MORGANTOWN — Dale Bonner’s uncommon journey brought him to a crossroads that set up the age-old question: Is it better to be a large fish in a small pond, or a small fish in a large pond?
The answer, for Bonner, was neither. He’s a basketball player who wanted to challenge himself by stepping into one of the nation’s largest hoops hotspots.
Last May, Bonner — who led Division II Fairmont State in scoring at 20.2 points per game during the 2021-22 season — transferred to Baylor, the defending NCAA Division I champion.
“It’s a jump, I’m still adjusting and working to get better,” said Bonner, a 6-foot-2, 170 pound junior guard who is averaging 1.9 points in 14 games for the Bears (15-2, 3-2 Big 12). “The coaching staff believes in me, and I believe in myself.”
Bonner, 21, never expected to set foot on campus, let alone play for the Bears when he and his parents watched the 2021 NCAA Championship game on TV from their Cleveland-area home last April.
About a month later, he was enrolled at Baylor, as part of one of the Bears’ highest-ranked recruiting classes in program history.
“Dale is someone we targeted because he’s a high character young man with a tremendous work ethic,” Baylor head coach Scott Drew said at the time of Bonner’s signing last May. “He has seen the success we’ve had developing guards, and he wants to continue that tradition.”
Bonner entered the transfer portal after leading the Falcons to a 15-5 record and an NCAA Division II playoff appearance.
The connection between Bonner and Baylor was Joe Mazzulla, a former WVU standout and member of the 2010 Final Four team. Mazzulla became Fairmont State’s head coach in 2017.
Fairmont was the only program — at any level — to offer Bonner a scholarship after he averaged 18.4 points per game at Shaker Heights High, near Cleveland.
Mazzulla recruited Bonner and coached him as a freshman before leaving to become an assistant coach with the Boston Celtics.
A homecoming of sorts
When the Bears visit WVU (13-3, 2-2) at 5 p.m. Tuesday, it will be a homecoming of sorts, having played just 20 miles away in Fairmont.
Bonner considers West Virginia “a second home” and enjoyed his time at Fairmont.
“It was hard to leave, but it was the right time,” Bonner said. “They weren’t upset when I left, but they wanted me to stay. I know they’re happy for me.”
Bonner and his Fairmont teammates would sometimes attend WVU games, although he didn’t know any of the Mountaineer players personally. WVU wasn’t one of the schools that expressed interest when Bonner entered the transfer portal.
He expects some Fairmont friends to attend Tuesday’s game, as well as Cleveland area family. Morgantown is only 3.5 hours from Cleveland, and the second-closest school in the Big 12 Conference is Ames, Iowa, a 10.5 hour drive across 676 miles of mostly farmland.
Bonner scored a season-high nine points when the Bears defeated Northwestern (Louisiana) State, 104-68, on December 28 in Waco, and played 20 minutes in an 86-48 home win over Stanford on November 20.
Bonner said there are several significant differences between a successful Division II program and top-level Division I team.
“Everyone is a little bigger and more athletic, plus the speed of the game is different,” Bonner said.
Although his role has changed significantly, this isn’t the first time Bonner hasn’t been a star. He played AAU Basketball for the Ohio Basketball Club and played a supporting role, alongside players who were heavily recruited out of high school.
“You can’t have an ego, and you always have to do what’s best for the team,” Bonner said. “Here, that means play defense and get involved.”
Bonner is close to completing his Bachelor’s Degree in communications and hopes to pursue a Master’s Degree at Baylor. His final year of eligibility will be the 2022-2023 season.
— Story by Michael Sudhalter
