On the first day of the early signing period for basketball recruits, Stony Brook officially signed Jameel Warney, Ryan Burnett and Carson Puriefoy III to national letters of intent on Wednesday.
“I’m really excited,” head coach Steve Pikiell said. “They are three kids we targeted from the beginning, they will have a chance to contribute as freshman.”
All three recruits gave verbal commitments to the school before Wednesday. Warney and Burnett verbally committed in August, while Puriefoy III did so later in October.
Warney is a 6’7, 220 lb. forward from Roselle Catholic High School in New Jersey. He was the 5th ranked prospect in New Jersey for his class according to ESPN, which also cites him as “a big man who wants to be a big man.”
While he received interest from as many as 17 different schools, including the University of Iowa, University of North Carolina at Charlotte, St. Peter’s College and Rider University, before commiting to Stony Brook.
“I came up for a visit in May and I liked it,” Warney told the Statesman on Sept. 10. “I liked it even more on the second visit.”
Pikiell said that he had interest in Warney since last year, when he was a junior.
“He’s a low post scoring machine,” Pikiell said. “He’s a different level of a player then what we have gotten in the past.”
From Benedictine High School in Virginia, a school which regularly sends players to Division I ball, Burnett first got Pikiell’s attention at an AAU tournament in West Virginia this past July.
“I loved his versatility, he scores in all ways,” Pikiell said of the 6’4, 175 lb swing-man. “He is going to get taller down the road, I love his upside.”
The son of a point guard, the 6’0, 165 lb. Puriefoy III is currently playing at Bishop Eustace Prep in southern New Jersey. He is considered to be a true point guard, much like his father, who was a three year starter at Bucknell.
“Carson was my number one point guard that I saw this summer,” Pikiell said.
While academics were considered to be important for Puriefoy and his family, he cited the opportunity to start as a big factor in choosing Stony Brook over his two other final choices, Princeton and conference rival Vermont.
“I didn’t want to go to a name school and sit for two years,” Puriefoy told the Statesman on Oct. 23rd.
With seniors Bryan Dougher, Dallis Joyner, Danny Carter and Al Rapier projected to graduate this upcoming season, the team has one scholarship spot left.
When asked what type of player he would use that scholarship on, Pikiell was unsure, saying that he wants to see how his current team looks and use it to address any weaknesses.
“We got a wing player, a point guard and a big guy,” Pikiell said. “I’m going to play this season and see how it goes from there.”
