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By Joseph Staszewski
Brooklyn Daily
Former Transit Tech star Rhamel Brown had to be patient to get to this moment — and he savored it.
The Manhattan College Jaspers went 6–25 in Brown’s freshmen season in the Bronx. They were one win away from making it a year ago, but fell in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference title game.
But this year, Brown got to sit front and center, next to this year’s conference championship trophy — along with head coach Steve Masiello and fellow seniors George Beamon and Michael Alvarado — to watch his team called during the NCAA tournament selection show.
“It’s special because these are the guys I have been through thick and thin with, ups and down, everything for four years with,” said Brown, a Brownsville native. “There is no point of even being here if you aren’t with the people who helped you get there.”
Manhattan, which also features former Transit Tech standout Richard Williams, drew a No. 13-seed and face the defending national champion, No. 4-ranked Louisville, in the opening round on March 20 at 9:50 pm in Orlando. Brown and his teammates were surprised the Cardinals were not seeded higher.
“They really dominated competition over the past couple of weeks,” Brown said. “I think they deserved a lot better, but that’s the reason I don’t get paid to do this.”
But Brown is not without his own special skills. He was named the conference’s defensive player of the year for the third-straight season. He averaged 10.1 points and six rebounds this season. He is third in the nation in blocked shots per game with 3.66 and scored 15 points in the conference title game victory over Iona.
“Rhamel Brown might not be the best scorer, but he’s by far our most valuable player because he changes the game,” Masiello said earlier this season. “He’s so underrated.”
Brown understands a tough task lies ahead against Louisville, a team that Masiello described as a bigger, better version of his. The Jaspers will give it their best shot, but just getting the opportunity was the fulfillment a dream for Brown.
It’s everything we worked for,” Brown said. “Everybody sacrificed for this. This was really important to us.”
Bishop Ford alum Williams, Minutemen earn tournament nod: Chaz Williams, who played his high school ball at Bishop Ford, has the University Massachusetts back in the big dance of the first since in 1998. The Minutemen team, which earned an at-large bid, takes the court on March 21 in Raleigh, N.C. in the opening round against the winner of a play-in contest between Iowa and Tennessee. Williams averaged 15.8 points and 7.0 assists per game. The senior guard is a three-time Atlantic 10 first-team selection.
“I felt tremendously confident about it,” Williams said. “We played some tough teams this year. We beat some great teams.”
Lincoln alum leads Oklahoma State to tourney date with Kentucky: Former Abraham Lincoln forward Kamari Murphy put his dancing shoes on as the Cowboys earned a No. 9 seed as an at-large team to face No. 8 Kentucky in the opening round on March 21 in San Diego. Murphy, a sophomore forward, is averaging 6.0 points and 6.2 rebounds a game off he bench.