By Malcolm Price
1/19/2025
Twenty-five years after its run to the NCAA Tournament, the 1999-2000 St. Bonaventure men’s basketball team will be honored Feb. 1 on campus.
The team will be recognized during that day’s game against Fordham, which tips off at 12:30. In addition, there will be a post-game reception in the Hall of Fame Room for the team that is open to the public.
Members of that team who are confirmed to attend are head coach Jim Baron, Tim Winn, Caswell Cyrus, David Capers, Peter Van Paassen, Patricio Prato, J.R. Bremer, Vidal Massiah, James Hayden, Bob Dziengeleski, Eric Siegrist, Elton Ruddock, Robert Cheeks, and assistant coaches Joe Lombardi, Brian Nash and Pat Clarke.
One of the program’s best defensive teams ever, the Bonnies went 21-10 that season as they allowed just 64 points per game. St. Bonaventure posted non-conference wins over USC and Colorado State and went 11-5 in conference games to place second in the Atlantic 10’s East Division. After wins over Dayton and Xavier, Baron’s club advanced to the championship game of the A-10 Tournament. St. Bonaventure then earned an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament where the Bonnies fell in a double-overtime heartbreaker to Kentucky in Cleveland, Ohio.
Winn and Cyrus, who were both seniors that year, earned All-Conference honors, Winn on the first team and Cyrus on the third team. Both players also were selected to the A-10 All-Defensive Team. Winn, Cyrus, and Prato also surpassed 1,000 career points.
Bremer, who was the team’s “sixth man” as a freshman that year, went on to score 1,732 career points. Bremer earned NBA All-Rookie honors with the Boston Celtics and also played with his hometown Cleveland Cavaliers.
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