Sharks Hoping Size Matters

After enduring a tough 19 loss season last year, Kevin Ledoux knew protecting the rim had to be a priority for his basketball team.    

Ledoux, in his second season as the head men’s basketball coach at Miami Dade College, addressed that issue, adding four freshmen who are at least 6-foot-7 inches tall.

“We want to protect the rim better,” Ledoux said.

The promising first year players that are expected to add muscle to the Sharks front court include: 6-foot-7 inch forward DJ Russell, who verbally committed to play at the University of Miami as a ninth grader, 6-foot-8 inch center Cheikh Kebe, who was born in Senegal and played at International Community High in New York, 6-foot-8 inch forward Ebenezer Aboagye, a native of Ghana who played high school basketball at Westlake Preparatory School in Broward County and  6-foot-7 inch forward Ndiaga Diop, who was an All-Brevard County All-Star selection at Florida Preparatory Academy.

That quartet will team up with one of the Sharks top returning players, 6-foot-6 inch forward Cedric Belemene, who averaged 8.5 points and eight rebounds per game last season.   

“I want to be more assertive offensively,” Belemene said. “Defensively I want to be more aggressive and be a leader to help the freshmen come and play hard, [so they] understand the JUCO level and get better.”

Another weapon Ledoux hopes to unleash this year is sophomore guard Elijah Hill who is the team’s top returning scorer. He averaged 12.3 points per game last year.  

Hill will be assisted by an infusion of youth. The Sharks are welcoming nine freshman and two sophomores who transferred from Division I schools. That group includes sophomore guard Connor Ferrell from Wagner College in Staten Island, New York  and freshman forward William Jarrell from Crawford County High School in Roberta, Georgia.

Last year at Wagner College, Ferrell played in 28 games and averaged 5.5 points per game.  During his high school career in Georgia, Jarrell played in 64 games and averaged 24 points and 8.6 rebounds per game.

“We really want to always put the pressure on the other team offensively and defensively,” Ledoux said. “We want to have all the guys play and contribute. ”

The Sharks open their season at home at the Theodore R. Gibson Health Center, 11011 S.W. 104 St., versus Red Devils Basketball Academy on Nov. 2 at 5 p.m.