Photo Courtesy of Rattlernation
The Florida A&M University men’s basketball team hosted tryouts on Monday October 2nd at 3:30, at the Al Lawson center.
The Rattlers are going into a new season with a new head coach as Byron Samuels was not given a contract extension last year after his 3-year deal was up.
Newly appointed head coach Robert McCullum explains that he has already laid a vision out for the program moving forward and that there was tremendous talent at the tryouts.
“Tryouts proved that there is good talent on this campus, I can’t say we’re going to add anybody to the roster yet, but I’m glad they came out and played with some competitiveness in them.” said McCullum.
The Rattlers finished (7-23) overall, and (5-11) in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference completing within the bottom three — three years in a row.
Seeking out new talent to help them improve their wins this season, the tryouts were only open to players who filled out and completed its physical paperwork.
“It’s all about getting more exposure for the program around the campus, which is why I was excited that we hosted tryouts. People have been saying for years that they believe they’re good enough to play for this team, some of them proved it and some didn’t,” forward Nick Severado added.
One player who tried out was freshman Israel Chipman he voiced his opinions on what trying out for the team did for him.
“I feel that it gave me some experience on what to look forward to if I do make the team, but if I happen to not make the team I still learned a lot and I’ll definitely be back to give it another shot next year,” stated Chipman.
The rattlers will look forward to take on Johnson University for their first home game on November 6 as they look to come out strong against a lower level division school.