With the program in shambles, the hiring of coach Mark Schmidt gave Bonnie faithful something to smile about going to the 2007-08 season.

Schmidt inherited a Robert Morris program in 2001-02 that was coming off a 7-22 season and turned it into a league contender, posting a 17-11 mark in 2006-07.

Oddly enough, he inherited an SBU program coming off a 7-22 season a year ago -- a good sign for Bonnies fans that believe in a little superstition.

The outcome of his debut season went about as expected -- an 8-22 mark and a last-place finish in the Atlantic 10. But this is only the beginning for Schmidt. He has already seen great things out of his new system, which includes a feverous zone defense that could cause problems for opponents in the A-10 once Schmidt gets the pieces he wants in place.

With his top three players graduating and a young core to work with next season, Schmidt likely won't be able to form an A-10 title challenger until a few years down the road. But he's taking it step by step, and the next step is a trip to the Atlantic 10 tournament.

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