By Angelo Restivo — Production Director
“I am very blessed to be the head coach of St. Bonaventure.”
St. Bonaventure University men’s basketball head coach Mike MacDonald said during a guest appearance on WSBU’s “The Benched News Network,” Monday.
MacDonald’s impressive resume includes multiple NCAA Division II tournament appearances along with a 61-3 record over the past two seasons. Outside of being qualified for the position, MacDonald explained that Bonnie community is what called him back.
“That care factor is unusual,” he said.
MacDonald spoke about the difficulty of building an affinity for teams when players are, “bouncing around from school to school,” and the uncertainty that comes with it. He said he wants his players to realize how much people care about St. Bonaventure and how special the community is.
This community must play to the Bonnies’ advantage. MacDonald stressed that the team needs higher attendance during home games this season.
“We want to try and let the students know how important you guys are to the success of the Bonnies,” MacDonald said.
After reflecting on his time as a student, MacDonald stressed the importance of students show up to games, “win or lose no matter the opponent.” That atmosphere must return.
To help bring students to games MacDonald made a commitment to connect them to the team. Players attended a weekly bible study, and on September 4, MacDonald personally delivered pizza to students living off campus.
The Reilly Center can be one of the hardest places to play in the country. It’s crucial that the student body can bring that feeling to opposing teams.
MacDonald’s culture has also brought a new sort of optimism to campus.
“because it’s Bonaventure,” and “we will win,” have become common phrases to embrace that optimism.
MacDonald closed by speaking about his personal goals.
“I don’t want one day to go by, an hour to go by, a minute to go by where I’m not doing everything I can to make the St. Bonaventure Bonnies as good as they can be.”
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