Pair of 2014 grads to go pro overseas

By Carlos Toro

Two of Rider’s top scorers will join a growing list of Bronc alums who have brought their basketball prowess to professional leagues over the past five years.

After spending four years playing for the Broncs, Anthony Myles, ’14, signed with Italy’s Serie A team Vuelle Basket Pesaro, and Danny Stewart, ’14, will play for the club Argentino in Argentina.

Men’s basketball Head Coach Kevin Baggett was excited to hear about Myles and Stewart taking the next step in their basketball careers.

“I was very happy for Daniel and Anthony to have an opportunity to continue playing basketball professionally,” Baggett said. “I think both those guys will do great things for their prospective teams.”

Stewart believes it is an incredible achievement for him and Myles, who have arguably been the faces of Rider men’s basketball for the past few seasons.

“It’s a blessing because it’s an opportunity to continue to play basketball and support my family,” Stewart said.

Myles and Stewart are both coming off of the best scoring year of their college basketball careers, achieving highs in points per game and 3-point shots made last year.

Stewart averaged 15.2 points per game last year and 6.3 rebounds per game in 31 contests. The 6’7” forward graduated 13th in career scoring (1,436 points) at Rider and second in career rebounding (888 rebounds).  Stewart also earned several awards from the MAAC, including Second Team All-MAAC honors as a senior, Third Team All-MAAC honors as a junior and MAAC Rookie of the Year as a freshman.

Myles played 128 games from 2010-14 at Rider, starting 78 of them. He finished with 1,417 points for his career, placing him 14th in Rider history. The 6’5” guard led the team in scoring last year with 16.2 points per game en route to the quarterfinals of the MAAC Tournament. He was named to the Third Team All-MAAC as a junior and a senior.

Both players will have to make adjustments as they advance to the professional level and become acclimated to a foreign country.

“One adjustment I have to make [on the court] is the physicality; my coach told me the league is very physical,” Stewart said. “Off the court, it’s just getting used to living on my own, eating different foods, finding my way around town using public transportation and improving my Spanish.”

Stewart is heading to Buenos Aires sometime in the middle of September. His season begins in the Sudaamerican Tournament, an international club championship, which will include teams from Central and South American countries. He will join a squad where he might get the chance to compete for a starting role.

According to the team’s page on the Eurobasket website, Myles is listed as a starter. According to the signing’s press release from the team in July, they view Myles as an athletic, fast, 3-point shooter with above-average defense.

Vuelle Pesaro needed to bolster their 3-point shooting, an area Myles has proven strong in. He made 38 percent of his 3-point shots last year, which is better than any other player in Vuelle at the time, and 39 percent in 2012. Myles’ regular season with Vuelle Pesaro starts on Oct. 12.

Baggett expressed Myles’ importance to Rider’s basketball team, praising his propensity to put points on the board.

“Anthony, from day one as a freshman, was a key contributor to our program,” said Baggett. “He has the ability to be able to rise up and make difficult shots and the ability to score the ball in multiple ways.”

Baggett understands the loss of both Myles and Stewart may hurt Rider’s basketball program, but is eager to see what the duo has in store for the professional leagues.

“We will miss them but I’m excited to watch them play professionally for some years to come,” Baggett said.

Myles was unavailable for comment for this piece.