Jameel Warney named America East player of year for 3rd time

Jameel Warney added to his legacy as the greatest basketball player in Stony Brook history on Monday when he won unanimous selection as America East player of the year for the third straight season and also was named defensive player of the year for the second straight year. Warney joins Northeastern’s Reggie Lewis and Vermont’s Taylor Coppenrath as the only three-time POY winners in conference history.

First-place SBU (23-6, 14-2 AE) won other honors, including Steve Pikiell’s fourth coach of the year award, tying a record set by New Hampshire’s Bill Herrion when he was at Drexel. Senior guard Carson Puriefoy III joined Warney as a first-team all-conference selection and senior forward Rayshaun McGrew made the second team. Stony Brook dominated the all-defensive team with Warney, McGrew and junior Ahmad Walker making the five-man unit. Sophomore guard Bryan Sekunda was named to the all-academic team.

“It means the world to me,” said Warney, who averaged 18.7 points and led the league with 10.2 rebounds, a .627 shooting percentage and 3.2 blocks.

Referring to Lewis and Coppenrath, he added, “Those two names are legend, and their play shows how great this league is. I’m happy to be part of that group now.”

Warney is one of only three players in America East history with at least 2,000 points and 1,000 rebounds, and Puriefoy needs one point in Wednesday night’s America East Tournament quarterfinal against UMBC to reach 1,500 for his career.

SBU is the only active mid-major program with at least 22 wins the past five seasons, and their 18-game winning streak this season was the nation’s longest.

Said Pikiell: “Our 18-game winning streak had to do with defense and guys sacrificing every night.”

By Greg Logan

Gregory.Logan@newsday.comGregLogan1

Greg Logan has worked for Newsday since 1982 covering a wide array of sports and events, currently including the Brooklyn Nets beat.