INSIDE THE NUMBERS

2000-01 record: 17-13; 8-8 in A-10 (3rd/East) Postseason: Lost to Syracuse 76-66 in first round of NIT. RETURNING LEADERS Points: Green 15.3 Rebs: Prato 4.9 Assists: Green 6.0 FG: Cheeks 62.2% 3pt: Green 39.9% FT: Green 85.8% 01-02 Stats: St. Bonaventure | A-10 KEY LOSSES J.R. Bremer | 24.6 ppg Vidal Massiah | 10.8 ppg PROJECTED STARTERS G | Marques Green | Junior G | Patricio Prato | Senior F | Mike Gansey | Soph F | Cortez Sutton | Soph C | Jamil Terrell | Junior Player to Watch Marques Green The shortest player in the A-10 plays a big role in the up-and-down Bonnies offense. DATE TO REMEMBER Jan. 1 Temple comes to town with that zone defense that will try to slow down the Bonnies in a classic game of tortoise vs. hare.

 

ST. BONAVENTURE BONNIES

The Bonnies must replaced the best scorer (J.R. Bremer, 24.6 points per game) and the best name (Vidal Massiah) in the A-10, but they have enough coming back -- and enough coming in -- to make a bid for a fourth consecutive postseason appearance. Three starters are back, including 5-7 scoring machine Marques Green (15.4 ppg, 5.9 apg) and underrated 6-4 wing Patricio Prato (11.8 ppg). Mix in blue-collar guys like 6-6 Robert Cheeks (4.6 ppg) and 6-4 Mike Gansey (8.3 ppg), add two transfers (6-8 Jamil Terrell, 6-7 Cortez Sutton) and a muscular freshman (6-8, 255-pound Calvin Brown), and you've got a team that ought to survive its first season without Bremer. By all means you've got a team that again, under coach Jan van Breda Kolff, will hoist three-pointers by the bushel. The Bonnies shattered school records last season by hitting 314 of 898 threes, and fell 64 points short of breaking the school's record for points in a season.

TOUGH ENOUGH..............................
Even losing the league's No. 1 scorer, the Bonnies have plenty of firepower in their backcourt. Green, although only 5-7 and 160 pounds, can fill it up. He hit 40 percent of his threes and 86 percent of his foul shots. Prato is a 37-percent shooter behind the arc, while Gansey hit 39 percent. Did we mention that Virginia transfer Maurice Young, a 6-5 wing, becomes eligible in midseason?

TOUGH ENOUGH?..............................
The Bonnies were small last season, and this season they are small and inexperienced. Nobody averaged more than five rebounds last season, but opponents shot better than 51 percent from the floor while going to town against an interior defense with 6-6 guys at center. Terrell, Brown and Sutton make St. Bonaventure bigger than last season, but all are in their first season - and none is bigger than 6-8. Still, Terrell has a reputation for blocking shots.

BOTTOM LINE..............................
The Bonnies will light up scoreboards again - both for and against - and by late February there ought be enough points in the "for" category to get this team a crack at a fifth consecutive postseason invitation. Competing for a league crown, though, will be difficult.