MBB Great Anthony Avent Earns Degree
8/7/2013 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Aug. 7, 2013
"Once a Pirate, always a Pirate."
This common decree has perhaps never rang truer for anyone other than all-time men's basketball great Anthony Avent, whose far-reaching journey recently brought him back to South Orange as he sought to put the finishing touches on something he had started over two decades ago.
A native of nearby Newark, Avent came to The Hall in the late 1980's, helping the Pirates reach rarified heights during his three seasons in uniform.
A powerful inside force, the 6-foot-9 forward was a cornerstone of some of the most successful teams in school history. In his first year on the court, he played a significant role in SHU's memorable run to the NCAA Championship game, playing in all 38 games during a 31-7 campaign. After a successful second season in which he nearly posted a double-double per contest, Avent was named a Second Team All-BIG EAST performer in 1990-91, collecting gaudy averages of 17.8 points and 9.9 rebounds per night in what was ultimately his final season in blue and white.
He was also named to the All-Tournament Team after helping lift the Seton Hall to its first-ever BIG EAST championship on the hardwood and still holds the distinction as the only Pirate with both a Final Four appearance and conference championship to his credit.
Despite playing only three seasons, Avent is one of 40 1,000-scorers in program history, ranking fourth all-time in field goal percentage, and stands alongside SHU Hall of Famer Glenn Mosley and 2012 graduate Herb Pope as one of three Pirates to record over 700 rebounds and 120 blocks in his career.
Following the 1990-91 season, Avent made the decision to pursue a professional playing career despite having one year of eligibility remaining and was subsequently selected 15th overall by the Atlanta Hawks in the 1991 National Basketball Association (NBA) Draft, eventually landing with the Milwaukee Bucks after a draft-day trade.
In a recent interview exclusive to SHUPirates.com, Avent recounted the sentiments that convinced him he was prepared to make the leap.
"I was ready," said Avent without hesitation. "I had matured mentally and physically, and I just knew I was ready to play on the NBA level. It was a dream, something where I had spent countless hours in the gym, perfecting the craft, and I just knew it was time."
He impressed in his first season with his new team, playing in all 82 games and averaging nearly 10 points and over six rebounds per game. He went on to put together a career that spanned eight years and included parts of six NBA seasons.
Since hanging up his sneakers, Avent has not slowed down. In the years following his retirement, he developed a desire to use the experience his career had given him and impart the lessons he had learned on a new generation of aspiring athletes while illuminating the opportunities open within sports outside of the field of play.
"I'm always looking for ways to push the envelope when it comes to educating athletes from the high school level, to college, all the way up to the pro ranks in order to help them understand all the dynamics that go into being a well-rounded individual," he explained.
In order to best accomplish this goal Avent knew something was missing, something that had been in the back of his mind since the day he chose to take his game to the next level...his college degree.
Always a prolific finisher on the court, through an NCAA initiative known as the Division I Degree Completion Award Program, he was given the opportunity to finish what he had started in the classroom.
"My decision to come back had a lot to do with completing the course that I started on," said Avent. "When I left Seton Hall, I left because of the opportunity to play in the NBA, the realization of a dream. Once I was in the NBA and was able to travel, make connections and put together a nice career playing that game, for me, at the end of the day, it all boiled back down to the fact that I didn't finish something I started."
The Division I Degree Completion Award Program provides accepted applications with a scholarship that assists with tuition, fees and the cost of books. The program was established to aid former Division I student-athletes who are within 30 semester hours of degree completion but have exhausted their eligibility for institutional financial aid.
Armed with this award, Avent could have chosen several avenues through which to become a college graduate, but the Seton Hall name carried more meaning than just words on a piece of paper.
"I didn't want to go through the online platform and have my degree be for somewhere else. I really wanted it to be from the University that I represented and it means a lot to me that my degree says Seton Hall," he stated.
After completing his degree in Liberal Arts with a minor in communications earlier this summer, Avent hopes to further the educational pursuits of his company, AA Pro Sports Management.
"For me, the real goal is to take this degree and educate, inspire and teach today's youth how they can find a career in sports outside of being performer and help them understand the full spectrum of opportunities available to them," he said.
"No matter where their playing careers begin or end, I want to make sure that they understand all of the opportunities that exist in sports outside of playing the game, and that fueled my fire in terms of getting involved. That's my focus right now."
