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Heeeeeeeeeeeeer’s Carson! Carson Puriefoy played in all 33 games as a freshman at Stony Brook, then took it up a notch by finishing in the top-10 in the America East in PPG/APG/SPG as a sophomore. Last year as a junior he was name 1st-team all-conference, became just the 3rd player in school history to score at least 500 points in a single season, and helped his team make the CBI. HoopsHD’s Jon Teitel got to chat with Carson about the Albany-Stony Brook rivalry and how to be a good PG.
You grew up in New Jersey: what made you choose Stony Brook? I had narrowed down my final list to 3 schools, but after taking a visit here with my family I fell in love with it. It has been the best 4 years of my life so far and I am glad that I made the right decision.
You play for Coach Steve Pikiell: what makes him such a good coach, and what is the most important thing that you have ever learned from him? He is a player’s coach: he was straight up with me and my family about how it would be, and that is what I cherish the most. He taught me to always compete no matter what the score is, both in a game as well as in life.
You played in all 33 games as a freshman: how were you able to come in and contribute right from the start? It was a struggle: I thought that I would come in and make a big impact because I knew everything, but it took me until conference play before I started to play well. We had some great leaders and all of the seniors helped me stay confident.
In the 2013 America East tourney you scored a team-high 16 PTS before Mike Black made a layup in the final seconds of a 2-PT win by Albany, and in the 2015 America East tourney you scored a team-high 23 PTS before Peter Hooley made a 3-PT shot in the final seconds of a 1-PT win by Albany: how intense is the rivalry, and what will it take to get over the hump against the Great Danes in March? It has always been a big rivalry between the 2 New York schools in every sport, not just basketball. If we meet them again: bring it on! We are really optimistic about the season and we welcome the challenge.
In November 2013 you scored 16 PTS in a 2-PT 3-OT win at Detroit: where does that rank among the most exciting games of your career? That was a great experience. It was probably the longest game that I have ever played and we were all exhausted against a good Detroit team, but Coach just told us to keep plugging away.
In the 2015 CBI you scored 19 PTS (3-8 3PM) in a 2-PT loss to Mercer: how close did you come to winning the game, and what did you learn from that loss that you think can help you this year? They made a buzzer-beater and it was close throughout. The key thing we learned is to make our FTs and be able to finish games by staying mentally tough throughout the game.
You have led the team in AST/STL during each of the past 2 years: what is the key to being a good PG? You have to stay balanced and get your teammates involved. The PG is also the 1st line of defense so you have to stay diligent. Our coaches stress defense so I try to be a leader on the defensive end.
Your non-conference schedule includes games against Vanderbilt/Notre Dame: which of these games do you feel will present your biggest test? Those 2 are obviously the highest-ranked teams that we play, so they will probably be our toughest tests. Do not count us out: we went to Washington last year and upset them. It has always been a dream of mine to play at Notre Dame so that game should be great.
Your father Carson played basketball at Bucknell: who is the best athlete in the family? He would probably say himself but I would have to say me! He has not beaten me in 1-on-1 for quite some time so I think that the torch has been passed.
What are your goals for the upcoming season, and what are your expectations for the upcoming season? We have accomplished everything else over the past 4 years besides getting to the NCAA tourney so that is really the only goal left for us. We have very high expectations because we have a lot of guys back as well as some good transfers.