ST. BONAVENTURE - It was last Saturday afternoon and the St. Bonaventure men’s basketball team was close to wrapping up its second practice of the new season.

The first weekend practice is always intense, but this one was especially wrought with energy. The players, a full complement of them for the first time since 2003, were particularly focused. The excitement over the prospects of a new campaign was unmistakable.

The practice ended with different groups of players running plays against each other. At one point, Lewis Leonard, a junior college transfer vying for time at the small forward position, drove the lane and made a weak bounce pass to one of his teammates.

“What is that, Lew, a San Bernardino Community College pass?” Bona coach Mark Schmidt called out unsympathetically, referring to the junior college from which Leonard transferred.

While some of the players and coaches on the sideline fought back smiles, the third-year coach paced around near halfcourt, waiting for the play to reset. The statement summed up the atmosphere in the Reilly Center that day, and maybe for the season. Schmidt and the Bonnies are ready to get started.

After guiding St. Bonaventure out of the Atlantic 10 basement a year ago, and instilling a much-needed change in attitude, Schmidt’s goal for the 2009-’10 campaign is relatively simple.

“We want to continue to improve,” an enthusiastic Schmidt said following practice. “We’re not going to make predictions about where we’re going to end up. What we want to do is improve from last year. Is that going to mean more wins or close games? It could, but it’s about more than that.”

The Bonnies will be playing a tougher schedule this year. Niagara, Cleveland State and Illinois State are established mid-major threats. St. John’s plays in the Big East. Syracuse and Mississippi State are perennial NCAA Tournament contenders.

To Schmidt, success isn’t always measured in terms of wins and losses. Elevating the schedule is part of improving the state of the program, and sometimes programs will take their lumps in doing so. Bona is prepared for the difficult road ahead, as long as it means improving.

“Ultimately, we want to get into the upper-echelon of the league,” he said. “We want to get into the top 7. If you get into the top 7, then you have a chance at postseason play and that’s the goal.

“If it’s the NCAA Tournament, then that would be great. If it’s the NIT, that’s great, if it’s the CBI, that’s great, too. We want to get into that first half of the league. That’s what I feel is our next step.”

The groundwork was laid last season. Schmidt took a program that finished either last or second-to-last in the Atlantic 10 standings the previous five seasons and molded it into a team that finished 11th in the league with a respectable 6-10 record.

It was a big step forward for a team encased in misery for far longer than fans want to remember. The Bonnies would have finished higher had they beaten last-place Fordham at home or hadn’t collapsed after building a 15-point lead against Rhode Island. They nearly knocked off Duquesne on the road despite committing a numbing 31 turnovers.

The Bonnies are closer to realizing Schmidt’s goal than they have been in years. They look to be adding the talented, Atlantic 10-quality players to make it possible. But even with progress seemingly ahead of schedule, Schmidt is weary of the challenges they’ll face.

“To go from the 14th team in the league to 11 … that’s hard,” Schmidt admitted. “But to go from the 11th best team to seven is even harder. And then going from seven to four. Every step you take is more difficult.

“It’s not easy to get out of the cellar to 11 as you can see. It took a lot of hard work. But now to get to that next step, that’s the challenge that’s ahead of us.”

As the players walked off the floor Saturday afternoon, there was a newfound air of confidence, lingering especially around veterans like Chris Matthews and Malcolm Eleby.

Last year, St. Bonaventure was coming off a two-win Atlantic 10 season and just wanted to be competitive again. Finally, the Bonnies won’t be slept on any longer.

“When people ask are you going to be better,” Schmidt said, “we take into account the tougher schedule and the fact that teams are going to take us more seriously. But that’s a good thing. You want people to respect you and it’s a great feeling that we are being respected.”

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

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