The past was present on an unforgettable day celebrating 100 years of Bonnies basketball

More than 300 years ago, Johannes Hofer coined the term nostalgia, calling it a “neurological disease of essentially demonic cause.” Literally, nostalgia is Greek for “painful longing.”

The young Swiss doctor would have been perplexed by the smiles and the hugs and the laughter that filled the Reilly and Richter centers on this special Saturday in December. Pain was the last thing anyone was feeling.

For those of a certain age, Dec. 7 will always be a profoundly somber day. But for those lucky enough to have attended the Bonnies’ blowout of Hofstra and the gala dinner right after to celebrate the 100th year of men’s basketball and the 50th anniversary of the 1970 Final Four team, Dec. 7, 2019, will always be special.

Greg “Bubba” Gary struts onto the court to “Wade in the Water,” the iconic song played for years when the Bonnies were introduced before a game at the Reilly Center.

The men all those people came to celebrate won’t forget the day either.

“The warmth and appreciation that these fans still have for us after all this time, it makes goose pimples on your arm,” said Bob Lanier, ’70, the three-time All-American whose name graces the court that men old enough to be his grandchildren now play on. “It’s unbelievable.”

Those young Bonnies, genuinely grateful to have dined with the Final Four team the night before, had their admittedly hard-to-please coach bursting with pride after they dismantled a good Hofstra team, 73-45.

“Today was spectacular. I was really proud of their effort. When you have the best of the best watching you play, you better not suck — and we didn’t,” said Mark Schmidt, drawing a huge laugh and then a rousing ovation from the 500-plus people — today’s Bonnies included — who attended the gala. “It was a special day. The atmosphere in the Reilly Center was unmatched.”

The significance of the day wasn’t lost on sophomore transfer Jaren English, who, as of Dec. 7, had played in a grand total of four out of the 2,409 Bonnies games played since 1919.

“Coach Schmidt talks to us every day about the history. … It was a tremendous honor to play today in front of the greats,” English said about playing in front of the Final Four team, nine members of the 20-man all-time Bonnies team, and former coaches Jim Satalin, Jim O’Brien and Jim Baron. “They all paved the way for us.”

That sincerity was shared by his teammates, an expression of cross-generational brotherhood captured perfectly by Craig Melvin on this magazine’s cover.

The ’70 guys are in their 70s now, some a little thinner on top, some a little thicker below — except for Greg “Bubba” Gary, who looks at 70 like he could still give you 15 minutes off the bench.

As “Wade in the Water” played during the introduction of the Final Four team after the Hofstra game, Gary strutted toward the Bonnies bench, greeted by smiles you couldn’t possibly fake.

To watch the entire Anniversary Gala program, click here

“The reaction of today’s Bonnies really struck me,” said Mike Vaccaro, ’89, of the New York Post, who helped moderate an hour-long chat with the Final Four team that concluded the evening’s gala. “You expect the fans to be starry-eyed. But to see the way those kids responded to the older guys shows how timeless Bona basketball is.”

The weekend, which culminated on Sunday when the Final Four team was honored on the field before the Bills’ game with Baltimore, was as much a celebration of what is as what was.

Truth is, a celebration of this magnitude might never have happened if Schmidt hadn’t revived a program many left for dead 13 years ago. You know how many Atlantic 10 teams have won at least 10 conference games the last five years?

One. St. Bonaventure.

“I’m so proud and humbled to stand in front of you as the head coach of the 100th season of Bonaventure basketball,” Schmidt, the winningest coach in program history, said at the gala. “I never thought this was a graveyard. I knew we could win again. I was sure of it … because of the support that we had.

“There’s nothing like being a Bonnie. Everywhere I go, I walk through airports — and what, we have 30,000 alums? It feels like we have 3 million. The passion that’s exhibited everywhere we go is unmatched.”

ESPN’s Chris LaPlaca, ’79, emceed the gala and wasn’t ashamed to admit that he “got a little teary-eyed when he saw the current Bonnies mingling” with the older players.

“We have a clearly evident and passionate tie that binds us all, a connection in an untold number of ways that’s brought us all to this room tonight,” LaPlaca said. “Simply put, Bonnie basketball is a spirit that lives inside all of us. It’s the rallying point for an institution that’s shaped our lives. This moment in time, this group together … this will never happen again.”

If there was a poignant reflection all day, that was it — until Lanier uttered the final words of the Final Four chat.

“Fifty years goes by in a heartbeat,” said Lanier, a bit frail from the ravages of bladder cancer. “Billy (Kalbaugh) and I were talking about that. Times passes very, very quickly. Someone that you love and care about, let them know through your love and your actions that you love and care about them while they can see you on this side of the grass.”