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JP Sports/Raycom ACC basketball commentator Dan Bonner stopped by to chat after Virginia knocked off NC State 61-58 in Charlottesville on February 9. Scroll down to see what Bonner had to say!
Bonner has worked as an ACC color analyst since 1980, first for C.D. Chesley and more recently JP Sports/Raycom. He also served as a color analyst for ESPN from 1987-2001 and CBS since 1991. Dan has been an analyst for FOX Sunday Night Hoops for the last two years. His other broadcasting work includes play-by-play for baseball's Carolina League, women's college basketball, soccer play-by-play and an announcer for Fox Sports Net South's coverage of ACC Baseball.
Bonner played for the University of Virginia from 1971-75. He served as team captain and was named to the All-ACC Academic Team as a senior. Dan was head coach of the Virginia women's basketball team for the 1975-76 and 1976-77 seasons, and, as he puts it on his biographical sheet, his most notable accomplishment was meeting his wife, Terry, who was the team captain and MVP of the 1975-76 team.
The Bonners have three children: Coleman, Keary and Sarah.
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Dan: Hello ACC Fans. Virginia has just defeated NC State 61-58 in Charlottesville, and I'm ready to take your questions. Let's get started! |
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| Jamie (Newport News, VA): Virginia is back in the ACC race after victories over Maryland and NC State this week. What do you see for this Virginia team down the stretch? |
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Dan: Virginia has lots of potential. If they can continue to get solid inside scoring from Watson and Brown and maintain the 3-point threat from guys like Billet and Smith and play defensively the way they've played the last two games, they'll be a big factor. |
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| Jeffrey (Elon): With the addition of Mapp, where do you think UVA will finish in the ACC? He is a very amazing player, who contributes in a number of ways. |
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Dan: Virginia has a shot at finishing among the top 3, and it's not just Mapp. The improved play of Elton Brown and a more favorable schedule are factors as well. |
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| Mike (Charlottesville): Elton Brown played well this afternoon. I realize he's a pretty good jumpshooter, but he's a big guy. Do you think he should try to score more inside and rely a little less on his outside shot? |
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Dan: Absolutely. |
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| Ryan (Charlotte): What do you think can be State's minimum win/loss record in conference play in order to make the NCAA tournament? |
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Dan: That's a tough one because their strength of schedule is currently ranked at 103 by the RPI. Starting the week, their RPI was 57, and that's likely to drop with the loss to Wake Forest and the loss to Virginia. I would say that a 10-6 record would probably be the minimum. |
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| Macon (Charlottesville): Having gone to Viginia and knowing the program well, do you think Pete Gillen is the man to take UVA to the next level? |
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Dan: I don't know that my attendance at Virginia 30 years ago qualifies me as an expert on Virginia's program. It's hard to ever predict which coach will have the kind of success that most would define as "The Next Level." If Pete Gillen is not the guy, that presents a problem for Virginia since he recently signed a lucrative, 10-year contract. |
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| Derren Brown, Irmo: Dan,
What is your take on NC State not being so deep. We only have one or two players coming off the bench a game. Do you think we will be able to make it to the NCAA with this roster? |
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Dan: Yes. But it's important that the guys who play produce. That may seem like a silly statement, but with every game on TV, and TV timeouts every four minutes, players ought to be in condition to play without large numbers of substitutions. Remember, in their heydey, Bobby Cremins' Georgia Tech teams rarely played more than 6 or 7 guys. The 6 or 7 who played were very productive, and that's the key for NC State. |
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| Allen (Roanoke, VA): What kind of contribution do you
think J.R. Reynolds will bring
to the University of Virginia men's
basketball program next season? |
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Dan: That's really hard to say. I've been around long enough to see very highly touted players make little or no contribution while players nobody ever heard of make tremendous contributions. My rule of thumb is that I wait to see what I guy does once he puts the uniform on and you put the people in the stands. |
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| JTC (Chesterfield, Va): Give us some thoughts on Virginia's bench strength. |
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Dan: Virginia's reserves have played really well in key wins. In the Maryland win, the guys coming off the bench scored 43 points. If Virginia utilizes the same starting lineup that they've used recently, you bring guys like Smith and Mapp off the bench, and they can certainly be key contributors. |
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| Josh: In 2002, Maryland played 5 of its first 8 ACC games on the road, so all of their 2nd games against tough opponents were at Cole. This year, its the reverse and its hurting them. Do you think it's better to get the tough road games overwith first? |
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Dan: I think that depends on your team. In Maryland's case, having returning players fill new roles and trying to fit newcomers into other roles, it may have been an advantage to play more home games in the first half of the schedule than road games. |
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| Greensboro: Is NC State a Top 25-calibur team? |
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Dan: They are certainly not a Top 25 team at the moment, but they have the potential to be a Top 25 team. |
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| daytona: What do you think of FSU's Tim Pickett? He doesn't seem to get as much attention as his game deserves. |
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Dan: I really like Pickett. Sometimes when you're new in the league and you're playing on a team at the bottom of the standings and, particularly in this league, there are outstanding new players at schools like Duke and North Carolina, it's hard to get attention. |
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| Mike Godwin: How serious is Rashad McCants' back injury? |
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Dan: I don't really know. My impression is that it must be pretty serious because his play in recent games has not been up to the standard that he set earlier. I hope that he recovers quickly, because I think he's fun to watch. |
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| Shelby, NC: Dan, I was a year behind you at UVa, and I have always been impressed with your apparent unbiased approach when announcing UVa games. Is it a concerted effort on your part or do you not even have to think about it? |
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Dan: Thank you very much. One of the things you have to remember is that the University of Virginia that we really attended doesn't exist anymore because the school is more than just the buildings and the traditions -- it was our professors, fellow students, and, in my case, the people I knew and worked with in the athletic department. In effect, those people are all gone, and while I still feel loyalty to our school, the fact that I really don't know anyone at Virginia today makes it much easier to be unbiased. |
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| JTC (Chesterfield, Va): Touchy subject: Do you feel Jenifer's situation has helped this the Virginia team perform at a higher level? |
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Dan: I can only judge by results, and you have to say that Virginia has won two pretty big games in fairly impressive style without Jenifer. No knock on the kid, but at the moment, it appears Virginia is better off without him. |
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Dan: That's all the time I have for now. Thanks for all the great questions, and I hope you take part in TheACC.com's next Nothin' But Net chat with Bobby Cremins on February 22 after the UNC-Maryland game. |
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