I make no apologies and fully admit my love of UMass men's basketball. They are the reason I love sports - Marcus Camby and that whole crew back in the early '90s can be directly blamed for the person I am today.
Needless to say, I was really excited when Anthony Anderson originally signed with the Manchester Millrats, and then when he decided to come back this year, I was secretly super pumped. Well, Millrat GM Ian McCarthy must really know how to make my day, because he added former Minuteman Luke Bonner to the Millrat roster last week. Yes, I totally know he did this just for me. (Totally kidding, I don't even think Ian knows how much of a UMass fan I am).
Bonner is the younger brother of Matt Bonner, who plays for the NBA's San Antonio Spurs. (Anthony Anderson is the older brother of Antonio Anderson, who also plays in the NBA, I think for Orlando? Antonio was a standout at Memphis, also with Coach John Calipari, who coached UMass back when Camby was there. Of course, that didn't eventually turn out so well, but we won't go there.)
Anyway, Luke and Matt Bonner are native New Hampshire-ites, which is obviously a great addition for Manchester. The fact that Luke is 7'1" doesn't hurt, either. Luke had a hilariously insightful and entertaining blog on the UMass athletics Web site while he was there - perhaps it will make a return for his days as a Millrat??
More from the press release announcing Luke Bonner:
"Bonner, the younger brother of San Antonio Spurs forward Matt Bonner, played his high school ball at Trinity High School in Concord. In college, he played one season at West Virginia before transferring to Massachusetts (Amherst).
His collegiate career as a Minuteman was highlighted by a trip to the NCAA Elite Eight in 2005, and reaching the finals of the NIT Tournament in 2008. During his senior season, Bonner posted averages of 6.9 points, 5.4 rebounds, and 1.1 assists per game.
Bonner played overseas this season for Albacomp-UPC Szekesfehervar in the first division in Hungary. Over 6 games, he averaged 9.8 points, 3.8 rebounds per game on 50% field goal shooting."
Vermont plays Manchester at home in Barre on Feb. 2. Hopefully Luke is still with Manchester, and hopefully Vermont gets a win between now and then. The Frost Heaves are at Oklahoma next Thursday the 28th and at Maryland on Saturday the 30th. Maryland just fired its coach - former Millrat coach Rob Spon - earlier this week after the team started the season 1-4. Vermont is currently 0-3.
-Anna Grearson
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