The Givova Scafati is proud to announce the signing of Elijah StewartAmerican small forward, top scorer in the last Israeli Serie A.
A small forward with enormous talent and physicality, Elijah is the perfect “fit” for coach Marcelo Nicola’s chessboard: a versatile athlete, a high-level defender, an excellent 3-point shot as well as an exceptional ability to read the game and attack the rim in 1vs1 that completes the yellow-blue external department.
Stewart was born in 1995 in DeRidder, Louisiana, and took his first real steps in the world of basketball at Westchester High School. In 2014 he chose the University of Southern California in Los Angeles, where he played for the next 4 seasons (NCAA Division I) with the USC Trojans, averaging over 10 points per game in 138 games played (83 won and 55 lost). Not chosen in the 2018 NBA Draft, in the same year he found himself playing for three different teams in the G-League (Indiana Mad Ants, Wisconsin Herd and Stockton Kings) before arriving in Europe. In the summer of 2019 he landed in Helsinki, with the Seagulls he won the Finnish Cup and closed the year with 18 points, 5 rebounds and 1.5 assists on average.
After a more than positive parenthesis in Poland at Śląsk Wrocław, he further improved figures and percentages in Romania (always over 15 points on average and 40% from a range of 6.75), where, thanks to a record of 33 victories and only 2 defeats between Regular Season and Playoffs, wins the Scudetto with Cluj Napoca. In the same season he played in the Basketball Champions League and in his “first” on an international stage he was awarded in the “Second Best Team” of the entire tournament.
The landing in Italy comes the following year, just under 30 kilometers from the Beta Ricambi Arena – PalaMangano, wearing the blue jersey of Ge.Vi. Napoli. At the foot of Vesuvius he experiences ups and downs, but in the final part of the season (4 wins in the last 6) he takes the stage and leads the Neapolitans to safety with 17.2 points on average in the final month of the 2022/23 LBA. He spends his last season in Israel at Hapoel Eilat, a team that makes Elijah its guiding light: on 17 occasions (in 29 official games) he reaches over 20 points and becomes the top scorer (20.6 average) of the “Israeli Basketball Premier League” and, at the same time, closes a championship for the first time in his career with more than 2 assists per shoe.
Statement from the head coach, Marcelo Nicola: «We are thrilled to announce the signing of a player of the caliber of Elijah Stewart, a small forward with an important past in Europe and Italy. We are talking about a profile that we have been following closely since the beginning of the market and that perfectly completes our external department. We are adding another element capable of being decisive in the key moments of the match, Elijah will be one of our main firepower”.
Athlete’s statement, Elijah Stewart: «After a year I am happy to return to Southern Italy and embark on this exciting journey with my new club. I am a ‘man of the people’, I can’t wait to meet the fans and experience the electrifying atmosphere that can be felt in Scafati, a city I have heard so much about. The team is fantastic and promises to entertain both the fans and us players ourselves. The combination of experience and talent is truly impressive. I am very optimistic about next season and I hope that my excitement mixed with the desire to do well can be an example for everyone to follow.”
Press office Basketball Scafati 1969
