Leading up to the 2022-23 season, each week we will be examining one of the position groups of the new-look St. Bonaventure Bonnies on SBUnfurled.
The guard group for the Bonnies is stacked with collegiate playing experience, none of which being for SBU however. This year's two team captains come from the backcourt group, Daryl Banks III of Saint Peter's Peacocks NCAA tournament lore, as well as Moses Flowers who has already started 66 games at the DI level.
The makeup of this group will see a large volume of minutes, allowing the majority to gain considerable playing experience for the Bonnies immediately.
To gain further insight into how the guards may make an initial impact, lets take a look at each guard, including notes on potential rotations as well as some recent updates on individual performance and injury news.
Daryl Banks III
One of the more recognizable faces on this year's Bonnies after his role in St. Peter's improbable elite eight run last season as a 15-seed, Banks was his team's leading scorer last season, notably dropping a whopping 27 point performance in the Peacock's historic upset over Kentucky.
Banks comes to the Bonnies with two years of eligibility remaining and will immediately serve as a team captain, as well as the team's de facto leader out of the gate.
He's been a high volume player throughout his college career, averaging over 26 minutes per game, and we'll continue to see the same for Banks with Bona's.
What can we expect Banks to bring on the court for the Bonnies?
In addition to his overall collegiate and NCAA tournament experience, he'll be able to generate offense in numerous ways. Banks is a career 35 percent 3-point shooter, including close to 37 percent last season, as well as a 5-for-8 night from deep in that lights out performance against Kentucky.
On top of his ability to catch fire from the field on any given night, Banks is strong driving towards the basket, able to finish at the rim or stop on a dime and put up a floater that he's seen go in so many times. Even though he isn't a primary ball handler, he may find himself in some opportunities to run the point depending on the lineup on the floor, as coach Mark Schmidt will oftentimes want to get the ball into Banks' hands.
Banks will also add off-ball movement on the floor for the Bonnies, forcing defenders to always give him attention. If he catches near defenders ball-watching, Banks has shown an ability to quickly cut to the hoop for an easy score.
We're all excited to see how Banks builds upon his prior playing experience and helps lead the Bonnies this season. It's safe to say that he's looking to put the new-look Bonnies on the map, just as he did for St. Peter's last season.
Kyrell Luc
Luc, who reportedly impressed at the team's recent secret scrimmage, is expected to be Banks' bandmate in the Bonnies starting backcourt. The pairing should see a large volume of minutes alongside each other, pending any staggering or potential foul trouble that may be run into on specific nights.
During his freshman season at Holy Cross, Luc started every game and averaged over 32 minutes a night. This large role at the collegiate level will help with the transition to a similar role during his first season with SBU.
As a scorer, Luc averaged 13 points per game during his freshman season, shooting 39 percent from the field and over 35 percent from three. Also to note, Luc will likely be the Bonnies preferred option at the free throw line, especially in clutch time, as he went 19 for 20 from the line during clutch situations last season.
This season, it's likely that Luc will be the primary ball handler, with Banks possibly handling those duties when Luc is off the floor. Luc's speed and athleticism will be a constant driving force for the Bonnies offense. He also showed some chops on transition defense last year, allowing him to get back down the floor quickly and potentially save some easy fast break looks for opponents.
Seeing the ball in Luc's hands in transition is going to be fun. His teammates will give him a lot of options, picturing him dishing to a cutting Banks or using a slew of athletic forwards as lob threats. Whether Luc chooses to distribute or go with the take himself, we expect to see him make things happen for this year's Bonnies.
Moses Flowers
With a bit more size than his backcourt teammates, the jury is still out on whether Flowers will see himself in the starting lineup alongside Banks and Luc, however he will see a strong role for himself either way.
Flowers was a long term starter in his three seasons with Hartford, averaging close to 30 minutes per game on his career. He also showed improvement in each season at Hartford, being able to generate a bit more scoring each year during his college career.
One unique area where Flowers will bring some help as a guard is on the glass, averaging more than six rebounds per game last season.
While it's still to be seen what Flowers' exact role will be, his scoring prowess, rebounding ability and prior playing experience will allow him to make an immediate impact as he joins the Bonnies.
If Flowers does join the starting lineup alongside Banks and Luc, the rotation may be a bit smaller than they'd like. That said, Flowers could play his way into a starting role and make spot starts as needed. To begin the season, we'd guess that Flowers will be one of the first guys up from the bench to grab Banks or Luc.
When on the floor, he will be able to stretch the floor as a dynamic wing on the offensive end, and a tough matchup for anyone who finds themselves being guarded by Flowers.
Brett Rumpel
Unfortunately, it appears that the redshirt freshman will miss at least the beginning of the season due to a foot injury. Rumpel may be out for 4-6 weeks per SBUnfurled and will hope to return to the Bonnies some time in December.
That said, it's likely that Rumpel will not have much, if any, of an impact during non-conference play this season. How he works back into the rotation will depend on how the healing process goes. Due to the nature of the injury, he won't be able to do much conditioning to prepare for in-game action, so it may take a little bit of time for Rumpel to get to full speed once he is cleared to return.
Nevertheless, Rumpel was able to gain some experience with the Bonnies during his redshirt year last season. Being able to learn from and get some reps in with the successful Bonnies senior class. Being one of three returners on this year's roster, he'll bring a slight sense of consistency in a year with a ton of unknown to start.
Rumpel was competing for a spot in the rotation prior to his injury, and will look to work his way into that rotation once he's able to return. It's realistic that he will be able to work his way into the rotation leading up to or some time in the beginning of conference play.
Once he returns, Rumpel could bring some juice to the lineups that he finds himself a part of. During high school, Rumpel averaged an eye-popping 35 points and 10 rebounds in his junior year, prior to averaging an even more astonishing 45 points and 12 rebounds during a shortened senior season due to the pandemic.
As a true scorer during high school, it will be interesting to see Rumpel's playmaking ability firsthand once he does find time on the floor. However, you have to assume that the scoring and shooting ability will play a major part in Rumpel's role with the Bonnies, and how that role expands over time.