Two freshman on the Miami Dade College men’s basketball team are transferring their bond as roommates to the basketball court.
Omar Roberts,a 5-foot-10, 170 pound point guard, is averaging 4.4 points and 3.1 rebounds per game; Jaylin Gilbert a 6-foot-2, 180-pound guard, is averaging 7.2 points per game.
Roberts graduated from Calvin Coolidge Senior High School in Washington, DC. He has been playing basketball since he was four-years-old. He also played football but was influenced to keep playing basketball by his brother and father.
“Omar has a really good basketball IQ, he has a really good assist to turnover ratio as a freshman in college, and he makes big shots for us,” said Head Coach Stephen Cowherd.
Gilbert attended Ridgeview High School in Orange Park, Florida.
“I started playing basketball for college,” Gilbert said. “I have been playing since the seventh grade.
Besides playing basketball one of Gilbert’s hobbies is skateboarding; he is also to his teammates as a sneakerhead.
“He is a funny guy, he is like a little brother, but an older brother,” Roberts said.
Gilbert has been challenged because he has Type 1 diabetes.
“If it’s low or high it can mess up my game, but I just take a shot for it right after,” Gilbert said.
Despite the issue, there is no question Gilbert has contributed to the team.
“Jaylin is one of those guys that the less you coach him the better he gets,” Cowherd said. “He takes a lot of shots that most people would think are bad but he steps up and makes them. He is one of those guys that you kind of have to let play and live with the good and bad but there has been a lot of good and has made a lot of shots coming off the bench.”
