Florida A&M

State of '08: Florida

Shawn Siegel — Fri, 05 Sep 2008 09:48:10 -0700

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Duke or Carolina? BC or UMASS? Gonzaga or Washington.. or Washington State? What is the best program in each state? While there's not much competition in Hawaii.. there are great debates to be had in loaded regions like California, North Carolina, and Texas. The State of '08 is a ranking of every program in every state.. based mostly on recent success (the last five years) mixed in with subjective factors such as conference prestige, historical success, and overall program direction.

Up today: Florida For more info, check out the State of '08 introduction.

FLORIDA

FLORIDA - Obvious choice at the top of the Sunshine state. Before last year, Billy Donovan's Gators had made 9 NCAA Tournaments in a row.. including back to back national titles. Hart to top that.

MIAMI - Since Frank Haith took over four years ago, Miami has made two NIT trips and one NCAA Tournament. But in the five years before last, Miami hadn't reached the Top 60 in RPI, and they've still never finished above .500 in the ACC. Fans are certainly expecting a big ACC finish this time around.

FLORIDA STATE - The 'Noles perpetually seem to be on the verge of something big, but they can't seem to get over the hump. This is basically the story of Leonard Hamilton's career. In the last six years, FSU has hovered between 41 and 81 in the RPI five times.. but have yet to reach the Big Dance.

CENTRAL FLORIDA - Despite lacking the profile of a Miami or FSU, UCF is a consistently solid team that deserves more attention. Long time coach Kirk Speraw has led the Knights to four NCAA Tournaments, and helped them make the transition to the more competitive Conference USA. Since joining the CUSA before 2006, the Knights have finished .500 or better in league play each season.

SOUTH FLORIDA - The Bulls haven't had much success since joining the Big East, but the program does seem to be gaining momentum. Last year, USF beat three Top 60 teams including FSU, UAB, and Syracuse.

6. FLORIDA A&M - The Rattlers are always one of the better teams in the MEAC. In fact, 2001 was the last time FAMU finished below .500 in league play. Although the MEAC is the 2nd worst league in the country, the Rattlers have taken advantage of the weak competition by making the Tournament in 2004 & 2007.

7. FLORIDA ATLANTIC - After a shocking Tourney run in 2002, the Owls haven't sniffed postseason play. In fact, FAU has only won two SB tournament games in the past six seasons, though they've been competitive in the last three seasons. It will be interesting to see if new head coach Mike Jarvis can regain some his former glory, after his tenure at St. John's came to an embarrassing end.

8. JACKSONVILLE - The Dolphins are coming off one of their best campaigns in recent memory, finishing 2nd in the A-Sun, making it to the conference title game, and finishin with an RPI of 164. That's pretty heady stuff for a program that was 1-26 in 2006 (only managing to knock of UNF). This is the 2nd season in a row that JU led its Florida rivals (Stetson, FGCU, and UNF) in the A-Sun.

9. STETSON - The Mad Hatters have hovered around 250 in the RPI for the past couple years, but are coming off a decent campaign that included an 11-5 Atlantic Sun record. This is the second time Stetson has won 11 league games in the past three seasons.

10. FLORIDA INTERNATIONAL - FIU is consistently overmatched by its Sun Belt competition. The Panthers haven't finished above .500 in league play since 2000.. and really haven't come close since. At least things have improved since 03 & 04 when FIU was one of the worst teams in the country, winning just 10 D1 games those years.

11. BETHUNE-COOKMAN - The Wildcats continue to struggle, finishing 3rd to last in the lowly MEAC in back to back seasons. 2000 was probably the last time there was any legitimate hope of making a run in the conference tournament.

12. FLORIDA GULF COAST - In their first full D1 season, FGCU had decent success, winning 10 games, including 6 in the Atlantic Sun. At the very least, this already puts them ahead of North Florida.

13. NORTH FLORIDA - Despite a decent nickname (the Ospreys), UNF hasn't had even the slightest success since joining D1 in 05-06. UNF has won an amazingly small 7 D1 games in the past three seasons, and only beat winless NJIT in the RPI last year.

Last: D.C. - Next: Georgia

State of '08: The Introduction

FAMU Fires Mike Gillespie

Ed Matisik — Thu, 16 Aug 2007 07:29:06 -0700

Florida A&M University announced on Tuesday, August 14th that men’s head basketball coach Mike Gillespie was immediately relieved of his duties. Gillespie had been placed on paid administrative leave by Florida A&M in May after his arrest for misdemeanor stalking of a former girlfriend. Gillespie was arrested on May 25th after he was observed driving past his former girlfriend’s house after having received repeated warnings from the Tallahassee Police Department for making several unwanted visits to her home and workplace. Gillespie, who is married, has been on paid administrative leave since his arrest.

