OLEAN, N.Y. — Adrian Wojnarowski's feeling at home again at St. Bonaventure.
"It's been amazing to be back on campus and be able to just walk the campus," Wojnarowski said. "There's such an energy around a college campus and you forget that sometimes when you're away from it."
Wojnarowski's been away from campus since graduating from Bona in 1991.
From there, he worked his way into the top NBA Insider in all of media.
But he dropped maybe the biggest "Woj Bomb" in mid-September when announcing he was leaving ESPN to become the general manager for the men's basketball program at his alma mater.
"Coach [Mark] Schmidt has built this program into one of the elite in our conference and so every day my mandate is to help keep it there and grow it," Wojnarowski said. "Grow it for our current players, for future players, and just use, again, the relationships that I have around basketball to give unique experiences and unique access to our players and our staff."
Woj admits he's still feeling his way into the new role, but has spent these first few months on the job focusing a lot on NIL and recruiting.
He's found early success on both fronts, using his past to help with the present and future of Bonnies basketball.
"You want to get guys to take a look at St. Bonaventure and so there's very often an interest with players, with families, with their coaches about my history and my relationships in the NBA and that's a big part of what we're able to sell here," Wojnarowski said.
That includes selling Woj's connections across the entire basketball landscape, NBA and international, to help fulfill dreams of playing in the pros.
Or simply some anecdotes from decades around the greatest players on the planet.
"There's no question I get asked a lot of Kobe Bryant stories by kids, a lot of Jason Tatum stories, and it's fun to share my experiences with him," Wojnarowski said.
Wojnarowski says his favorite thing to do is watch Bonnies practice and being around the players and staff.
The man millions have read articles from or seen on TV now chooses to watch games secluded towards the top of the Reilly Center.
A bird's-eye view of a team and program that will now reap the rewards from the inroads he's made at the highest levels of hoops.
"I think pleasantly surprised just how much the relationships that I've been able to build around the world, how many people want to help St. Bonaventure basketball," Wojnarowski said.
"Number one because they know the program that coach Schmidt has built and that players are going to get better. They're going to develop here both on the court and off the court. And I think a trust in the relationships that I've had with them that we're going to take good care of their guys."