Harry Fodder: How Trey Bonham Fits In
Wednesday, April 20, 2022 | Men's Basketball, Chris Harry
GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Get used to this term.
"Analytics find."
It's one that may be new to the vernacular of Florida basketball fans, but one that has been tossed about of late (and will be in the future) with regard to point guard Trey Bonham, the latest addition to the Gators' 2022-23 roster.
Bonham, a 6-foot, 170-pound rising junior from Virginia Military Institute, officially joined the program Tuesday when his transfer papers were finalized. In two seasons with the Keydets, the Mobile, Ala., product averaged 11.3 points over his 53 games, including 36 starts, and shot 48 percent from the floor, nearly 37 from the 3-point arc, and 79.2 from the free-throw line, to go with 2.9 rebounds and 2.9 assists. As a sophomore in '21-22, Bonham started all 29 games, scored 13.7 points, grabbed 4.4 rebounds and dished 4.0 assists over more than 27 minutes per game.
His VMI numbers, of course, were amassed in the Southern Conference, which is a far cry from the Southeastern Conference. Coach Todd Golden and his new UF staff, of course, rely heavily on advanced metrics in their evaluations. They ran Bonham's data through their algorithms and liked what they saw as far as the guard's ability to use his quickness on penetration and convert 2-point shots (54.7 percent for his career), draw fouls (5.1 per 40 minutes, which ranked 143rd nationally) and make free throws (83.1 percent this past season). Those categories translate.
Bonham's size could present some challenges in the SEC, as far as finishing against bigger and better athletes, but along with running the numbers the Gators did their diligence in tape review and liked what they saw. They found some similarities, in fact, to what Wendell Green Jr. did at Eastern Kentucky (Ohio Valley Conference) and was able to take with him to Auburn this past season in becoming one of the biggest impact newcomers in the SEC and helping lead that program to the league's regular-season championship.
Golden, though, watched Bonham and thought of another Auburn player; one from the Tigers' recent past. Anyone remember 5-11, 175-pound Jared Harper? Yeah, that guy. He was a lightly recruited three-star guard who went on to score 1,427 points, 511 assists over just three SEC seasons and helped guide the program to the first Final Four in school history in 2019. And guess who recruited him to Auburn? Yeah, that guy. Golden.
The Florida roster now has 11 of 13 scholarship spots for next season filled, but that's very much subject to change. Of those 11, four are pure guards, but only two who would be considered points guards. Bonham, for now, is the only one with collegiate experience. The Gators need another. At least.
When Bonham first hit the transfer portal, the interest wasn't very high, with only two schools — Appalachian State and Murray State — reaching out. After the Gators got in the mix, Bonham heard from Purdue, Texas A&M, Xavier, Brigham Young, Colorado State and others. They must have run his numbers, too. Not soon enough.
Maybe there's another "analytics find" out there. Maybe two.
In case you missed:
* Harry Fodder: How Will Richard Fits In
* Harry Fodder: How Alex Fudge Fits In
"Analytics find."
It's one that may be new to the vernacular of Florida basketball fans, but one that has been tossed about of late (and will be in the future) with regard to point guard Trey Bonham, the latest addition to the Gators' 2022-23 roster.
Bonham, a 6-foot, 170-pound rising junior from Virginia Military Institute, officially joined the program Tuesday when his transfer papers were finalized. In two seasons with the Keydets, the Mobile, Ala., product averaged 11.3 points over his 53 games, including 36 starts, and shot 48 percent from the floor, nearly 37 from the 3-point arc, and 79.2 from the free-throw line, to go with 2.9 rebounds and 2.9 assists. As a sophomore in '21-22, Bonham started all 29 games, scored 13.7 points, grabbed 4.4 rebounds and dished 4.0 assists over more than 27 minutes per game.
His VMI numbers, of course, were amassed in the Southern Conference, which is a far cry from the Southeastern Conference. Coach Todd Golden and his new UF staff, of course, rely heavily on advanced metrics in their evaluations. They ran Bonham's data through their algorithms and liked what they saw as far as the guard's ability to use his quickness on penetration and convert 2-point shots (54.7 percent for his career), draw fouls (5.1 per 40 minutes, which ranked 143rd nationally) and make free throws (83.1 percent this past season). Those categories translate.
.@bonham_trey is officially a Gator 🐊
— Florida Gators Men's Basketball (@GatorsMBK) April 19, 2022
Welcome to Gator Nation 🟠🔵
🗞: https://t.co/5R3ZFn6tA2#GoGators | #GatorsHoop pic.twitter.com/k03q51kyJF
Bonham's size could present some challenges in the SEC, as far as finishing against bigger and better athletes, but along with running the numbers the Gators did their diligence in tape review and liked what they saw. They found some similarities, in fact, to what Wendell Green Jr. did at Eastern Kentucky (Ohio Valley Conference) and was able to take with him to Auburn this past season in becoming one of the biggest impact newcomers in the SEC and helping lead that program to the league's regular-season championship.
Golden, though, watched Bonham and thought of another Auburn player; one from the Tigers' recent past. Anyone remember 5-11, 175-pound Jared Harper? Yeah, that guy. He was a lightly recruited three-star guard who went on to score 1,427 points, 511 assists over just three SEC seasons and helped guide the program to the first Final Four in school history in 2019. And guess who recruited him to Auburn? Yeah, that guy. Golden.
The Florida roster now has 11 of 13 scholarship spots for next season filled, but that's very much subject to change. Of those 11, four are pure guards, but only two who would be considered points guards. Bonham, for now, is the only one with collegiate experience. The Gators need another. At least.
When Bonham first hit the transfer portal, the interest wasn't very high, with only two schools — Appalachian State and Murray State — reaching out. After the Gators got in the mix, Bonham heard from Purdue, Texas A&M, Xavier, Brigham Young, Colorado State and others. They must have run his numbers, too. Not soon enough.
Maybe there's another "analytics find" out there. Maybe two.
In case you missed:
* Harry Fodder: How Will Richard Fits In
* Harry Fodder: How Alex Fudge Fits In
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