NCDS: Mark Schmidt, Head Coach - St. Bonaventure

By: Mark Schmidt, Head Coach - St. Bonaventure

It's hard to believe there are only two weeks of Atlantic 10 regular season games left. It feels like just yesterday I was writing about the start of our conference season and now I'm constantly talking to our players, mainly our younger guys, about how long the season is and how important rest, motivation and playing hard is this time of the year.

It's been a year of "what ifs" for us in a way because we've suffered so many tough losses to good teams, but we've continued to battle our way to an 11-14 record and a 4-8 mark in the A-10. Our record may not show it, but we're making progress and we've got guys that are getting better every day, which as a coach, is a great feeling.

Our first six losses came by a total of 21 points and our four A-10 road losses been by 3, 1, 2 and 7. This year we've played better on the road in A-10 play and we're 2-4! That's the A-10 for you and I'm encouraged by our effort in one of the best years in league history that could ultimately result in 4-6 NCAA Tournament bids.

Road games are never easy, but in conference play they're even harder, which is the main reason for my encouragement. Hostile crowds, good teams and lengthy travel give you a 10-point disadvantage when you walk in the door in my opinion, but we've got some players and coaches that thrive in those situations.

The development of sophomore Andrew Nicholson is noticeable in plenty of areas, but to me his biggest progression has been his play on the road. All three of his 20-point games in A-10 play have come on the road and back-to-back 26-point and 29-point efforts at UMass and Duquesne really showed me and the several NBA scouts something.

Our other big road contributions have come from players that should be leading by example ... seniors Jonathan Hall and Chris Matthews. Sometimes you take for granted what your seniors mean to your team and coming down the stretch it'll be impossible for me to do that. Jonathan has battled off ankle injuries to play some of the best basketball of his career, while Chris' big shooting nights give all of our guys more bounce in their step.

The last thing that's crucial for late-season success is team morale. About two weeks ago we were stuck in Philadelphia for four days right after a trip to St. Louis because of the big snow storm that hit in Philly. Combined with a two-point loss at St. Louis and the eventual loss at Saint Joseph's really set our team back. Last weekend, we took big step forward with a win at La Salle and that's really boosted our energy at the perfect time. Hopefully, just in time for us to make a run and make the Bona faithful proud of their Bonnies.

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