Basketball Teams To Make Tweaks After Missing Out On State Tournament

When the basketball season started in the fall, the men’s and women’s teams were in the midst of new beginnings.

The men’s team welcomed Jorge Fernandez as their new coach and Erica Redman took over for Susan Summons who retired after 35 years at Miami Dade College. 

Five months later, both squads’ seasons ended unceremoniously; they finished with a combined 16-40 record and failed to qualify for the state tournament. It was the second year in a row that the women’s team didn’t qualify and the seventh straight year for the men’s team.

Men’s Basketball

The Sharks got off to a good start. They were 8-6 during the first two months of the season including a 4-1 mark in December despite having only one returning player—Dashaun Joseph—from the previous season.  

But things went downhill in the spring. The team lost 11 of their last 13 games including their last six to end the season with a 10-17 record. They were 2-10 in Southern Conference play. 

Despite their record, the Sharks made a lot of improvements. They won seven more games this season compared to the previous year, lost six conference games by a combined 15 points and won a road game versus Eastern Florida State College⁠—85-80—in double overtime⁠. The Titans were ranked 24th in the nation at the time.  

In addition, sophomore forward Khalil Turner was selected to the All-Southern Conference First-Team. He averaged 14.2 points, 6.7 rebounds and 1.9 blocks per game.

Guard D’Monte Brown led the team in scoring with a 16.2 average. Freshman point guard Abdias “Speedy” Carcamo averaged 14 points and 3.8 assists despite being limited to only eight games because of a lingering Achilles injury.

After getting a late start this year—Fernandez was hired in August and assistant coach Dillon “DJ” Jenkins officially came on board in October—the coaching staff is looking forward to having a full summer program and recruiting cycle to improve their squad.

“We are ready to bring in our own guys and make a run at state next year,” Jenkins said.  

Women’s Basketball

The Lady Sharks never seemed to get their season on track. They finished with a 6-23 record including an 0-9 mark in the Southern Conference and never won back-to-back games. 

They lost 10 games by at least 15 points including a lopsided 95-40 loss to one of the top teams in the country, Chipola College, on Nov. 5. Their season ended with a dud; they lost their last 10 games and 15 of their last 17.  

“We could have done better,” said Erica Redman, the interim women’s head basketball coach.

Despite the lack of winning, the Lady Sharks placed three players on the All-Southern Conference First-Team. They were sophomores: Ahmari Young, Anija Payne and Angelia Hammond. 

Young led the team in scoring with 12.8 points per game, Payne was the Lady Sharks leading rebounder with a 10.6 average and point guard Rio Yamazaki led the team in assists with 2.9 per game. 

Freshman combo guard Niaisya Ervin was another bright spot. She averaged 7.2 points and 3.1 rebounds a game. Hammond averaged 7.8 points and 6.5 rebounds per game.  

The team will count on a new batch of recruits to turn things around next season.

 “In the new recruiting class, we’re bringing in players that should be more focused, a little bit stronger and basically be able to have team chemistry,” Redman said.