The Bonnies Baseline feature series focuses on Bona players in each home game program during the season. Game programs are free for fans to pick up at Reilly Center entrances. 

Most players who don the St. Bonaventure basketball colors gain their first introduction to the Bonnies from watching a game on TV or getting a call from the coaching staff.

For Bonnies junior guard Jack DeRose, however, some of his earliest childhood memories involve cheering on the team from inside a raucous Reilly Center.

The Olean native remembers watching Andrew Nicholson and the 2012 Atlantic 10 championship team as a kid and gaining a love for the game of basketball from a standout generation of Bonnies players.

"My core memories were Marcus Posley, Jaylen Adams, Matt Mobley," DeRose says of a memorable Bonnies group during his middle school days. "The triple OT game vs. Davidson (in 2018) might be the best basketball game I've ever watched. That's what really made me love basketball and have a passion for St. Bonaventure."

As the Bonnies were enjoying success on a yearly basis, DeRose modeled his game after some of his favorite Bonaventure players.

His continued development on the basketball court led to an integral spot on successful Olean High teams. He became a First Team league all-star as a junior and senior, averaging 16 points per game and earned recognition on the Big 30 First Team.

In 2022, his Huskies squad captured the sectional championship.

"We all grew up playing basketball together. We had a special bond," he said of that team. "It taught us about working hard and understanding the value of teamwork."

Along the way, he set the Huskies program record for 3-pointers in a single game, sinking a dozen in a contest.

During his high school career, DeRose looked for a way to continue his future in basketball.

"Growing up here, I wanted to represent my hometown and my community. Coming here to walk on was the best way to do it," he said. "I love basketball and wanted to be a part of something special."

DeRose gained a spot on the Bonnies roster as a preferred walk-on prior to the 2023-24 season. As a freshman, he saw time in five games.

The life of a Division I basketball walk-on isn't always a glamorous one: while it doesn't often result in many minutes of action in games, the work is the same as any member of the roster. It involves a daily grind that is always about putting the team above self.

"Practice is like our game. I do the best of my ability to make our guys better in every way possible," DeRose says. "The day-to-day doesn't change from a walk-on to a scholarship player. The work that goes on behind the scenes, there's so much more that goes on that people don't think about. We were here all summer practicing five days a week, in the fall we practice twice a day and lifting, there's so many hours that go into it. It's a full-time job."

That work makes the moments where he is able to step on the court on gameday stand out as opportunities to appreciate every moment of.

This past postseason, DeRose had his own March moment. He tallied his first career points with a three-pointer off the bench during an NIT contest, to the delight of those in an arena he'd spent so much time in growing up before countless hours of work out of the spotlight.

"It was somewhat bittersweet because of the outcome of the game, but that was the moment where it all came into perspective," he said. "I came here growing up, going to the games and to finally score in this building in a setting like the NIT, that was a moment I'll never forget."

A finance major, he knows his unique perspective of being able to watch the Bona coaching staff work each day will help should he stay involved in the game post-college. Regardless of where his career path leads, the road from Reilly Center bleachers to the court has brought an unforgettable ride for the hometown Bonnie.

"I have a lot of pride in the opportunity to wear the Brown and White," he said. "I'm forever grateful. I wake up every day and put on that jersey and know I'm super blessed."