Harlem storage bin nets gear from former Syracuse star Kueth Duany

Paging Kueth Duany, former Syracuse University basketball star, you can pick up many of the items from your sports past in North Bergen, N.J.Come again?

Let’s backtrack. Steven Monetti, 39, and his wife, Valerie, are veterans of an arcane but increasingly popular “profession” where individuals purchase storage lockers and units at auctions when the items in those storage spaces go unclaimed by the original owners, or the owners just don’t have the dough to keeping paying for them. Monetti then sells the items on eBay or through other similar mediums, hoping to make a profit. Both the A&E channel (“Storage Wars”) and Spike TV (“Auction Hunters”) have programs devoted to the diehards who spend their time combing through junk in search of the Wonka golden ticket.

When Monetti recently bought a unit in Harlem, much to his surprise, he uncovered what he thinks may be a one-way meal ticket to riches – or at least his next utility bill.

“What caught my eye, it looked like a collector basketball in this 8 x 10 unit,” says Monetti. There was more than just that Syracuse vs. Kansas commemorative basketball from the ‘Cuse’s 2003 NCAA title year among the stash.

Monetti appears to be the owner of Duany’s entire basketball history, an itinerant career that went from Syracuse championship to the NBDL Fayetteville Patriots to Finland, Germany, a brief stint with the ABA Buffalo Silverbacks and finally Indonesia.

Monetti has Duany’s No. 13 Orange game jerseys, when he played alongside current Knick Carmelo Anthony, Duany’s Big East Sportsman of the Year plaque, sneakers, commemorative basketballs and photographs of Duany with former New York governor George Pataki, to name a few of the items. The Sudan-born Duany is a U.S. citizen, but according to his Twitter account, he currently is back in his homeland.

“I’ve seen a lot of stuff since I’ve been doing this, and a lot of it is junk. But never anything like this,” says Monetti. ‘Tis NOT the season to give, however, and Monetti will eschew the good samaritan route of turning over the items in a goodwill gesture to instead try and cash in on his find.

After first contacting the athletic department at Duany’s alma mater, to see if Syracuse was interested in buying the items, Monetti was turned down and also got no luck with Duany’s forwarding address. Monetti says a friend of his was able to track down an email address for Duany’s wife – he would not elaborate, but Duany does have a Facebook account in addition his Twitter handle – and after one exchange, Monetti says the Duanys indicated they are eager to reclaim the trove.

And they’re willing to pay.

“I want to get at least what I paid for the (storage) room, which is $4,800.00,” says Monetti. “But (Duany’s wife) said she could help me meet celebrities, or go to some games.”

Monetti says Duany’s wife also gave up the culprit in the storage faux pas: Duany’s sister, Nok, who played for Georgetown. Apparently Nok left the items in the Harlem space and forgot them.

“This is what you try to do in this business,” says Monetti, who adds that he is not a big-time sports memorabilia collector. “This is a rarity to find something like this. Maybe this will wake people up, so they don’t forget about stuff they have in storage.”