2005-06: Played in 28 games, starting 22 in his first season with the program ... was fourth on the team in scoring (7.5) and second in rebounding (4.7) and blocks (13) ... struggled in the first part of the season, especially the six games prior to the Christmas Break when he averaged just 2.5 points (15 total points) per contest ... stepped up his game after the break, when he averaged 9.5 points and 6.4 rebounds/game in the 14 games after Christmas ... finished the season strong, by scoring in double figures in six of his final eight games and in each of his last three games ... scored a season-high 14 points in the season finale against Utah Valley State (Feb. 25) ... had 13 points, seven rebounds, two assists and two steals against IPFW (Feb. 20) and 10 points at Denver (Feb. 15) ... scored 12 points (all in the first half) and grabbed a season-high 13 rebounds in a win over Texas-Pan American (Jan. 30), a game that took place on his 22nd birthday, and marked his only double-double of the season ... played all 40 minutes against Eastern Michigan (Dec. 30), a game where the Bears won for the first time on the season; had 11 points in that contest including an emphatic slam dunk that helped propel the Bears to the victory ... scored 13 points and had seven rebounds in game at Utah Valley State (Jan. 21) ... had nine points and nine rebounds in a game at Northwestern (Jan. 1) ... scored 13 points in his second game in a Bears uniform, hitting on 6-of-14 shots against South Dakota State (Nov. 14) at the Guardians Classic at Rupp Arena ... averaged 11.3 points and 5.5 rebounds per game in eight contests against fellow Division I Independent teams ... averaged 10.2 points/game in games that Bears won ... hit 8-of-10 (80%) of his free throw attempts in the last five minutes of games during the season.
Prior to UNC: Played two years at Jacksonville College in Jacksonville, Texas ... averaged 16 points, eight rebounds and two assists and hit 47.5 percent from the field for the Jaguars and head coach Brandon Curran ... team played in the Region XIV Athletic Conference ... team was 15-16 overall and 11-11 in conference play as a freshman and 8-22 overall, 7-15 in conference play as a sophomore.
Prep: 2002 graduate of Calvert Hall High in Baltimore ... letterwinner for coach Mark Amittuci ... two-time first-team All-Catholic League (2001 & 2002) ... also competed for the Cardinals track and field team where he was a two-time All-American in the high jump and a two-time All-Metro league selection.
Personal: Born Jan. 30, 1984, in Baltimore, Md. ... son of Chanel Brown ... majoring in visual arts.
Birden's Career Highs
Points: 14 vs. Utah Valley State (Feb. 25, 2006)
Rebounds: 11 vs. Texas-Pan American (Jan. 30, 2006)
Assists: 3, three times, last vs. Denver (Feb. 15, 2006)
Field Goals: 6, twice, last vs. Utah Valley State (Jan. 21, 2006)
FG Attempts: 14 vs. South Dakota State (Nov. 14, 2005)
3-Pointers: 2, three times, last vs. Texas-Pan American (Jan. 30, 2006)
3-Pt. Att.: 3, four times, last vs. Texas-Pan American (Jan. 30, 2006)
Free Throws: 7 vs. UC-Colorado Springs (Jan. 9, 2006)
FT Attempts: 12 vs. Texas A&M-Corpus Christi (Jan. 28, 2006)
Steals: 2, three times, last vs. IPFW (Feb. 20, 2006)
Blocks: 2, twice, last vs. Texas-Pan American (Jan. 14, 2006))
Minutes: 40 vs. Eastern Michigan (Dec. 30, 2005)
Birden's Career Statistics
Total 3-Point Rebounds
Year GP-GS Min/Avg FG-FGA Pct FG-FGA Pct FT-FTA Pct Off-Def Tot Avg PF-FO Ast TO Blk Stl Pts/Avg
2005-06 28-22 693/24.8 78-197 .396 12-37 .324 41-72 .569 41-91 132 4.7 64-1 23 56 13 10 209/7.5
TOTAL 28-22 693/24.8 78-197 .396 12-37 .324 41-72 .569 41-91 132 4.7 64-1 23 56 13 10 209/7.5
Birden's Game-by-Game Statistics
2005-06 
