NCAA Basketball: 10 best players from state of Rhode Island of last decade

9. Marcel Pettway – Bryant

Pettway is a 6’8 forward from North Providence who took a unique path, starting off his career at the D1 level before ending up transferring down. He spent his first two collegiate seasons at Bryant in his home state and was a pretty productive player for the Bulldogs. He then transferred to Nevada, but never played for the Wolf Pack, eventually finishing his career out at Angelo State at the D2 level.

We’re left to focus only on those first two seasons with the Bulldogs, but that was more than enough to land Pettway on today’s list. As a freshman, he averaged 11.4 points and 7.0 rebounds per game, becoming a starter almost immediately upon arriving on campus. He scored a career-high 26 points in back-to-back wins over Central Connecticut and Fairleigh Dickinson. His numbers as a sophomore were comparable, though Bryant took a slight step forward, finishing 5th in the NEC in his second season.

Pettway actually led the NEC in field goal percentage as a freshman, ranking among that conference’s best interior shooters in recent memory. Things might not have gone as planned at Nevada and beyond for Pettway, but he was still a basketball talent and has a bright future ahead in the sport. He’s current a D2 basketball assistant at St. Thomas Aquinas; maybe he’ll be coaching in the D1 game one day soon?