel Brown (6.1 PPG, 2.2 RPG), Miles Rose (1 game played), 6-0 So. Jack DeRose (8 minutes played), 6-2 Jr. Broec Ostrom (15 minutes played)
Arrivals: 6-6 Sr. Chance Moore (Missouri State), 6-8 Fr. Duane Thompson (Boston), 6-5 Jr. Jaxon Edwards (Valparaiso), 6-9 Fr. Ebrahim Kaba (East Orange, N.J.), 6-2 Jr. Dasonte Bowen (Iowa), 6-11 Fr. Michael Folarin (London, England), 6-3 So. Jonah Hinton (Panola College), 6-7 Jr. Lajae Jones (Barton College), 6-4 Sr. Melvin Council Jr. (Wagner), 6-10 Fr. Xander Wedlow (Detroit), 6-8 Fr. Noah Bolanga (Poitiers, France), 6-11 GS Noel Brown (George Washington)
Departures: Chad Venning (Boston College), Mika Adams-Woods (graduated), Charles Pride (graduated), Moses Flowers (graduated), Daryl Banks III (graduated), Assa Essamvous (East Carolina), Barry Evans (Bryant), Kyrell Luc (Longwood), Melian Martinez (JUCO), Anthony Belardinelli
Outlook: The addition of Adrian Wojnarowski earlier this fall generated headlines around the program. Noel Brown is the only returner who played significant minutes last year. Rochester native Melvin Council Jr. led Wagner with 15.0 PPG last season, Chance Moore had 10.7 PPG at Missouri State and Dasonte Bowen came off the bench at Iowa. Beat Alfred 63-39 in an exhibition on Oct. 30.
Canisius
Coach: Jim Christian, 1st season at Canisius (320-286 overall)
Last season: 14-18 (8-12 MAAC), 266 NET, 278 KenPom
Preseason projections: 12th in MAAC coaches poll, 308 KenPom
Schedule highlights: Nov. 4 at Arizona, Nov. 9 vs. St. Bonaventure, Nov. 19 at Maryland, Dec. 6 vs. Merrimack (MAAC opener), Jan. 31 vs. Niagara, Feb. 12 at Niagara, Mar. 2 vs. Iona (home finale)
Returners: 6-5 So. Cam Palesse (6.8 PPG, 3.6 RPG), 6-8 Sr. TJ Porter (1.1 PPG, 1.1 RPG), 6-5 Jr. Maji David-Maji (14 minutes played)
Arrivals: 6-11 Fr. Alonso Easterling (Fayetteville, N.C.), 6-0 So. Anthony Benard (Mercer), 6-4 So. William Scott Jr. (JUCO), 5-11 Fr. Nicco DeGiulio (Williamsville, N.Y.), 6-6 Sr. Tana Kopa (LIU), 6-8 So. Dylan Godfrey (East Los Angeles College), 6-3 Fr. Carter Jackson (Cleveland), 6-5 Fr. Evan van der Plas (Rosmalen, Netherlands), 6-6 Jr. Tyson Oghene (JUCO), 6-8 GS Jasman Sangha (CSU Northridge), 6-8 Jr. Gianni Thompson (UMass), 6-3 Jr. Paul McMillan IV (Central Michigan)
Departures: Tre Dinkins (Duquesne), Siem Uijtendaal (graduated), Frank Mitchell (Minnesota), Tahj Staveskie (Cleveland State), TJ Gadsden (Hofstra), Devean Williams (Bryant), Bryce Okpoh (graduated), Youri Fritz (Northeastern), Davon Ware (Bryant & Stratton), Joe Jones III
Outlook: Jim Christian, former head coach at Boston College, TCU, Ohio and Kent State, is the new coach of the Golden Griffins, his first head coaching gig since 2021. Tana Kopa was a double digit scorer at LIU last season, while Paul McMillan IV had 8.4 PPG at CSU Northridge.
