NCAA Basketball: 10 best players from state of New Jersey of last decade

6. Jameel Warney – Stony Brook

For many, Warney wasn’t exactly a household name and there’s a great number of people who never knew about him or forgot him, but he had quite an impressive career. A 6’8 forward from Plainfield, he was an impressive high school player who chose Stony Brook over offers from more prestigious schools, wanting to play right away instead of settling for a bench of backup role. He got his chance to play and he took advantage of it.

He became one of the best forwards at the mid-major level, starring for the Seawolves from 2012 to 2016, Steve Pikiell’s last four seasons before leaving for Rutgers. Warney had some impressive stats, averaging a double-double in each of his last two seasons, including 19.8 points and 10.8 rebounds a game as a senior. He had multiple games with more than 20 rebounds, including a conference tournament win over UMBC, and had 23 points and 15 rebounds in the NCAA Tournament in his final career game.

Simply put, Warney was a force on both sides of the ball and became one of the best players in the history of the America East. He was a three-time AEC Player of the Year, a two-time Defensive Player of the Year, and led the entire country in rebounding during his junior season. The conference’s Rookie of the Year in 2013 and Tournament MVP in 2016 put up monstrous stats at Stony Brook before departing for a professional career that has most recently taken him to Korea.