June 1, 2005

Stony Brook, N.Y. - Stony Brook head men's basketball coach Steve Pikiell announced the addition of four student-athletes to the men's basketball program for 2005-06. Tre Cunningham (Greenville, S.C./Massanutten Military Academy), Andrew Goba (Durban, South Africa/Durban) and Stephane Bakinde (Yaounde, Cameroon/Montverde Academy) have signed National Letters of Intent and will join the Seawolves as freshman next Fall. Ricky Lucas (Herndon, Va./Herndon) will transfer from The George Washington University and will be eligible for competition during the 2006-07 season.

"I am thrilled to have four quality student-athletes join the Stony Brook basketball program," said Pikiell. "All four of them are accomplished both on the court and in the classroom and will be the foundation for our program as we make it one of the most exciting in the America East."

Cunningham, a 6-4, 210-pound combo guard, led Massanutten Military Academy (Woodstock, Va.) in scoring at an 18 ppg. clip last season under head coach Bruce Kritzer. He shot 52 percent from the field and connected on 82 percent of his free throw attempts. Cunningham proved he can be a prolific scorer, as evidenced by his 39-point performance against the Pennsylvania junior varsity team, one of several 30-point games last season. He is the son of former NFL tight end Bennie Cunningham who had a 10-year NFL career with the Pittsburgh Steelers.

"Tre is a great talent and versatile player, a terrific student-athlete and an even better person," said Pikiell. "Tre is exactly the kind of student-athlete we want in our program."

Goba, a 6-9, 190-pound forward/center, is a native of Durban, South Africa. A standout at Durban High School where he averaged over 13 points and eight rebounds per game, he was also selected to play for the South African Junior National Team. Fluent in five languages, he served as a mentor and coach in the Playing for Peace program based out of Washington D.C. where he served as a coach for young boys ages 11-12.

"Andrew is intriguing because of his size, mobility and athleticism," said Pikiell. "He will be a great addition to the team and the University."

Lucas will transfer to Stony Brook from The George Washington University and will have two years of eligibility remaining in a Seawolf uniform. The 6-4, 215-pound shooting guard appeared in 55 games and averaged 4.2 ppg in two seasons with the Colonials. As a freshman, he scored in double figures five times, led the team in free throw shooting and earned Atlantic-10 Rookie of the Week honors after impressive performances against Gonzaga and Towson in December of 2003. This spring, Lucas was named the GW men's basketball student-athlete of the year. Prior to GW, Lucas was a top high school recruit out of Herndon High School in Herndon, Va. under head coach Gary Hall. At Herndon, he led his team to a 22-2 record during his senior year and was ranked No. 44 on the Top 100 seniors list by Frank Burlison of FoxSports.com. He also garnered All-Met honors from The Washington Post.

"It is very exciting for Stony Brook basketball any time you can add a Top 100 recruit to your program that was also GW's basketball student-athlete of the year," said Pikiell.

The three join Stephane Bakinde who signed a National Letter of Intent to join Stony Brook during the early signing period in November. Bakinde averaged 10 points, 7.0 rebounds, and 3.5 assists per game while shooting 55 percent from the floor for Montverde Academy (Fla.). Montverde posted a 21-6 record and was ranked No. 5 in the state of Florida.

"Stephane is a workaholic," said Pikiell. "He is also a very athletic and versatile recruit. He improves every time I see him."

Pikiell begins his first season at Stony Brook in 2005-06 after taking over for Nick Macarchuk who retired in March after six seasons at the helm of the Seawolves.