Welcome to my team preview series for 2024-25. Each day between now and the start of the college basketball season, I will preview one team or conference, both on Instagram (@collegehoopsoutlet) and through an article here. The preview will go in-depth on the roster build of the team, my expectations for their upcoming season, and the state of the program under their current head coach.
FAU (Projected: 2nd in AAC)
It’s nearly a full reset for FAU after two straight NCAA Tournament appearances under Dusty May. May headed out the door taking the job at Michigan and the Owls’ roster spread out across the country. John Jakus enters as the new head coach at FAU, a long time Scott Drew assistant with plenty of international recruiting history and connections.
Just one player who suited up last season stuck around for the John Jakus era, junior forward Tre Carroll (4 ppg). Carroll saw limited minutes in each of his first two seasons with the Owls, but as the lone holdover should have a solid chance at some minutes in the frontcourt. Two redshirts did stick with the program following the coaching change as well, guards Jakel Powell and Devin Vanterpool.
Alongside Dusty May, nine Owls who played big minutes left the program this offseason. The trio of Johnell Davis (18 ppg, 6 rpg), Vlad Goldin (16 ppg, 7 rpg), Alijah Martin (13 ppg, 6 rpg) all found homes at the power conference level via the transfer portal this offseason. The depth of the Owls’ backcourt also diminished as Nick Boyd (9 ppg), Brandon Weatherspoon (7 ppg), Bryan Greenlee (6 ppg), and Jalen Gaffney (6 ppg) departed. Forwards Giancarlo Rosado (5 ppg) and Brenen Lorient (2 ppg) round out the departures.
John Jakus had quite the offseason in his first as a head coach, landing six players from the transfer portal. A trio of mid-major guards headline the transfer class, including 2024 SWAC Player of the Year, Ken Evans Jr (19 ppg, 5 rpg at Jackson State). Evans was an elite and efficient three-level scorer at Jackson State, even with the high usage rates. KyKy Tandy (18 ppg at Jacksonville State) is another high scoring mid-major guard to transfer in, a guy who can score at all three levels and shot at a rate of 67% eFG on catch and shoot opportunities. The final mid-major guard in the haul is EKU’s Leland Walker (15 ppg, 4 apg at Eastern Kentucky. Walker is a scoring point guard, a guy who can get to the bucket but is also proficient at setting his teammates up.
Three power conference transfers round out the class for the Owls, the most notable being Florida State transfer Baba Miller (8 ppg, 5 rpg at Florida State. Miller is an athletic forward that can perform on both ends, a great shot blocker and a skilled big offensively. Miller’s a guy who I see really breaking out this season at FAU, likely their most important frontcourt player. Louisville transfer Kaleb Glenn (4 ppg at Louisville) and Illinois transfer Niccolo Moretti (2 ppg at Illinois) round out the transfer class, both seeing limited minutes in their freshman seasons. I like Moretti’s potential, and I see him developing into a solid point guard next season following the departures of the three incoming senior transfers.
Still needing more players to fill out his roster, Jakus traveled the world, finding five international recruits from four countries and three continents. The highest regarded recruit is German Max Langenfeld, who has spent the last few seasons playing in Germany. Langenfeld is an elite scorer and has a great ability to create for himself and others off the dribble. Langenfeld should see the most time out of the internationals this season, likely slotting into a starting role in the backcourt. The other international commit for the backcourt is Canadian Liam Dayco-Green, who should compete for time off the bench in year one.
The frontcourt was also filled out by international recruits, with Senegalese forward Amar Diop and Lithuanians Matas Vokietaitis and Mantas Kocanas committing to the program. Diop and Vokietaitis are the most likely to play heavy minutes, and I have Diop in my projected starting lineup alongside Baba Miller in the frontcourt. International recruiting is usually either a large success or a large failure, but with Jakus’ overseas recruiting pedigree, I’m confident in what he can do with this group of new Owls.
I’m excited to see what John Jakus does at FAU, a program that is set up for success in AAC after the Dusty May era. His connections across the globe can give FAU a real advantage in the recruiting realm and probably send him to a power conference job in the near future. For now though, he’s got a team talented enough to win the AAC and send the Owls back to the tournament for a third-straight season.
With plenty of newcomers, it’s a wait-and-see to see who takes control as a leader on this team. My X-factor for this team is Florida State transfer Baba Miller, a guy I think is set for a breakout year in the AAC, where his length will have more effect and his potential on both ends of the court can show. Max Langenfeld is also a guy to keep an eye on, a guy who could very well lead the team in scoring this season.
There’s no reason not to be excited about FAU basketball if you’re an FAU fan and even a college basketball fan. With a first-year head coach who has learned under a couple of the best coaches around and a roster full of experienced-mid-major transfers and highly regarded internationals, the season will be a fun one to watch. I’ve got the Owls finishing second in the AAC, right behind Memphis, who I think brings in a slightly better class of newcomers.