Anthony Roberts, the guard who led the Stony Brook men’s basketball team in scoring last season, announced on Saturday, April 9 that he will not use his final year of collegiate eligibility and declare for the NBA draft instead.
“I want to thank God for all the blessings he have gave me through my years of living, I wanna thank Coach Ford for believing in me when I was counted out. Also I want to thank Stony Brook University and its fans for welcoming me like I was family of their own,” Roberts said in a statement he posted on social media.
Roberts averaged 16.4 points, 4.2 rebounds and 2.6 assists per game. He was the second-leading scorer in the America East Conference behind Ryan Davis’ 17.3. Despite being the league’s top scorer in conference play at 17.9 points per game, he was left off the America East’s All-Conference First Team along with his teammate, guard Tykei Greene, the conference’s leading rebounder.
Stony Brook will depart the America East for the Colonial Athletic Association beginning on July 1, 2022. The team was also prohibited from participating in the conference’s postseason tournament for a chance at the automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament as a result.
“And to my teammates I love y’all boys I know we had ups & down this year but I wouldn’t want to play with no other team,” Roberts continued. “Y’all showed me a lot & helped me mature in different ways y’all will forever be family!”
In the final seven games of the season, Roberts averaged 23.3 points per contest. This stretch included a 40-point outburst at Maine on Feb. 13, when he broke the Stony Brook program record with nine 3-pointers in a game and scored the second-most points by a Seawolves player in Division I history.
After starting point guard Jahlil Jenkins underwent season-ending surgery, Roberts assumed the role and dished out 4.8 assists per game.
Stony Brook departs the America East at a time where 13 of the conference’s 15 top scorers from last season are currently slated to not play in the conference next year. With Roberts’ departure confirmed, the Seawolves’ leading returning scorer for the team’s first season in the CAA is now Greene, who scored 14.0 points per game last year.
Like Roberts, Greene also ended the season strong, recording a double-double in six of his last nine games. He averaged 21.7 points and 9.6 rebounds to close out his campaign.
Stony Brook signed a trio of bigs for its CAA debut, including 7-foot-3-inch center Rocco Muratori and 6-foot-10-inch forwards Leon Nahar and Kenan Sarvan. The Seawolves also earned a commitment from incoming freshman point guard Toby Onyekonwu.
