Transfer Guard Leading Sharks Offensive Attack
After finishing with a mediocre 15-17 record last year, the men’s basketball team is having a bounce back season. The Sharks are 14-8, including a 9-2 mark at home and a 5-3 record in Citrus Conference play.
A big reason for the team’s revival is the play of sophomore Faheim Saintleger Meran. The 6-foot-6 inch guard leads the Sharks in scoring with a 15 point average, he is second on the team with 73 total assists and second among guards with 87 total rebounds
Meran is shooting 43.3% from the field and 36% from three-point range. He has also been durable, suiting up in all 22 of the Sharks games this season.
“He’s a guy that can not only put the ball on the floor, but passes it well too,” said Sharks head coach Jorge Fernandez. “He’s among the best players in being able to get downhill and get into the paint and create pressure on defenses.”
Opposing defenses have been challenged by the sophomore’s offensive prowess. He had an impressive four-game stretch that saw him score 20 points or more, including a 34-point performance in the Sharks’ 90-65 rout of Monroe University at the Florida SouthWestern State College Classic on December 14 in Fort Myers.
Originally from Miami, Meran started playing organized basketball at Pines Middle School in Broward County.
“I started playing for the love I had for the game,” Meran said. “It keeps me going.”
He then transitioned to Miramar High School where he played for three seasons, winning a state title with the Patriots as a sophomore before wrapping up his high school career at West Oaks Academy in Orlando.
He started his collegiate career at Chicago State University in the 2022-23 season, playing sparingly—41 total minutes—before transferring to Three Rivers Community College in Connecticut where he averaged 9.7 points and 3.8 rebounds per game last season.
Meran was put on the Sharks radar by one of his former coaches and he credits the Sharks staff for the smooth transition into the Miami Dade College system.
They’re player’s coaches,” Meran said. “If you have to tell them something, there’s not a hassle about it. You don’t have too many coaches like them.”
As the Sharks enter the tail end of their regular season schedule, Meran will be a key factor in determining if MDC pushes into the postseason.
“I’m really excited to have had him, and I wish I could have him for another year,” Fernandez said. “We’re trying to help him move on to a Division I program.
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