Coming off their most successful season in half a decade, the Robert Morris men's basketball team almost suffered a devastating blow to their roster for next season's campaign.
In a YouTube video on Sunday afternoon, RMU forward AJ Bramah announced that he would be cutting his college basketball career short, moving back to California and taking up a career as a YouTube streamer.
Just as the video closed, Bramah revealed his prank, exclaiming that if his audience thought he was serious, they were "haters."
Bramah, who just completed his junior season and his first in Moon Township, transferred to Robert Morris from Sheridan College, a junior college in Sheridan, Wyoming in April of 2019.
During his freshman season (2017-2018) with the Sheridan Generals, Bramah averaged 14.0 points/game, while recording a field goal percentage of 54.3%. In his sophomore campaign (2018-2019), Bramah averaged 13.2 points per/game, while notching an exceptional free throw percentage of 73.6%.
Bramah, a native of San Leandro, California, made a name for himself in his first season with the Colonials. He averaged 13.4 points/game and 8.2 rebounds/game.
Bramah also brought the crowd to its feet at UPMC Events Center on numerous occasions with many highlight-reel dunks, including one to cap off the Colonials' victory in the Northeast Conference Tournament championship game on March 10.
Bramah is set to return to the Colonials with one season of eligibility remaining. All of the members of the 2019-2020 Colonials' championship team, aside from three graduating seniors (Yannis Mendy, Sayveon McEwen, Josh Williams), are expected to return to the program.
Robert Morris enjoyed a very successful season in 2019-2020. After a 4-9 non-conference campaign, the Colonials breezed through their Northeast Conference schedule, recording a 13-5 conference record and earning home-court advantage throughout the entire tournament by receiving the tournament's top seed.
In the conference quarterfinals, Robert Morris was nearly defeated on a buzzer beater by the 8-seeded St. Francis(Brooklyn) Terriers, but the final shot by Chauncey Hawkins would not go down, leading the Colonials to a nail-biting 59-58 win.
In the conference semifinals, the Colonials thoroughly defeated the 4-seeded Long Island Sharks from start to finish, resulting in an 86-66 blowout victory.
In the tournament's championship game, the Colonials hosted bitter rival and the 2-seeded Saint Francis(Pennsylvania) Red Flash. The teams met at UPMC Events Center just 10 days earlier in the regular season finale, with Robert Morris winning by a 78-68 score to secure the tournament's top seed and snap a nine-game losing streak versus the Red Flash.
A close first half saw the Colonials break away near the end of the first half, taking a 34-25 lead into the locker room. In the second half, Robert Morris played cool and consistent, missing very few shots and limiting Saint Francis' offensive opportunities. The Colonials won by a 77-67 score, securing a conference tournament victory and their first berth in the NCAA Tournament since 2015.
The 2015 appearance saw Robert Morris defeat the North Florida Ospreys at the First Four in Dayton, Ohio before losing to the eventual-national champion Duke Blue Devils in the Round of 64 in Charlotte, North Carolina.
With their conference tournament victory, Robert Morris was guaranteed to participate in this year's NCAA Tournament before the coronavirus pandemic forced the NCAA to cancel the remainder of all of their winter and spring sports on March 12.
With a large portion of last year's roster returning for the 2020-2021 season, the Colonials are a likely pick to defend as conference champions and return to the NCAA Tournament in March of 2021.
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