In this 2020 file photo, 2003 Randolph Central School graduate Tim Bontemps, left, receives a commemorative ball from Cardinals' varsity basketball head coach Kevin Hind. Bontemps played for Hind in the early 2000s. P-J file photo by Tim Frank

Now that high school and college commencements are in the rearview mirror, it might not be a bad idea if recent graduates follow a career blueprint similar to the one drawn up by area native Tim Bontemps.

His message is simple and can be applied to any list of potential occupations.

“It’s just being willing to put yourself in a position where — when an opportunity becomes available — you have a chance to take advantage of it,” he told The Post-Journal last week. “A lot of times, it is something you’re not going to see coming in any way, shape or form, but if you do things the right way and you prepare and you throw yourself into stuff, I think, in the end, you’ll give yourself the chance to take advantage of it.”

Bontemps certainly has.

Thanks to sports-writing stints covering the National Basketball Association at the New York Post, The Washington Post and, for the last eight years, at ESPN, the 2003 Randolph Central School and 2007 St. Bonaventure University graduate has already reached the pinnacle of his profession at 41 years old.

“I feel very fortunate how things have played out in my life,” Bontemps said

And now he has added a new entry to his impressive resume, courtesy of a significant, just-announced career move.

“I was certainly not looking to leave ESPN,” he said, “and I only would have if an awesome opportunity came along, and that’s what happened.”

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It was made official last week. Bontemps, an ESPN senior NBA writer since 2018, is leaving the “Worldwide Leader in Sports” to become a strategic adviser for the Atlanta Hawks of the NBA. In that role, he will report to president of basketball operations Onsi Saleh.

“Onsi Saleh and (owner) Tony Ressler and (son) Nick believe that I can help a little bit and try to win some games and try to build something special there,” Bontemps said. “I’m just really honored to be part of it.”

The move means Bontemps, who had been a contributor to ESPN’s digital and television coverage, and the co-host of “The Hoop Collective” podcast (which he described as the “proudest thing I’ve done in my career”), will be relocating to Atlanta from Manhattan with his wife, Kelley, and their young son, Dorian.

“It’s going to be an exciting new adventure to move down there to a new place, start a new career, try to do hard things with good people and try to build a winner,” Bontemps said.

Not surprisingly, the son of Jeff and Ellen Bontemps knows a thing or two about teamwork.

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During his high school days, Bontemps was a member of Randolph’s very successful varsity basketball team under head coach Kevin Hind. More than two decades later, the bond between the pair is as strong as ever.

“He’s been in my corner for a long time,” Bontemps said. “When I went back there a few years ago and talked to the team, he totally surprised me with all the stuff he did (during that visit) … and he was one of the first people to message me (last week).”

Strong relationships were also forged during Bontemps’ time as an undergraduate at St. Bonaventure when he served as an intern for then-Olean Times-Herald sports editor Chuck Pollock and where he eventually connected with several Bona alumni who had already made a name for themselves in the sports-writing world, including Mike Vaccaro and Adrian Wojnarowski. Interestingly enough, Bontemps started his career working with Vaccaro at the New York Post and, later, he partnered with “Woj” covering the NBA when they were both at ESPN.

“It’s really a close-knit group,” Bontemps said of the Bona fraternity. “It’s sort of like the-little-engine-that-could school. … It’s neat to be a small part of that family.”

The little-engine-that-could description can apply to Bontemps, too.

Born in Westfield and raised in Sherman and Randolph, he has successfully navigated very competitive career paths, first in journalism for nearly 20 years and now moving forward in an NBA front office.

In other words, Bontemps has successfully taken to heart what a former teacher, Paul Steward, suggested before he — Bontemps — had even graduated from high school.

Recalled Bontemps in a 2019 interview with The Post-Journal: “I remember him writing in my yearbook, ‘Good luck trying to pursue this field. It’s incredibly challenging and a crowded business to get into. The way you have to do it is you have to work harder than anyone else.'”

Sound advice, Mr. Steward.

Mission accomplished, Mr. Bontemps.