Game 2: Stony Brook (0-0, 0-0 AE) at No. 12 Seton Hall (0-0, 0-0 Big East)
LOCATION	Walsh Gymnasium | South Orange, N.J.
DATE | TIME	Saturday, November 9 | 2:30 p.m.
TICKETS	Buy Now
COVERAGE	TV: YES | Online: FOX Sports Go | Live Stats
GAME NOTES	Stony Brook | Seton Hall

STONY BROOK, N.Y. – On a team of no seniors, leaders often rise to the occasion based on performance or attitude, rather than seniority. For junior guard Elijah Olaniyi (Newark, N.J.), it has been that way for a while. The middle of seven children in his family, Olaniyi took a leadership role long before he stepped on a basketball court.
 
"I've never shied away from being a leader," Olaniyi said.
 
This is coming from the fourth of seven, where the separation between him and his next-oldest sibling is six years, while the age difference with his next-youngest sibling sits at a year and a half.
 
"I was the leader of the younger kids," he said. "It was my responsibility to make sure they got to the school bus or were safe at school… small things like that".


 
He's now a leader of 15 young men ready to battle for the first time in the 2019-20 season when the Stony Brook men's basketball program takes on Yale on college basketball's opening night on Tuesday at Island Federal Arena (TICKET LINK).
 
The former Rookie of the Year and Third Team All-Conference member in the America East, Olaniyi now steps into a role he's familiar with.
 
"I see this as a challenge that I've already accepted," Olaniyi said. "I was looked to as a leader last year but now everybody will see it more because there are no seniors on the team".
 
They are one of six teams in the country without a senior on its roster, joining CSU Bakersfield, Mount St. Mary's, Richmond, Santa Clara and USC Upstate. The squad's nine-member junior class also lines up as the largest third-year class in the country.
 
The ages should not fool anyone; this team returns a pair of all-conference members from a season ago and the league's Sixth Man of the Year in redshirt-junior Andrew Garcia (Harlem, N.Y.) and Defensive Player of the Year in junior Jeff Otchere (Bronx, N.Y.).
 
Stony Brook is also coming off a 24-win campaign and a top two finish in the America East and Olaniyi avoided whatever sophomore slump would come his way: finishing with 12.3 points and 5.9 rebounds per game last season. Now, it's time to lead his team as the top returning scorer from that year.


 
"A leader to me is someone who does it by example," Olaniyi said. "That's always been my tactic. You can't ask someone to do something you aren't willing to do yourself."
 
It's his turn to keep that example going and lead his Seawolves back to the big dance.
 
"I'm ready to play," he added. "That's all I can say. I'm ready".

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