Nov. 6, 2008

Stony Brook, N.Y. - Heading into the 2008-09 season, Stony Brook fourth-year head coach Steve Pikiell has the focus and enthusiasm of a coach that feels his program is on the precipice of something special, a program that is on the brink of making its mark on the America East conference and the rest of Division I basketball.

Pikiell and his coaching staff believe their squad took some big steps last season that have put the 2008-09 Seawolves in position to be successful. Those steps included victories over defending America East champion Vermont, Long Island rival Hofstra, the program's first America East tournament victory since 2004 and a sweep of Maine.

The Seawolves bring back six major contributors from that squad and add to a highly-rated recruiting class that Pikiell feels is the best in school history. The class includes four players that won state championships in high school.

Pikiell also made two key additions to his coaching staff in the offseason, hiring Lamar Chapman as an assistant coach and former captain Ricky Lucas `08 as Director of Basketball Operations. Chapman, a seasoned recruiter, comes to Stony Brook from Toledo while Lucas joins the staff after being the Seawolves leading scorer the past two seasons in addition to being George Washington's student-athlete of the year in 2005.

The program also continued to upgrade itself off the court as well as the Seawolves will benefit from a new locker room, film room, lounge and practice facility this season. Stony Brook will also play in its former home, Pritchard Gymnasium, this season as its old home, Stony Brook Arena, undergoes a multi-million dollar renovation that will have the Seawolves playing in a state of the art facility in the near future. Pritchard also underwent a million dollar renovation over the summer to ready itself as the temporary home for Stony Brook basketball.

Put it all together and Seawolves coaches, players and fans have a lot to look forward to as the 2008-09 season gets underway.

BACKCOURT

Pikiell believes his backcourt will also make significant strides this season as the Seawolves add a talented group of newcomers to a solid group of returners. The Seawolves will be led in the backcourt by the trio of senior Michael Tyree (Somerset, N.J.), junior Eddie Castellanos (Jersey City, N.J.) and sophomore Chris Martin (Springfield Gardens, N.Y.) in addition to sophomore Jermol Paul (Palm Beach, Fla.) who will see significant time at the three spot.

Tyree returns after appearing in all 30 games last season, ranking second on the team with 36 three-pointers. The Seawolves will look for some needed outside shooting and scoring from Tyree who shot 88.9 percent from the free-throw line last season.

After starting the final 10 games of the season at the point, Martin will be one of the players counted on to direct the Seawolves offense this season. The Christ the King product made 16 starts in all in 2007-08 and Pikiell expects him to continue to exhibit the steady play he showed down the stretch last season. Competing for time with Martin will be Castellanos who led Stony Brook with 69 assists a season ago. The 6-1 point guard has already made 40 starts in his two seasons with the Seawolves.

Pikiell expects Paul to compete for a starting position this season and believes the sophomore swingman showed great improvement over the summer. Paul showed he could be a difference maker last season, scoring 15 points in the overtime victory over Vermont in addition to contributing 10 points in the win over Hofstra.

The Seawolves will also count on senior co-captain Marques Cox (Jamaica, N.Y.) as a seasoned veteran who will bring depth to the guard and wing positions after playing in 47 games over the past two seasons. The walk-on earned six starts in 2005-06 as a freshman while appearing in all 28 games.

Bolstering the Stony Brook backcourt this season will be four newcomers who Pikiell expects to make a difference early on.

Freshman point guard Bryan Dougher (Scotch Plains, N.J.) comes to SBU from Scotch-Plains Fanwood High School in New Jersey where he scored a school record 1,635 points.A 2008 second team all-state selection and Area Player of the Year, Dougher is a scoring point guard who Pikiell expects will compete for a starting position immediately.

Joining him are junior-college transfers Jonathan Moore (Cleveland, Ohio) and Muhammad El-Amin (Lansing, Mich.). Moore comes from Monroe Community College where he hit a school record 168 three-pointers. The two-time All-Region selection led the Tribunes to a 30-4 record and the NJCAA Division II national championship game as a freshman.The 6-5 El-Amin averaged 17.9 points per game at Lansing Community College last season, earning All-Conference honors after leading Holt High School to a state title as a senior.

The Seawolves will also be counting on 6-5 freshman Tommy Brenton to make an immediate impact.A versatile swingman attended Hargrave Military Academy last season, helping to lead the school to a perfect 29-0 record as the top-ranked prep school in the country. Brenton averaged 20.9 points and 10.3 rebounds per game as a senior at River Hill High School, leading the Hawks to their first ever Maryland 3A State championship.

FRONTCOURT

One of the most improved areas on the 2009-09 Seawolves will be in the front court. Returnees Demetrius Young (Sacramento, Calif.) and Andrew Goba (Durban, South Africa) along with Dayton transfer Desmond Adedeji (Landover Hills, Md.) and freshmen Danny Carter (London, England) and Dallis Joyner (Norfolk, Va.) should provide Stony Brook with more depth and inside scoring.

An explosive leaper, Young led the America East with a .638 field goal percentage in addition to ranking third in the conference with 6.7 rebounds per game.Young was also third in the America East with 81 offensive rebounds and led the Seawolves with four double-doubles. Pikiell expects Young to continue to be a consistent inside presence that will be the Seawolves best defender in addition to providing inside scoring and rebounding.

Goba returns after missing all but four games last season due to injury. Pikiell will look to him as a solid and experienced presence who will anchor the middle of the Stony Brook defense. The Durban, South Africa native appeared in 25 games two season ago and continued to improve his strength over the summer.

Also expected to shoulder much of the time in middle will be the 6-10, 298 pound Adedeji. Pikiell expects the Dayton transfer to be a offensive presence in the low post for the Seawolves in addition to being a defensive force in the middle. Adedeji played in 27 games as a freshman at Dayton, making four starts. He also led UD in FG% (.525, 42-80), while averaging 3.6 points and 2.6 rebounds.

Pikiell is also excited about the addition of the two freshman, Carter and Joyner, who he believes will be able to contribute right away.

The highly-rated Carter comes to Stony Brook from Windsor, England where he led his Reading Rockets to back-to-back titles at the European Championships [Division B] in 2006 and 2007.Carter averaged 22.8 points, 8.7 rebounds and 4.5 assists per game for the Rockets last season, earning England's U-18 National Player of the Year award.Pikiell sees Carter as someone who will not only provide a low-post scoring presence but also someone who will be able to step out and score from the perimeter.

The 6-7, 250 pound Joyner comes to the Seawolves from Granby High in Norfolk, Va. where he a first team All-District selection and third-team All-Region honoree as a senior in addition to being ranked one of the top 50 power forward prospects by ESPN.com.Pikiell sees Joyner, who broke a backboard in high school, as a physical rebounding presence who will be a low-post scorer that will be a difference maker.