Andrew Nicholson Excited About Woj Becoming a member of St. Bonaventure
You’ll, virtually actually, by no means have a purpose to go to Olean, New York. Except you might be driving alongside I-86 within the state’s lovely Southern Tier, Olean is simply one of many hundreds of little cities that exist on this nation that you simply’ll by no means set foot in — hell, the one occasions I’ve ever been are as a result of my telephone informed me the closest Dunkin’ Donuts is off of Exit 24 and some miles into city, a fast diversion on a visit to elsewhere.
If there may be one factor you understand about Olean, it’s St. Bonaventure, the little Franciscan college with lower than 2,000 undergrads in the course of nowhere that’s well-known for its basketball program. And naturally, there’s one alum who involves thoughts when basketball followers in 2024 take into consideration the Bonnies: Adrian Wojnarowski. Till lately, Wojnarowski was referred to as the prime basketball insider within the recreation, a title he acquired because of his time at Yahoo and, extra lately, ESPN.
After which, final month, Wojnarowski shocked basketball followers by saying his departure from the Worldwide Chief in Sports activities through a press release he posted to his Twitter account. Whereas he didn’t instantly reveal his subsequent step, it will definitely got here out that Woj would settle for a task as the overall supervisor for St. Bonaventure males’s basketball. In response to ESPN, “the function consists of identify, picture and likeness allocation, recruiting and supporting profitable Bonnies coach Mark Schmidt.”
It was information that caught loads of individuals off-guard, which included Andrew Nicholson.
“I discovered proper when it received launched,” Nicholson informed DIME over the telephone. “I’m actually grateful for the profession that he’s had, everybody loves that he’s approaching board for St. Bonaventure as a common supervisor. He’s had such a big impact on basketball and basketball journalism, proper? This well-known legacy, and due to his repute for breaking these wonderful tales and shaping the fashionable sports activities media, is nice to have him in our nook at Bonaventure.”
Nicholson had a embellished profession in Olean, as he was named the A-10 Participant of the Yr and an All-American honorable point out in 2011-12. His quantity, 44, hangs within the rafters on the Reilly Heart, and whereas it’s been 14 years, he’s the final Bonnies alum to get chosen within the NBA Draft — the Orlando Magic took Nicholson with the nineteenth general choose again in 2012, and he spent 5 years within the league with the Magic, Washington Wizards, and Brooklyn Nets earlier than persevering with his basketball profession overseas.
A local of Ontario, Canada, Nicholson had numerous causes for going to Bonaventure. It was a brief drive from house, he’d have minimal distractions dwelling in a small city, and as somebody who needed to main in chemistry, he was impressed by a recently-built science constructing on campus. After which there was the chance to be a part of a basketball program that was wealthy in custom however discovered itself within the technique of constructing itself again up after falling on some onerous occasions — the Bonnies received single-digit video games in every of the 5 years earlier than he enrolled.
Nicholson beloved that Bonaventure is a “basketball loopy college,” which received hammered house on a school go to to this system’s midnight insanity occasion. And at one level throughout his 4 years as a standout for the basketball program, Nicholson served as an teacher at coach Schmidt’s basketball camp, the place he crossed paths with Wojnarowski. Nicholson thought it was “wonderful” that the NBA newsbreaker was a Bonnie, and the 2 saved in contact all through his skilled profession.
Quick-forward to at the moment and it’s been some time since St. Bonaventure fell on the onerous occasions that preceded Nicholson’s years in Olean — beneath coach Schmidt, the group has received 20 or extra video games in 5 of the final ten years, have two NCAA Match and NIT berths every, and have solely completed under-.500 as soon as. Issues are, typically, going fairly effectively for the Bonnies, even earlier than the latest high-profile addition to this system.
Nonetheless, Nicholson, who plies his commerce for Korean Basketball League facet Daegu KOGAS Pegasus, is optimistic that somebody of Wojnarowski’s stature and with a big Rolodex of connections within the basketball world will be capable to get each alums and outsiders to help this system because it strives to perform much more, whether or not it’s in NIL efforts or anything it would want. He refers to Wojnarowski as “a legend,” and believes “a person of his notoriety and his stature goes to be super in getting individuals to come back in and assist the college get to the place it must go.”
The day earlier than we spoke, Wojnarowski expressed the will to do “compete and to win, and to do it the St. Bonaventure approach.” When requested to elucidate what he believes that final bit means, Nicholson describes a way of togetherness among the many followers, gamers, coaches, and anybody else with a vested curiosity within the group.
And whereas Nicholson has not but lower a test as issues are within the, in his phrases, “technique part,” he’s prepared to do something obligatory to assist this system. He, as soon as once more, used the phrase “get to the place it must go,” an indication of the form of ambition that may persuade somebody to show down a $20 million contract to go work for his alma mater’s faculty basketball program. As for what which means for a tiny college within the Southern Tier of New York State, effectively…
“Sky’s the restrict, proper?” Nicholson says when requested about his hopes for the Bonnies. “We simply go one step at a time. We begin setting objectives — profitable the A-10 event to profitable the NCAA Match. All these are objectives that we’re going to have. We simply have to strategize how we’re going to finest get the gamers to come back in, alumni to come back in to assist get this system to the place it must go.”
