Men’s Basketball Alums Jalen Cannon ‘15 & Chris Hooper ‘16 Continue Professional Careers Oversea

BROOKLYN HEIGHTS, NY – The St. Francis College Brooklyn men's basketball program has graduated a number of student-athletes who have gone on to continue their playing careers overseas. Jalen Cannon '15 and Chris Hooper '16 have thrived playing professionally and have both recently announced that they will continue their careers as they both signed contracts to play abroad. "We are very proud of both Jalen and Chris as they continue their professional playing careers overseas. Both guys are extremely hard workers and tremendous young men who have meant a great deal to our program over the years. They are terrific role models for our current student-athletes and wish them continued success," said Terriers' head coach Glenn Braica. Cannon, the Terriers' all-time leading scorer and rebounder announced that he signed a professional contract with NPC Rieti in Serie A2 in Italy. It will be Cannon's third season playing in Italy and first with Rieti. Hooper signed a contract with the Itzehoe Eagles to continue his playing career in Germany. The duo of Cannon and Hooper were teammates for one season (2014-15). That season was a memorable one on Remsen Street as the Terriers won 23 contests and claimed the 2015 NEC Regular Season Championship. Additionally, the team earned a berth into the National Invitation Tournament (NIT), which marked the program's first national postseason appearance since 1963. Cannon has enjoyed a successful four-year professional career overseas. Upon graduation, the forward signed his first professional contract with Jefes de Fuerza Lagunera of the Mexican National Professional Basketball League where he spent the 2015-16 season. The following year, Cannon signed with Hapoel Afula B.C. of the Liga Leumit in Israel. He appeared in 29 games in 2016-17 and tallied 17.3 points and 8.9 rebounds per game. Prior to the 2017-18 campaign, he inked a deal with Fortitudo Agrigento of the Italian Second Division Serie A2. He earned the Player of the Month honor in February of 2018 and went on to average 15.4 points and 9.6 rebounds per contest. Cannon resigned with Fortitudo Agrigento and had a strong second season for the team as he recorded 16.9 points and 8.2 rebounds per game. This past February, he was selected as the Lumicom A2 West Most Valuable Player of the Month. Cannon played in 127 games and made 114 starts over his four-year career on Remsen Street. He is the Terriers' all-time leading scorer with 1,720 points and rebounder with 1,159 boards. His 1,159 career rebounds are the most in Northeast Conference (NEC) history as he set the conference's all-time mark during his senior season in 2014-15. He is the only player in program history to score over 1,500 career points and grab over 1,000 rebounds. As a senior, he was named the Northeast Conference (NEC) Player of the Year in 2014-15. Cannon was twice named to the All-NEC First Team and once earned All-NEC Second Team honors. As a freshman in 2011-12, he was tabbed to the NEC All-Rookie Team for his emergence in his first year on Remsen Street. In 2014-15, Cannon was named the NEC Player of the Week five times, which is tied for the conference record. Following a two-year run on Remsen Street, Hooper signed his first professional contract with the Reading Rockets of the English Basketball League in the United Kingdom. As a rookie in 2016-17, Hooper played in 21 games and averaged 22.4 points and 12.3 rebounds per game. After his first full season, Hooper was selected as the Eurobasket.com All-British NBL Division One League Player of the Year. He was also selected as the Center of the Year and the Import of the Year. The Bronx, NY native spent the last two seasons with the Obera Tennis Club in Argentina. In 2017-18, he played in 28 games and notched 16.2 points and 8.5 rebounds per game. This past season, Hooper played 49 games and tallied 16.9 points and 6.1 rebounds per game. Hooper appeared in 67 games with the Terriers and made 39 starts from 2014-16. He averaged 8.4 points and 4.6 rebounds per game over the course of his career in Brooklyn Heights. As a senior in 2015-16, he recorded 11.3 points and 5.1 rebounds per game and was selected to the All-NEC Third Team.