Florida A&M Rattlers
Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (21-13, 12-6)
Seed: #16
West Region
RPI: 171
Big Wins:
1/27 Delaware State (73-69), 3/7 at Hampton (61-58), 3/10 Delaware State
(58-56)
Bad Losses:
1/15 NC A&T (78-82), 2/3 at Norfolk State (68-81), 2/12 NC A&T (82-90)
Last NCAA
Appearance: 2004, First Round loss to Kentucky
Coach:
Mike Gillespie (1-1 in 1 NCAA appearance)
Probable
Starters:
Ernest Maul,
Junior, Guard, 4.9 ppg, 2.0 apg
Brian Greene,
Senior, Guard, 11.7 ppg, 2.3 apg, 7.4 rpg
Leslie
Robinson, Junior, Guard, 11.3 ppg, 2.4 rpg
Darius Glover,
Senior, Guard, 10.8 ppg, 5.8 rpg
Rome Sanders,
Senior, Center, 15.3 ppg, 5.9 rpg
Key
Roleplayers:
Lamar Twitty,
Sophomore, Guard, 5.8 ppg, 3.6 rpg
Jon Mason,
Junior, Guard, 5.8 ppg, 1.2 apg
Joe Ballard,
Sophomore, Guard, 3.5 ppg, 2.9 apg
Akini Adkins,
Junior, Forward, 4.0 ppg, 3.1 rpg
Why They Can
Surprise:
Guard Brian
Greene has had a tremendous senior season. He averages 11.7 points, 7.4
rebounds, 2.3 assists and 1.8 steals and will do whatever it takes to help
the team prevail. Greene is not a major outside threat, but can hit the long
ball enough to keep the defense honest.
Greene leads
the team in rebounding, but what makes the Rattlers a quality rebounding
team is the presence of Rome Sanders and Darius Glover under the basket.
Sanders is the only true forward in the starting lineup and he will do his
damage from the post. At 6-8 and 240 pounds, Sanders will use his big body
to clear some room in the paint. Glover is undersized at 6-5, but he will
fight hard in the paint. The versatile senior can be a liability on the
defensive end, but he will use his strength to handle bigger opponents.
Why They Can
Disappoint:
FAMU commits
over 18 turnovers per game and that has haunted them many times. Joe Ballard
is the only player on the team that has a positive assist-to-turnover ratio.
Ernest Maul averages 2.0 assists per game and, along with Ballard, needs
to be more effective handling and distributing the ball. The other glaring
problem is at the freethrow line. Sanders shoots a decent 76.1% from the
line, but Greene and Glover, who both get to the line at least four times a
game, shoot under 60%.
Who To
Watch:
Leslie Robinson
has become a great scoring option for Florida A&M in his first year in the
program. The junior college transfer makes three shots per game from behind
the arc. Occasionally the 6-0 Rockford, IL native will get to the basket,
but he will spend most of his time hovering behind the arc. While he does
shoot a good 38.5% from long range, Robinson is a streaky shooter and can
have his fair share of bad games. However, when the shot is falling,
Robinson is a dangerous, dangerous shooter.
Joel’s
Bracket Says: Opening Round loss to Niagara