University president James Ammons said in a statement released by Florida A&M on Tuesday that “This employment action is in the best interest of the Men’s Basketball Program and the University.” While Gillespie’s termination is effectively immediately, the University indicated that he will remain on paid administrative leave through November 2nd. Athletic Director Nelson Townsend stated that Florida A&M will immediately form a committee to hire a new coach “early in the fall.” The school did not indicate what would happen to Gillespie’s assistant coaches, including his son Mike Gillespie, Jr., who served as his father’s top assistant.

Florida state prosecutor Gina Cappleman has stated that she intends to offer Gillespie probation with certain currently unspecified conditions at a case management hearing scheduled to be heard on August 29th. Gillespie has been wearing an ankle monitoring bracelet as a condition of his release from custody in May.

During his six seasons with the school, Florida A&M compiled a record of 60-64, won two Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference Championships, and made two NCAA tournament appearances in 2004 and 2007. This past season he led the Rattlers to their first 20-win season since 1989-1990. Prior to his tenure at Florida A&M, Gillespie was the head coach of a community college in Tallahassee and Division II power St. Leo’s College (Fla.).

Court of Justice: FAMU Coach Arrested

Ed Matisik — Mon, 28 May 2007 17:22:13 -0700

Florida A&M men’s head basketball coach Mike Gillespie, Sr. was arrested Friday, May 25th on a misdemeanor stalking charge by officers of the Tallahassee (Fla.) Police Department.

In the arrest report issued by the Tallahassee Police Department (TPD), the arresting officers stated that an unnamed woman had complained several times to the TPD since early 2005 about Gillespie’s alleged stalking behavior. She called the TPD again on May 15, 2007, and stated that Gillespie had made unwanted “advances” toward her, but she refused to file formal charges in the hope that Gillespie would stop contacting her. Gillespie had been contacted by the TPD on several occasions over the past two years regarding the women’s allegations and he was warned to stop his behavior.

Police arrested Gillespie Friday morning after the woman called the TPD and stated that Gillespie had tried to contact her at work on Thursday and, again, at home early on Friday. David McCranie, a spokesman for the TPD, stated that the police decided to arrest Gillespie on Friday after he refused to “tell his side of the story.” Gillespie was released by the TPD late Friday afternoon on a $1,000 bond after a judge ordered him not to attempt to contact the woman and required him to wear a GPS-monitored ankle bracelet.

Tim Jansen, Gillespie’s attorney, denied the woman’s charges, stating that, “It didn’t happen.” Jansen claimed that the TPD had acted prematurely by failing to contact and question prior to the arrest. McCranie denied Jansen’s allegations, and stated that Gillespie simply refused to speak with them and that, “This was a clear case of stalking.”

The relationship, if any, between the woman and Gillespie is presently unknown. Gillespie, 56, is married and has two adult children, one of whom, Mike Gillespie, Jr., serves as his top assistant coach.

Florida A&M University (FAMU) released a statement over the weekend in which it stated that the university’s general counsel and president would meet with Gillespie and review the charges against him.

The FAMU men’s basketball team finished the 2006-2007 season with a 21-14 record. The Rattlers finished second in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference regular season standings and won the MEAC tournament, but lost to Niagara University in the opening round of the 2007 NCAA tournament.

Gillespie, who just completed his sixth season at FAMU, has had a measure of success in turning around the FAMU men’s basketball program. Gillespie has a overall record of 90-94 at the school, but he has led the team to two MEAC championships and two NCAA tournament appearances. In addition to their appearance in this year’s NCAA tournament, the Rattlers defeated Lehigh in the opening round of the 2004 NCAA tournament before losing to #1 Kentucky, 96-76.

MEAC Preview

CHN — Fri, 03 Nov 2006 10:47:07 -0800

Conference Previews | Top 144 | 06-07 Preview Home

MEAC Preview

Conference Rank: 30th

Conference Page

All-Conference

Player of the Year - Jahsha Bluntt, Delaware St, G/F

Twain McKee, Coppin St, G

Brian Mason, South Carolina St, G/F

Rome Sanders, FAMU, F

Jason Wills, NC A&T, F

Nat'l	Team (Click for Preview)	Conf	Tourney
140	Coppin State	1	NCAA
178	Delaware State	2
213	Norfolk State	3
222	NC A&T	4
237	Florida A&M	5
256	Hampton	6
275	South Carolina St	7
298	Howard	8
316	Morgan State	9
329	Bethune-Cookman	10
334	UMES	11