Earlier in the year I was crabby with the turnovers and the crazy off balanced shots of Bonton. As the competition has gotten stiffer, his game has stepped up. He has some unique finely honed basketball skills. Give him a Karl Malone type big at the next level and he could have an impact. If he can find the right roster (big PG where he can play off the ball at times with the pick and roll big) and the right coach I think Bonton can succeed in the NBA.
Bonton
- Thread starter cougcowboy
- Start date
Bonton's last 5 games now has been pretty special. Tonight only 2 turnovers and one was on a behind the back pass to Jackson that Jackson just didn't see coming. Needs to figure out the line but he's been very efficient and looked like an NBA guy to my eyes the last 5 games.
Finally, thank you for being honest and giving him his props. Where are all of the rest of you “bench Bonton” haters out there? I think it’s about time you acknowledge you were wrong for bashing the young man. ( I was a bit irritated reading those comments when it was clear to anyone who knows basketball that he was fulfilling his role and attempting to carry this team) His role is almost that of an “Ice Trey” for Atlanta last year.. Which can lead to a few bad shooting and poor decision nights, but without that young man (because we are young not because we lack talent) we would be the Fuskies....
I was very frustrated with him. Totally different player now. Playing in control and not forcing so many shots.
I started a thread below after the SC game on Bonton. He's had a stretch of now 5 games that's All-Pac 12 type of play. In the last 5 games he's averaging 23 points (52% FG, 47% 3FG), 4.60 assists, 2.4 steals, 3.2 turnovers along with usually good defense. It's really impressive.
I wasn't a "bench Bonton hater" but for the most part the frustration was about decision making. As impressive as the last 5 games I don't know that it makes the past criticism unjustified. This is just the guy people hoped to see more of.
Yep, his early play, carried over from last season, was very worthy of criticism--just like his turnaround is justifiably praiseworthy. Indeed, living in Portland Trailblazer country, I can see eerie similarities to CJ McCollum.
To be clear: I was not a "bench Bonton hater". At the time I was hoping for better decision making from a senior that is uber talented. I think Bonton himself would agree that some of his early play was unacceptable for a senior. I think that is one of the reasons why Smith gives him as much of a leash as he does: Bonton has basketball smarts and knows what is a good play and what is a bad play. Smith was letting him play through those bad plays so Bonton could find out on his own where the line was. We for sure need him now that the level of play has picked up. I hope he is able to keep playing at this level (Selfishly for cougar wins, but also for him so that he continues to see fruit from his many hours in the gym).
I hope he takes the opportunity to come play again next year; if he does not he will be hard to replace.
I think Smith's a bit of a player's coach. He facetiously said last year "a bad shot is better than a turnover" after a game where Bonton put up a lot of wild shots. There are things he focuses on and you can see him react to (turnovers) and others he doesn't seem as concerned about.
People have mistakenly taken Smith as a "defense first" coach when he's actually an "offensive" guy. Look at his own stats as a player. He was a shooter and a scorer. It just seems giving players a lot of freedom to execute the game plan and allowing them to grow or be overtaken by others play is important. That's also a recruiting tool. You only have to look back to Dick/Tony where the "system" was used against us a lot.
Bonton said in a player-to-player interview with Michaela Jones that he had "plans" and hadn't decided whether he was coming back next year. So, time will tell.
