Anton Bonke’s Odyssey From a Country You Have Never Heard of to PC - Kevin Stacom

Tuesday, April 30, 2024

Kevin Stacom, Sports Analyst

Having previously examined the Providence College men’s basketball's recent success in the Portal, there was another addition to the roster acquired this winter, not through the Portal, but through the more traditional method of the junior college transfer route. This is not to imply there is anything conventional about the route that would bring Anton Bonke to his current destination, Providence College.

                 

As a side note, driving home from getting to meet and interview Anton this afternoon, I thought to myself how much Bill Reynolds would have enjoyed writing this kid’s story. I say that because there were many times, when Bill would like to highlight a particular player’s “Journey”- their “basketball journey”— the personal history of the circumstances that lead to the player’s current destination and development as a person and an athlete. 

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History teaches us that the Dutch, since they by necessity clung to the tenuous, fragile, reclaimed lowlands of northwestern Europe, always looked outwards towards the sea as they became some of the original greatest explorers and seafaring merchants in the world, as evidenced by the dominance of the Dutch East Indian Trading Company(1602). 

 

 Anton Bonke’s Mom might have tapped into that same adventurous spirit when she left the Netherlands with him when he was only 3-years-old, and after a few short sojourns in Fiji, New Zealand, and Australia, his mom had heard some great things about a little known and recently formed independent island nation of Vanuatu (established 1980).

 

Vanuatu is a South Pacific country comprised of an archipelago of three main islands, 80 minor islands located northeast of Australia, northwest of New Zealand, and west of Fiji. It has a population of about 350,000 people spread throughout this island chain. It is designated as a developing country with limited infrastructure.

           

Anton spent his formative years in one of the bigger islands, Efate, where the main language is Bislama. I’ll be willing to bet that Anton is the first player in PC history to speak Bislama. 

             

During our conversation, Bonke relayed to me that ever since his mother threw him into the deep end of the pool at the age of 3 he was always at home in the water and was a strong swimmer. This nautical theme continued as when he was out. One day, maneuvering as a rower in a skull, he caught the attention of the coach of the Vanuatu rowing team. He explained to me the inherent advantage of a 7’2” 260lb body in that sport in terms of the obvious leverage and torque created by someone of that size He quickly became a world-class rower in that sport.

                 

But a more fortuitous introduction to another sport came about through the encouragement of a good friend. When he was 15, he and his friend would walk by the only basketball hoop in the area on their way home, and after many attempts, Anton’s friend finally convinced him to give it a try. Shortly thereafter, it became part of their daily routine. There were no sports teams or coaches associated with his small high school. He had to teach himself some of the fundamentals of shooting and ball handling from whatever he could glean from some online videos. He and his friend joined a local league of guys their age when he gained enough confidence to play at this rudimentary level. The next year, he played briefly in a men’s league on the same courts.

 

He modestly told me that he always tested well and was regularly promoted above his natural grade, so when he graduated from his high school, Anton was only 16, facing the overwhelming question of “Okay, now what?!!” 

                   

He started to get on the internet and began to initiate conversations with some small colleges and Junior Colleges in the States. It is not a small task, given the lack of a tangible resume or experience in any organized competition. Somehow, he struck up a conversation with a coach from Western Arizona Junior College, who began to show some interest but no formal commitment. Around this time, an American friend of his from Vanuatu invited him to visit and stay with his family in Davis, California. While there, he went to work out at a local gym with his friend and a player who was home on a break from Eastern Arizona. JC saw Bonke play and thought enough of him to quickly alert his coaches about this 7’2” guy he came across while at home. From there he made the trip to Eastern Arizona JC, the coaches worked him out and immediately offered him a scholarship. 

                     

Early last year, he played for the 1st time in an officially organized game in a junior college tournament. Right after this game, he was offered a couple of scholarships from a number of mid-major schools  A few more games into the season, some of the bigger schools started to get involved - BYU, UCLA, Seton Hall, Marquette. 

               

Luckily, through the efforts of assistant coach Dennis Felton, Providence was involved very early on. Coach Felton mentioned to me that he 1st came across Anton through social media, liked what he saw, and followed up on his hunch.  Dennis confirmed my impression from the sparse film available that Anton has the basics of good feet and hands with good mobility- and basically, for a self-taught guy, he has very good mechanics on his jumper. Bonke made a visit during the Christmas holiday break He said he really liked the coaches, the facilities, and the feel of the school. 

                       

Our brief conversation took place on the second floor overlooking the beautiful, sleek new practice facility which I mentioned to Anton, was as nice as any NBA facility that I’ve been to. He looked away for a moment at that point towards the courts below as if to consider for a second how far he’s come from that ramshackle hoop on a remote south sea island just a few short years ago. Two years out of high school and he’s still only 19. 

               

It was refreshing to be with a young person who you could tell appreciates the opportunity that fate has offered him. He can’t go back in time and download a series of associations and instincts that a lot of American players from a young age can draw from - but I’d be willing to bet that he’ll put forth the effort to use the next 3 years to make up for lost time and do his best to contribute to the newest version of PC basketball success. 

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• Anton Bonke’s Odyssey From a Country You Have Never Heard of to PC - Kevin Stacom

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