ST. BONAVENTURE - Mark Schmidt isn’t one to get wrapped up in his emotions.

When it comes to tonight’s season-opening game against his former Robert Morris, there will be no feelings of sentimentality, no reunion or homecoming pitch that will cause him to view this matchup any differently than the rest.

He’s not Roy Williams. He won’t be attending any Robert Morris postseason games with a Colonials emblem on his sweater. Pre-game buzz surrounding the players he once coached? He doesn’t want to get caught up in any of it.

Tonight is business as usual for the second-year Bona boss ... a chance for the new-look Bonnies to get off to a winning start.

“There’s really no emotion,” he said. “We’re preparing to play Robert Morris. Before the game and after the game it will be difficult to see those guys, but during the game, I’m coaching my team.”

Almost half of the current Colonials roster was recruited by Schmidt’s staff. He built relationships with many of those players before taking the St. Bonaventure job in 2007.

“They’re always going to be a part of our family,” Schmidt said. “But it’s like playing a pick-up game. You might be my best friend beforehand, but when we’re playing, I’m playing to win.

“When you’re in that competitive environment, you’re there to play. You don’t look at it as he’s my friend. You just play that they’re the opposition. When the game is over, you can shake hands and be friends again.”

Schmidt wasn’t thrilled when he found out the Bonnies would be taking on his former team in the first game of the 2008-09 campaign.

“It’s not the perfect game to open up with,” he said when the non-conference slate was released back in August.

But now he sees it as an opportunity for Bona to come out of the gate strong against an above-average opponent. Robert Morris made a remarkable run last season with almost all of Schmidt’s players. The Colonials finished 26-8 with the Northeast Conference regular-season title and an NIT first round loss to Syracuse.

Tonight they’ll welcome back three starters, including all-conference guard Jeremy Chappell (the active NEC leader in scoring and rebounds), and nearly 60 percent of their scoring from that team.

Schmidt knows he’ll have his hands full with the talented RMU line-up, one he once helped piece together.

“They’ve got a very good team,” he said. “Chappell might be the conference player of the year. (Ifeanyi) Ehirim is a very good player. Jimmy Langhurst was a freshman guard when I was there. Mezie (Nwigwe) was there. So we know their talent.

“They’ve got mid-major players. I think one of the reasons they’ve been successful is that they have mid-majors playing in the Northeast Conference. Some of those guys, in my opinion, could play at St. Bonaventure.”

So if anything, the Bonnies shouldn’t be surprised by what the Colonials throw at them tonight.

For the most part, Schmidt knows their strengths, their tendencies and personalities. But he also knows that they’re aware of him and his up-tempo style. If you ask him, neither side has the advantage.

One of his former players agrees.

“It’s going to be interesting because he knows how we play and we know how he likes to coach,” said Langhurst, who has since become RMU’s starting point guard. “I’m not sure how it’ll play out. To play against him on the other side of the court, it’s going to be crazy.

“He taught us the value of hard work and he got the best out of us every day. He really knew his Xs and Os and he could recruit. To be going against him now is going to be something different.”

To Schmidt, though, it’s just another game. Despite the connections, he doesn’t feel any differently about this matchup than he would Marist or Delaware, the Bonnies’ next two foes in the Garden State Challenge.

“They’ve got their job to do ... we’ve got our job to do, and that’s how I’m going about this game.”

(J.P. Butler, a Times Herald sports writer, can be reached at sports@oleantimesherald.com)

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