Bryant's Charles Pride decides to transfer to St. Bonaventure
Charles Pride is headed back to his New York roots.
Bryant’s graduate transfer wing announced a commitment to St. Bonaventure in a pair of Saturday morning social media posts. One of the all-time greats with the Bulldogs will play a final college basketball season within driving distance of his Syracuse home.
Pride selected the Bonnies ahead of interest from the likes of Providence, Rhode Island, Minnesota, Penn State, Florida and others. He averaged double digits in scoring in each of his last three seasons in Smithfield and helped the program to a first NCAA Tournament appearance in 2021-22.
Pride debuted with Bryant in 2019-20 and developed into one of the most productive players in its history. He exits with 1,528 career points, 749 rebounds, 250 assists and 144 steals. Pride averaged 13.6 points, 6.7 boards and shot 34.6% from 3-point range in his 112 games.
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Pride’s last year in Smithfield saw him battle a late hamstring injury and miss an America East Tournament loss at New Hampshire. The 6-foot-4 wing guard averaged 14.6 points, 6.1 rebounds and shot an even 37.0% from deep. Pride hit for at least 20 points six times and notched three double-doubles, including in an early road loss to eventual Final Four surprise Florida Atlantic.
Pride teamed with Peter Kiss to form the nation’s premier 1-2 scoring punch in 2021-22. He netted a program-record 44 points in a road victory against Saint Francis (Pa.) and collected 32 points and 10 rebounds in a road win against Mount St. Mary’s. That meeting with the Mountaineers was a rematch of the 2020-21 Northeast Conference title game, a bitter home defeat for the Bulldogs at Chace Center.
Bryant more than made up for that disappointment the following season. The Bulldogs dropped just three of their final 21 games while storming to their first NEC regular-season and tournament titles. Bryant blew out Wagner, 70-43, in the championship game at home and earned a First Four date against Wright State as part of March Madness.
Pride has faced a pair of Atlantic 10 opponents in his career, performing well in each game. He totaled a double-double in a road win at Massachusetts in 2020-21, posting 11 points and 12 rebounds at Mullins Center. Pride was hot from the perimeter in a loss against the Rams early in 2021-22, finishing 5-for-11 from 3-point range and piling up 25 points at the Ryan Center.
The Bonnies finished just 14-18 last year but have been a conference factor in recent seasons under Mark Schmidt. St. Bonaventure was 23-10 in 2021-22 and made a deep run in the NIT, taking down the likes of Colorado, Oklahoma and Virginia on the road before falling to eventual champion Xavier. The Bonnies hadn’t suffered through a losing season since 2012-13 — they’d won at least 18 games in each of the eight full regular seasons that followed and reached the NCAA Tournament twice.
Pride prepped at Putnam Science Academy and selected the Bulldogs ahead of offers from Saint Peter’s, Canisius, Rider, Stony Brook, Iona, Gardner-Webb, Manhattan, Siena and Weber State. He made 15 starts among his 29 appearances as a freshman and started all but one of his final 83 games with Bryant.
bkoch@providencejournal.com
On Twitter: @BillKoch25
This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: Bryant's Charles Pride heading home, to play for St. Bonaventure
