Stony Brook Basketball

Stony Brook Seawolves guard Blair Mendy was charged with third-degree rape, sexual misconduct and endangering the welfare of a child Wednesday, per Ellen Yan and Steven Marcus of Newsday.

Yan and Marcus cited university police Chief Robert J. Lenahan when reporting on the 22-year-old's charge of the rape of a minor.

Lenahan didn't comment on the victim's age in the alleged crime.

Mendy's father did comment in a phone interview, per Yan and Marcus: "I think my kid was raised very well. I find it very incredible to believe. I taught him to be a gentleman, treat ladies well. I always taught him to make the right choice."

This is not the first recent issue with the law for the Seawolves basketball team. According to Yan and Marcus, three other players were arrested during the 10 months before Mendy's charges.

In April, Rayshaun McGrew and DeShaun Thrower were both charged with third-degree grand larceny and third-degree criminal mischief. Then the team suspended Ahmad Walker after he was charged with second-degree harassment and resisting arrest in September.

Yan and Marcus noted Mendy—who is a sophomore and has appeared in two games this season—"is expected to be arraigned Thursday."   

Stony Brook basketball players Rayshaun McGrew and DeShaun Thrower were charged with third-degree grand larceny and third-degree criminal mischief Monday.

Tina Moore of the New York Post reported the news, citing the university's police department. McGrew and Thrower allegedly broke into another student's car last Wednesday to steal a $5,000 tax refund, and both charges the players face are felonies, per Moore.

According to the report, McGrew and Thrower used a stone to break the window of 23-year-old Queens, New York, resident Jevreel Miller's vehicle.

Unfortunately, Miller had just cashed his tax-refund check at the time of the theft and has yet to recoup this considerable sum.

"I feel like I'm being left out to dry because I'm out of $5,000 in cash, and the people who robbed me are back on campus," said Miller, per Moore. "I'm the victim here, and no one's defending me. They're making it like I brought this on myself."

Miller was able to chase the players on foot before calling campus police, riding around in a patrol car and subsequently identifying McGrew, who told police Thrower was involved once he was caught.

The 2015-16 Seawolves basketball team participated in the NCAA tournament on the strength of America East regular-season and conference tournament titles. Stony Brook's 26-7 season ended on a sour note in the round of 64, though, as the squad lost, 85-57, to Kentucky.

McGrew, a senior forward, was the Seawolves' third-leading scorer, averaging 10.6 points per contest this past season. Thrower is a sophomore guard who played sparingly and averaged only 1.9 points per game.

Stony Brook just introduced new head coach Jeff Boals on Monday in a press conference. The news involving McGrew and Thrower makes for a disconcerting official start to his tenure.

Real recognize real, and Jameel Warney is now certainly real.

The Stony Brook star dedicated each Seawolves game to Mark Morrison, perhaps better known as the one-hit wonder who made his name on the 1996 single "Return of the Mack."

SB Nation's Mike Rutherford put together a well-documented account of all the times the senior forward tweeted at the R&B singer, writing some variation of "this one is for you" before each game:

The tweets went largely unnoticed by Morrison until Warney's 43-point performance in the 80-74 win over Vermont on Saturday, which secured the Seawolves the America East title and the team's first trip to the NCAA tournament. Most importantly, it got him some recognition from his source of inspiration:

[Jameel Warney, h/t SB Nation]

(Photo credit: Laura Merwin/MassLive.com)

During the college basketball season, Stony Brook does not immediately come to mind as a "must see" team. However, with the arrival of Preye Preboye on campus, that opinion may soon change.

Preboye is a 6'6" forward from Springfield, Mass. Before enrolling at Stony Brook, he spent a year at Winchendon Prep School where he averaged 15 points and 10 rebounds per game.

In two games this season, Preboye is third on the team in scoring at 10 points per game and second in rebounding with 5.5 per game. He leads the Seawolves in steals with five although he plays a little less than 15 minutes a game.

Currently, Preboye is playing behind Stony Brook's senior leading scorer Muhammad El-Amin. Coming off the bench, Preboye unleashes a dose of athleticism the opposition is not prepared to face.

He is already an accomplished defender who is able and eager to guard the opponent's best player. Preboye is a lethal weapon on the fast break as he can run the floor as well as anyone on the team. 

Preboye is a left-handed player that does not look like one. He can drive to his left or right and is equally adept to finish with either hand. Once Preboye improves his three-point shooting, he will become almost impossible to defend.

Teaming Preboye with senior point guard Eddie Castellanos and the 6'10" Desmond Adedeji, Stony Brook possesses one of the best reserve units in the America East Conference.

Last season, Stony Brook finished 16-14 overall and 8-8 in conference play. Both those totals respectively represent the best the Seawolves have done in their eight years as a member of the America East.

That is quite the accomplishment for a team that started two freshmen, Bryan Dougher and Dallis Joyner, every game last year.

The Seawolves are currently undefeated with wins over Maryland-Eastern Shore and Division III Mount Saint Mary College. With the help of Preboye, Stony Brook will soon find itself at the top of the America East and dancing in March.

It is too early to call Preboye the best player in Stony Brook history just yet. However, if one does it now, he will looked upon as a college basketball genius four years from now.