Danny Carter ’12 and Dallis Joyner ’12, both members of last year’s Stony Brook men’s basketball team, have signed contracts to play for professional teams this fall. They are the fifth and sixth to do so out of the basketball program under head coach Steve Pikiell.
Joyner shall be going overseas to Finland to play for Kouvot Kouvula in the Korisliiga, the top league in Finland. The team finished ninth last season under head coach Jyri Lehtonen.
“I’m not sure how I’ll adapt yet,” Joyner said. “I have to cook for myself now that I don’t have the SBU meal plan so I think I will stay close to home with the food I cook. The people here under 50 years old speak and understand English pretty well, so it shouldn’t be too difficult.”
Joyner will not be the only American on the team; he will join Chris Hester, who attended Eastern Washington University.
In his 123 games at Stony Brook, Joyner accumulated the second-most rebounds in the program’s Division-I history with 731. In his last season, he averaged 9 points and 6.6 rebounds along with having the America East conference’s best shooting percentage with 61.1 percent. He was named to the third-team All-America East.
“It feels like I’ve achieved my goal as a man and as a basketball player,” Joyner said. “I had a goal and I acheived it. Now my goal is to be successful at the professional level.”
He gained some notoriety during the postseason when he tipped in the game-winning basket of the America East Championship semifinals against the University at Albany.
The moment was SportsCenter’s top play of the week. He was named to the America East Championship All-Tournament team.
Carter will remain in his native England, to play for his new team; the Reading Rockets. He was a member of the club’s junior team before coming to Stony Brook, where he averaged 22.8 points, 8.7 rebounds and 4.5 assists in the 2007-08 season when he was the club’s MVP.
“It feels great to play in front of friends and family and especially as my five-year-old nephew is getting into the sport,” Carter said. “It’s a great opportunity for me to play and do a variety of things, and I can’t wait.”
Carter played in 116 games while at Stony Brook, grabbing 264 rebounds, blocking 23 shots and shooting just under 40 percent. He was a starter in his junior season.
“I don’t look at it too much as an adjustment except for the rules side of the game,” Carter said. “Everyone that is on the team now is different from the team I used to play with. So it’s going to be a fun pre-season with a lot of learning in a new offense and new personnel. The coaching staff is different, and I’m excited to play for them as I feel like we contend for a national championship.”
Former Seawolves Muhammad El-Amin ’10 and Desmond Adedeji ’10 will also be playing in Europe this fall for Ferentino in Italy and FUS Rabat in Morocco, respectively.
