Florida tourney loaded with talent

Miami Dade College head coach Matt Eisele looks to keep moving his Sharks ahead all the way to Hutchinson, KS later this month. The Sharks will have to get through the Florida State Region Tourney which starts today in Marianna, FL on the campus of Chipola College. JucoJunction will be here in attendance today to watch the action from the eight team field.

The Sharks have currently won 27 games this season and are currently ranked number 3 in the country in the latest NJCAA poll. Miami Dade will open tourney play today against a very good Gulf Coast Community College team led by Iowa State signee Marquis Gilstrap and LSU bound Brad Reese. Reese is currently at 1,002 career points for the Commodores.

The Sharks currently have four players already signed on for next season in William Coleman and Darnell Dodson with Memphis and Trevor Mbabkwe with Minnesota and Sharod Minus with USC-Upstate. The talent does not end there for the Sharks.

Anthony Phillips, a (SO) 6-foot-4 left-handed combo guard, was a second-team all-conference performer this season while averaging 8 ppg this season. Phillips is hearing from Long Island University, North Texas, Gardner Webb, Florida International and Ball State according to coach Eisele.

[DB]Enrico Pickett[/db], (SO) 6-foot-4 (205) from Decatur, AL, is a transfer from the University of Alabama where he started in 20 games for the Crimson Tide last season in 29 games played. Pickett averaged 5.9 ppg as a freshman. Enrico was named runner-up player of the year in conference play this season according to coach Eisele. Florida State, Maryland, South Florida and DePaul have all shown interest in Pickett this spring along with other schools. Pickett is averaging 17.3 ppg, 3.5 rebounds, and 4.5 assists this season.

James Beatty, (SO) 6-foot-2 (195) from Wilmington, NC, broke the school record with 16 assists in a game this season and is close to breaking the three pointers made in a career at Miami Dade. Cincinnati, Rutgers, Baylor, Washington State, DePaul, St. John's, Miami, Kentucky and West Virginia have all shown interest in Beatty according to coach Eisele. Beatty is averaging 11.7 ppg, 4.1 rebounds and 6.5 assists for the Sharks.

The Sharks will look to win three games in three days to make the magic run to Hutchinson, KS starting today. JucoJunction will keep you posted on the Sharks progress.