Anthony Thomas Stover (born June 1, 1990) is an American professional

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

player. He competed for two seasons at

UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Its academic roots were established in 1881 as a normal school then known as the southern branch of the C ...

before his dismissal from the program. Stover has played in multiple leagues during his pro career, including the

NBA D-League The NBA G League, or simply the G League, is a professional basketball league in North America that serves as the developmental league of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The league comprises 31 teams; as of the 2024–25 season, ...

Early life and career

Stover was born on June 1, 1990, in

Pasadena, California Pasadena ( ) is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States, northeast of downtown Los Angeles. It is the most populous city and the primary cultural center of the San Gabriel Valley. Old Pasadena is the city's original commerci ...

, to Craig and Rena Stover. His father played basketball collegiately for

Pepperdine University Pepperdine University () is a private university, private Christianity, Christian research university affiliated with the Churches of Christ, with its main campus in Los Angeles County, California, United States. Pepperdine's main campus consists ...

and Stover's younger brother, Nick, played for

South Alabama South Alabama and Lower Alabama are overlapping, poorly-defined terms for various parts of southern Alabama. Although it is not a strictly defined geographic region, it generally includes all Alabama counties south of the Black Belt. In that view ...

. He first attended Renaissance Academy near his hometown, averaging 10.6 points, 6.8 rebounds and 7.4 blocks per game as a junior. Stover then moved to

Windward School Windward School is an independent school in the Mar Vista neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, accredited by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges. It was founded by writer/teacher Shirley Windward in 1971. The school currently enro ...

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

, where he played basketball and volleyball. He won the

California Interscholastic Federation The California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) is the governing body for high school sports in the U.S. state of California. CIF membership includes both public and private high schools. Unlike most other state organizations, it does not have s ...

(CIF) Division V basketball title as a senior in 2009. In his final season, he earned all-state honors and averaged 14.0 points, 11.0 rebounds and 9.5 blocks per game. Stover left Windward as California's second-best center, as stated by

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ESPN ESPN (an initialism of their original name, which was the Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by the Walt Disney Company (80% and operational control) and Hearst Commu ...

rated him the 33rd-best center of his class. He was ranked a four-star recruit by Scout.com and

247Sports.com 247Sports is an American network of websites that focus mainly on athletic recruitment in college football and basketball. It is owned and operated by Paramount. The website hosts a large network of team-specific subsites, with each subsite bei ...

College career

Stover played two years in college for

. He was negatively profiled in a February 2012

Sports Illustrated ''Sports Illustrated'' (''SI'') is an American sports magazine first published in August 1954. Founded by Stuart Scheftel, it was the first magazine with a circulation of over one million to win the National Magazine Award for General Excellen ...

article, which stated that he partnered with

Reeves Nelson Sophaur OneF ...

to erode team unity as a freshman and did not take practices seriously, often shooting free throws one handed or fading away. As a sophomore, he posted averages of 0.5 points and 1.5 rebounds in 28 games, recording 8.4 minutes per contest. His 1.4 blocks per game were a team high. In August 2012, he was dismissed from the team for failing to meet eligibility requirements. Coach

Ben Howland Benjamin Clark Howland (born May 28, 1957) is an American college basketball coach who most recently served as the men's head coach at Mississippi State University from to 2015 to 2022. He served as the head men's basketball coach at Northern Ar ...

said in a statement. "We are very disappointed that Anthony has not met his academic requirements. We had high expectations for him, and we were looking forward to getting increased contributions from him during this coming season."

Professional career

After departing UCLA, Stover joined the

Los Angeles D-Fenders The South Bay Lakers are an American professional basketball team based in Los Angeles, California, that competes in the NBA G League. Founded in 2006 as the Los Angeles D-Fenders, the team is owned by the Los Angeles Lakers, who were the first ...

of the

and subsequently played for a Japanese squad. In 2015, Stover played for the Rochester Razorsharks in the

Premier Basketball League The Premier Basketball League (PBL) is an American professional men's basketball minor league that began play in January 2008. The league folded after the 2017 season. It was announced that the league would be revived under new management for t ...

, helping the team to a 17–0 record and league title. Stover signed with the

Saint John Mill Rats The Saint John Riptide were a Canadian professional basketball team based in Saint John, New Brunswick, that had home games at Harbour Station. They were a member of the National Basketball League of Canada (NBL Canada) in the Atlantic Division ...

of the

National Basketball League of Canada The National Basketball League of Canada (NBL Canada; ) was a Canadian professional men's minor league basketball organization. The NBL Canada was founded in 2011, when three existing Premier Basketball League teams joined with four new franchis ...

(NBL) due to the possibility of winning a championship. Stover was named NBL Canada Player of the Week on February 7, 2016, after averaging 13 rebounds and six blocked shots in three games for the Mill Rats. At the end of the season he was named Defensive Player of the Year after setting a league single season record with 132 blocks. On October 6, 2016, Stover re-signed with the Mill Rats, since renamed the Saint John Riptide, for the following season. On January 17, 2018, Stover was traded by the Riptide to the

Niagara River Lions The Niagara River Lions are a Canadian professional basketball team based in St. Catharines, Ontario in the Regional Municipality of Niagara, that competes in the Canadian Elite Basketball League. From 2015 to 2018, they were members of the Natio ...

in exchange for a 1st-round pick in the 2018 NBLC Draft. Stover failed to make an appearance for Niagara before being traded again on February 20, 2018, to the

St. John's Edge The St. John's Edge were a Canadian professional basketball team based in St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador, that competed in the National Basketball League of Canada. From 2017 to 2020, they played home games at Mile One Centre. They were ...

for future considerations. On September 12, 2018, Stover signed with the

Halifax Hurricanes The Halifax Hurricanes were a Canadian professional basketball team based in Halifax, Nova Scotia. The Hurricanes were founded as members of the National Basketball League of Canada (NBLC) to replace the Halifax Rainmen, who filed for bankruptcy ...

of the NBL Canada. On September 10, 2019, Stover signed with APOP Paphos B.C. in the Cyprus Federation first division.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Stover, Anthony 1990 births Living people American expatriate basketball people in Canada American expatriate basketball people in Japan Basketball players from Pasadena, California UCLA Bruins men's basketball players Los Angeles D-Fenders players Saint John Mill Rats players Saint John Riptide players Shinagawa City Basketball Club players St. John's Edge players Halifax Hurricanes players American men's basketball players Centers (basketball) Power forwards 21st-century American sportsmen