Not many hear about the life of the athlete off the court and the adjustments they must make in order to live a college life along with life of an athlete.
Coming into her freshman season at Harrisburg High School in Harrisburg, Penn., Stony Brook senior forward Sabre Proctor was expected to have a big role within the team.
What do we know so far? The Stony Brook men’s basketball team is playing the best it has since its inception thanks to head coach Steve Pikiell, enjoying a rapid influx of talent in recent seasons....
With their lack of serious recruiting power, Stony Brook builds its program on developing recruits over four years at the school. Perhaps their best success in development is of senior guard Dave Coley. Coley, a 6-foot-2-inch guard, was not a highly recruited player out of high school. He was seen as a defensive specialist type player, one to stop the opponent’s offense instead of creating his own. Yet, over his four years here, Coley has become a complete player.
After two years in community college, most athletes have a choice to make. You can either move on into the NCAA and play your final two years at a different school, or you can go into it strictly for the academics and get your degree. Senior Teasha Harris made the decision to come to Stony Brook relatively easily coming out of Kirkwood Community College in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.
Back in 2011, point guard Bryan Dougher served as the Seawolves’ floor general and one of the team’s biggest leaders. Meanwhile, his young backup Anthony Jackson had the chance to learn from one of the program’s great players about what it took to fill that role. In 2013, history seems to be repeating itself. Now Jackson is the team’s starting point guard and also one of the team captains, while the talented and quick sophomore Carson Puriefoy is learning from him.
Steve Pikiell cannot stop smiling on Media Day. In the ninth year of his Stony Brook career, Pikiell has a lot to be happy about. The head men’s basketball coach has overseen the program as it rose from “just hoping to not play the 8/9 game” to contending for a berth in the NCAA tournament. The Seawolves now have the support of the community, the administration and the student body. They have season ticket holders, sold-out games and a new arena coming next fall. It’s a complete turnaround from what things were like when Pikiell joined the program back in 2005.
