It has been 17 seasons since Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University (FAMU) Basketball had the distinction of having two players – one female, one male – ranked nationally in the same statistical category.
In 1988, FAMU All-American guards Aldwin Ware and April Manning were at or near the top of the charts in NCAA Division I steals. Ware finished that season with 142 steals, tops on the Men’s charts while Manning finished a close second in the Women’s Division with 132 steals.
Heading into the final three games of January – all crucial Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference road games against Howard University (Saturday, Jan. 23), Maryland-Eastern Shore (Monday, Jan. 25) and Bethune-Cookman (Saturday, Jan. 30) – FAMU can proudly boast once again of having a nationally-ranked duo in steals.
Junior guard Malcolm Bernard of Middleburg, Fla. and senior guard Khaderja Young from Fort Lauderdale, Fla., head into the second half of the 2015-16 season ranked in the Top 10 in steals among NCAA Division I players.
Bernard, a 6-6 guard who sat out last season after transferring from Charleston Southern, is ranked fifth on the Division I Men’s steals charts with 48 steals in 19 games, which has him ranked ninth in steals per game average (2.53).
The 6-6 backcourt ace had a rare triple double against Alcorn State on Nov. 28 – 14 points, 12 rebounds, 11 assists – and has had game highs in steals against Samford and Thomas University (5), and Texas-El Paso and Alcorn (4).
In fact, his triple-double performance against Alcorn helped earn him MEAC Player of the Week honors on Nov. 30. Bernard leads the FAMU Men in scoring (13.3 ppg), rebounding (6.8), assists (86) and of course steals, developing into a facilitator as much as a scorer, helping the Rattlers make great strides with six wins so far – triple last year’s total.
Meanwhile, Young, who finished last season ranked in the Top 30 on the Division I Women’s charts in steals, is sitting this year at eighth, with 53 picks in 19 games, and 26 in per-game average (2.79).
Young has had season highs in steals with six against FIU and South Carolina State, along with five picks against nationally-ranked North Carolina, plus four takeaways against UC Davis and Clemson.
The South Florida native has followed a similar performance track to Bernard, ranking second on the FAMU Women’s club in scoring (13.8), while ranking first in rebounding (7.3), assists (47) and steals.
On FAMU’s last MEAC road swing against Norfolk State (Jan. 9) and Hampton (Jan. 11), Young averaged a double-double of 21.5 points and 11.0 rebounds in the two victories, earning her MEAC Co-Player of the Week honors, Jan. 18.
Young, and senior classmate, three-point shooting ace Olivia Antilla (48 three-pointers in 19 games) are two key reasons the FAMU Women have moved up to the top half of the league so far (10-9 overall, 4-2 in MEAC) despite gloomy predictions of a lower division finish for 2015-16.
Finally, the old saying “Numbers Never Lie” must surely apply in the case of “FAMU’s Dynamic Duo,” as both Bernard and Young sport jersey number one.