NBL Canada Alumni: Anthony Stover

6’11

Centre

From Pasadena, California

Tenure: 2015-18

2016 DPOY

Anthony Stover has had an eventful time playing basketball, to say the least, which has included being one of the toughest defensive threats on the NBL Canada courts.

His basketball journey began at LA's Windward High School, where he also played volleyball, but his performances on the basketball court earned him a scholarship to the UCLA Bruins' team. However, he was dropped after not meeting various team requirements.

Stover left UCLA in 2012 and joined the Los Angeles D-Fenders in the NBA D-League and later the Tokyo Cinq Reves in Japan. In 2015, he won the Premier Basketball League title with the Rochester Razorsharks at the end of an undefeated 17-0 season.

Stover then made his NBL Canada debut with the Saint John Mill Rats. He appeared in 39 games and averaged 6.8 points per game, but it was his work on the defensive end that made headlines. Averaging 7.2 rebounds and an amazing 3.5 blocks per game, which was the highest in the 2015-16 season, Stover won the Defensive Player of the Year award.

He re-signed with the team, now the Saint John Riptide, the following season, posting averages of 5.6 points, 6.7 rebounds and 2.3 blocks per game. He helped the Riptide take their Atlantic Division semi final series to a deciding game against the Island Storm, but in the end the Storm prevailed.

For the 2017-18 season, Stover started out with the Riptide again, before being traded after fifteen games played to the Niagara River Lions, who in turn passed him along to the St. John's Edge. He averaged 4.8 points and 6.9 rebounds in ten starts for the Edge. He agreed to join the Halifax Hurricanes in 2018, but never played for the team.

At only 29 years of age, there is still a lot more Stover will be able to do in his basketball career. While a return to the NBL Canada is a long-shot, as he is now applying his trade with APOP Paphos in Cyprus, he will remain one of the most memorable defensive players in Saint John's history.

Picture: Rod Stears