Buffalo
Coach: George Halcovage, 2nd season (4-27)
Last season: 4-27 (2-16 MAC), 345 NET, 348 KenPom
Preseason projections: 12th in MAC preseason poll, 348 KenPom
Schedule highlights: Nov. 8 vs. Fredonia, Nov. 11 at Notre Dame, Dec. 1 at Penn State, Dec. 7 at St. Bonaventure, Dec. 19 at Georgia, Jan. 4 at Miami-Ohio (MAC opener), Mar. 4 vs Miami-Ohio (home finale)
Returners: 6-3 So. Ryan Sabol (8.1 PPG, 1.5 RPG), 6-4 So. Anquan Boldin Jr. (7.0 PPG, 3,5 RPG), 6-5 So. Bryson Wilson (2.3 PPG, 1.3 RPG), 6-6 So. Lloyd McVeigh (1.9 PPG, 2.3 RPG)
Arrivals: 6-5 Fr. Omar Migues-Hibeljic (Quebec City, Quebec), 6-8 Jr. Noah Batchelor (Maryland), 6-3 Sr. Tyson Dunn (Western Ontario), 6-8 Fr. Brayden Jackson (Milton, Ontario), 6-8 Fr. Ben Michaels (Ipswich, England), 6-0 Fr. Erie Kenesie Jr. (Kenosha, Wisc.), 7-0 Fr. Fredericks Meinarts (Riga, Latvia), 6-7 Fr. Sam Akot (London, Ontario), 5-10 So. Daniel Shao (Morris Plains, N.J.), 6-2 Fr. Kavon Bradford (Portland, Ore.), 6-11 Fr. Tim Oboh (Orpington, England)
Departures: Sy Chatman (graduated), Isaiah Adams (Toledo), Jonnivius Smith (UTSA), Shawn Fulcher (Alabama State), Zaakir Williamson (Saint Peter's), James Graham (Grambling)
Outlook: The Bulls bottomed out in year one under George Halcovage, the program's worst season since its first season at the Division I level in 1991-92. This year the Bulls return two starters in Ryan Sabol and Anquan Boldin Jr. Junior Noah Batchelor appeared in 48 games across two seasons for Maryland. Team has eight freshmen. Lost 67-61 to Daemen in an exhibition on Oct. 30.
Niagara
Coach: Greg Paulus, 6th season (67-78)
Last season: 16-16 (11-9 MAAC), 256 NET, 272 KenPom
Preseason projections: 8th in MAAC coaches poll, 320 KenPom
Schedule highlights: Nov. 7 at Michigan State, Dec. 6 vs. Siena (MAAC opener), Dec. 21 at St. Bonaventure, Jan. 31 at Canisius, Feb. 12 vs. Canisius, Mar. 2 vs. Manhattan (home finale)
Returners: none
Arrivals: 6-5 Sr. Olumide Adeldun (Winona State), 6-4 Sr. Jaeden Marshall (Omaha), 6-2 Fr. Samuel Cole (Sugar Land, Texas), 6-3 Jr. Josiah Davis (Tennessee Tech), 6-5 So. Justin Page (Cal Poly), 6-2 So. Damondre McKnight (JUCO), 6-6 GS Justice Smith (East Tennessee State), 6-4 Fr. Landon Williams (Farmington Hills, Mich.), 6-1 So. Jahari Williamson (Valparaiso), 6-11 GS Jhaylon Martinez (UC Riverside), 6-2 Jr. Zion Russell (Northern Illinois), 6-8 Fr. Will Shortt (Sydney, Australia), 6-9 Jr. James Henderson Jr. (Bethune-Cookman), 6-5 Fr. AJ McBride (Cincinnati)
Departures: Ahmad Henderson II (UIC), Braxton Bayless (Western Kentucky), Harlan Obioha (UNC Wilmington), Yaw Obeng-Mensah (graduated), Luke Bumbalough (graduated), Kwane Marble Jr. (graduated), Dre Bullock (South Dakota), Malik Edwards (Emporia State), Randy Tucker, Lance Erving (graduated), Jalen Brown
Outlook: It's an entirely new roster for the Purps this season. Josiah Davis was the only player to average double figures at last stop, averaging 12.9 PPG at Tennessee Tech. Justin Page had 5.6 PPG at Cal Poly, but averaged 10.6 PPG over the final six games of the season. Lyons native Justice Smith is the program's first in-state player since 2021-22.
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Aidan Joly joined the News 4 staff in 2022. He is a graduate of Canisius College. You can see more of his work here.