Sharks Qualify For State Basketball Tournament For First Time Since 2015
For the first time in eight years, the Miami Dade College men’s basketball team is headed to the State Tournament.
The Sharks (17-13), the lowest-seeded team in the tournament, will face Chipola College (27-3), the top-seed, in the first round on March 9 at 7 p.m. at Raider Arena in Niceville, Florida.
Chipola started the season with 21 straight wins. They are currently ranked No. 6 in the nation by the National Junior College Athletic Association.
“[The goal is] to win against Chipola,” said Sharks assistant coach Dillon “DJ” Jenkins. “We got to answer them. We’re not worried about anything else.”
Miami Dade College men’s basketball last participated in the State Tournament in 2015. That season, the team fell one victory short of qualifying for the National Tournament, losing to Northwest Florida State College, 99-75, in the championship game.
To reach this season’s State Tournament, the Sharks overcame a rash of injuries. Every player on the roster has missed at least one game this year. Some of the worst injuries include: forward Stephen Augustine, who suffered a bone bruise on his foot, forward Ibrahim Wattara, who underwent surgery after breaking a bone in his jaw, and guard Deval Harrell, who tore the anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee in January.
The biggest setback has been to point guard Abdias “Speedy” Carcamo who missed the majority of last season while he recovered from an Achilles tendon injury suffered in October of 2021.
This season, Carcamo missed the Sharks first 10 games. He returned to action on Nov. 29 during MDC’s 77-45 victory versus Florida Coastal Prep. The sophomore was scoreless in 16 minutes of action but had three steals and two assists.
He played in three of the Sharks seven games in December and seemed to be getting into form in January, playing in four of the team’s six games. But he suffered an injury to his right ankle late in the month and missed all six of MDC’s games in February.
Carcamo has been wearing a boot on the ankle but has attended games to support his teammates. In eight games this season, he is averaging 6.3 points and 1.5 assists.
The Sharks, who are 5-3 when he plays, are optimistic Carcamo will return to action at the State Tournament.
“The plan is for him to be able to play,” Jenkins said. “He’s been progressing well and [had] physical therapy.”
Despite their injuries, Miami Dade College has shown marked improvement this season. They won seven more games than last season, had a nine-game winning streak and won two games versus Florida Southwestern State College, who was ranked 22th in the nation earlier this year.
The Sharks are led by a pair of freshman forwards: Tyriek Weeks and Jamichael Stillwell. Weeks led the Sharks in scoring, averaging 14.4 points per game. Stillwell led the team in rebounding with 8.8 boards per game and he was second in scoring with a 13.7 average.
Both players received First-Team Southern Conference honors from the Florida College System Activities Association and were part of the Fab 50 Junior College Freshmen List, which features the top first-year players in the country.
“We finally beat the adversity that we had to fight,” Stillwell said. “We’ve been the underdogs the whole season.”
They will carry that underdog mentality, the one that has fueled them all season, to Niceville in hopes of bringing a state title to MDC.
“I [am] excited to have the opportunity to go to [the State Tournament] and make some noise,” Weeks said. “I want to start a winning streak for Miami Dade College.”
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