Wappingers Falls, N.Y. native Keith Morey (’96) was a member of the New Paltz men’s basketball team during one of the most successful stretches in the program’s history. He also competed for the 1996 men’s volleyball team in his final year at New Paltz.
Morey was in attendance for the 2013 Spring Alumni Day on April 27. He said that getting off the exit that day brought back so many wonderful memories of his time in New Paltz.
“It’s pretty cool. Coming on to campus now, it looks a little different because they’ve built more buildings and the new gym,” said Morey. “It’s nice to hang on to those old memories of the old gym and the old campus.”
The men’s basketball team reached the State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) Men’s Basketball Championship Tournament in three consecutive years during Morey’s tenure in the Blue and Orange. The 1993-94 and 1994-95 teams each qualified for the tournament, but were both bounced in the quarterfinal round. The 1995-96 team, however, made an unexpected run to the final round of the tournament before ultimately being defeated by Buffalo State. This was the first of only two times in program history that the Hawks have reached the tournament final.
Morey played in 74 games across his four years on the men’s basketball team. He averaged 4.4 points and 2.1 rebounds per game, and shot 50.9 percent from the field across his career. In 1993-94, his sophomore campaign, Morey had his best season, averaging 8.0 points and 3.4 rebounds per game. He shot 63.4 percent from the field that year, which stands today as the second-highest single-season field goal percentage in New Paltz men’s basketball history.
Morey played in 22 sets in his only season on the men’s volleyball team. He amassed 29 kills in 53 total attacks for a hitting percentage of .358. His 1.41 blocks per game stood second on the team and he also added three service aces.
After graduating from New Paltz, Morey went on to get his master’s in education. He has been teaching fifth grade for 12 years now and says that his time as a student-athlete at New Paltz contributed to his successful career.
“You learn discipline, you learn responsibility, and those are qualities that you need throughout life,” said Morey. “The skills that I learned in sports, especially here at New Paltz, transferred pretty well into education.”
Alumni day gave Morey a chance to meet up with former teammates, meet some other alumni and reminisce about his time at New Paltz.
“It was a lot of fun [going to New Paltz],” he said as he waved to a friend. “I have friends from college that I’m still friends with today and we just had the best time of our lives. We loved it here.”
