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Xavier adds Florida A&M transfer Malcom Bernard

Bernard is a 6'6" guard. As a grad transfer, he will be eligible immediately.

By Joel D
Image via Bernard's Twitter.

First, the news:

As we mentioned when Bernard visited the campus:

Let's start with the good news on Bernard: he put up 14.4/7.1/4.3 to lead the Rattlers in each category last year on a shooting line of .421/.211/.660. He also averaged 2.3 steals per game on a steal percentage of 3.6%. The vast bulk of his rebounding came at the defensive end. His assist rate was just outside of the top 50 in the nation, and his TO% of 22.1% is pretty acceptable for a guy being asked to do pretty much everything for his team. He also drew fouls at a pretty solid clip and was a good finisher around the rim.

The bad news? He can't shoot. His three-point percentage of 21.1% came on 11-52 from beyond the arc against all competition (FAMU played some games against non-D1 opponents, so numbers you can find for them vary according to whether or not those games are included). He hit just 30% of his two-point jumpers, a number worse than notoriously gun shy LAJ put up last year. This all combined to drag down his EFG% to 43%, well below the national average of 49.9%. Bernard's game depends on getting to the rim, but that's going to be a lot harder to do against Villanova than it was against Bethune Cookman.

Bernard will provide depth on the wings and a solid defensive option that Xavier was lacking. He mentioned when he left FAMU that he was trying to find a place where he could get into the NCAA tournament and win some games. It's almost certain that he'll have that chance with Xavier.

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