The off-season is here across College Basketball and for the second season in a row, FAU basketball is expected to be active in the transfer portal, both in terms of additions and departures. Year one of the John Jakus era finished with an 18-16 record with an entirely new roster and although there will be some detrimental departures, the hope is year 2 Jakus and company will be able to build off their success in year one.
Jakus worked quickly a season ago to assemble a roster that could compete atop the AAC, bringing in players from the high major, mid major and international levels and they battled past through bumps in the road to finish 5th place in the conference. The coaching staff flexed their ability to develop talent, as players from each of those levels improved last season, however this year they will have to show they can do it again.
The portal has been open for less than 2 weeks at this point and so far FAU has lost 2 out of their top 4 scorers to it, as Louisville transfer Kaleb Glenn entered on March 24th and AAC freshman of the year Matas Vokietaitis entered on April 2nd. With full retention not in the cards, look for Jakus to retool quickly in the portal with 5 open scholarships to work with. (Updated below)
Below will be a look at departures, additions, and portal contacts which will be updated as the offseason progresses:
Departures-
Senior G KyKy Tandy, 6’2, 205 pounds, 8.5 PPG, 1.7 RPG- Graduation
Senior G Ken Evans Jr, 6’5, 205 pounds, 6.2 PPG, 2.7 RPG- Graduation
Junior F Kaleb Glenn, 6’7, 210 pounds, 12.6 PPG, 4.8 RPG- Portal
Sophomore F Matas Vokietaitis, 7’0, 245 pounds, 10.2 PPG, 5.4 RPG- Portal
Junior G Jack Johnson, 6’4, 185 pounds- Portal
Sophomore G Leland Walker Jr, 6’1 185 pounds, 9.2 PPG, 4.5 APG- Portal
Redshirt Freshman G Jakel Powell, 6’5 190 pounds- Portal
Junior F Baba Miller, 6’11 215 pounds, 11.3 PPG 7.0 RPG- Portal
Junior F Tre Carroll, 6’7 233 pounds, 12.2 PPG 5.2 RPG- Portal
Outlook- 4/2
After both Kaleb Glenn and Matas Vokietaitis talked about the prospects of returning in end of season press conferences, both opted to hit the portal shortly after it opened and have now left the Owls missing 2 major contributors from this past season. After the success both had during their first season in Boca, it’s not unexpected that they have entered the portal and barring a counter-offer from FAU, Jakus will have to hope their development serves as evidence for current players in the portal on what this staff can do development wise.
As for the seniors, KyKy Tandy and Ken Evans both graduate after one season at FAU and although they each experienced up and down points during the year, each played a valuable role whether it was Tandy as a spark plug or Evans as a perimeter defender and now their contributions will have to be replaced. Tandy and Evans’ departures also up 2 potential starting guard roles and it will be interesting to see how Jakus goes about filling those, whether it’s through new additions, or increased roles for Nico Moretti or Devin Vanterpool.
Jack Johnson also hits the portal after 3 seasons with the Owls and his departure means the loss of a fan favorite and the end of the “We want Jack” chants heard in blowout FAU wins at the ‘Elly.
Outlook 4/22:
The Owls hope of retention has gone out the window since the portal opened, as the Owls top 6 scorers have all departed, either through the transfer portal, or in Kyky Tandy’s case, graduation.
There have been sporadic portal departures for the Owls all throughout the offseason, as it started on March 24th with Kaleb Glenn and Jack Johnson and continued from there, with Matas Vokietaitis entering on April 2nd and committing to the University of Texas just 6 days later, Leland Walker entering on April 3rd, Tre Carroll entering on April 7th and signing with Xavier University on April 12th, Jakel Powell entering on April 11th and signing with UNC Asheville on April 21st and the most recent and arguably most impactful, Baba Miller entering his name on April 22nd, the last day to enter the portal.
Like any program in the country, FAU has been hit hard in the transfer portal, losing nearly all of their impactful players from a season ago and they will have to find a way to replace those pieces over the next few months.
Currently on Roster/Incoming Freshman
Junior G Nico Moretti, 6’1 175 pounds, 6.4 PPG, 2.6 RPG, 3.4 APG
Sophomore G Max Langenfeld, 6’6 195 pounds, 3.2 PPG, 1.7 RPG
Sophomore G Devin Vanterpool, 6’4 190 pounds, 2.0 PPG, 1.1 RPG
Sophomore C Mantas Kocanas, 6’11 235 pounds, 2.0 PPG, 2.0 RPG
Freshman F Amar Amkou, 6’7 210 pounds (DNP this season)
Freshman F Liam Dayco-Green, 6’2 185 pounds (DNP this season)
Incoming Freshman:
F- Josiah Parker, 6’6 228 pounds, Overtime Elite
Incoming via the Transfer Portal:
F- Maxim Logue, 6’9 215 pounds, Rising Sophomore, Oregon State, 2.9 PPG, 2.0 RPG.
G- Isaiah Elohim- 6’5 200 pounds, Rising Sophomore, Southern California, 2.1 PPG, 59% from the field.
Outlook 4/2-
Tre Carroll and Baba Miller headline the remaining group of returners (as of April 2nd) and if the Owls are able to retain both of them that will give them a solid foundation to build on. Carroll and Miller both thrives under Jakus, with Jakus tapping into Carroll’s full potential and producing a career year of 12.2 PPG and 5.2 RPG, while Miller spurned the NBA to come to FAU and also produced career highs of 11.3 PPG and 7.0 RPG, also shooting 34.2% from 3.
Leland Walker and Nico Moretti also provide a foundation in the backcourt, with Moretti seeing real playing time for the first time in his collegiate career a season ago and this year could be a breakout year for the former Illinois transfer. Walker started 33 games last season for FAU, averaging 9.2 PPG and 4.5 APG counteracting inconsistent shooting at times with solid play-making.
Developmentally, Devin Vanterpool had an up and down season offensively however his defense was solid all year and he shined in the AAC tournament, recording 12 points and 5 rebounds, showing a glimpse of what could be in store for his sophomore season. Jakel Powell, Amar Amkou both missed all of last season with injury, while Kocanas played in just 2 games before hurting his leg, however if their offseason development goes as planned there is potentially a path to playing time for all 3 next season.
Josiah Parker, brother of assistant coach Demond Parker, is the lone freshman commit and is also one of the highest rated high school basketball recruits in FAU history and he could potentially see playing time right away, as his 6’6 228 pound frame gives him a size advantage against smaller AAC defenders.
Outlook 4/22:
The cupboard is bare for FAU at this point, currently with 7 open scholarships on a 15 scholarship model, following the departure of Baba Miller and with the portal closing at midnight the Owls will use the next few months to fill out the roster to the best of their abilities. Although the departures have been numerous, the Owls have brought in a pair of new pieces via the transfer portal in Maxim Logue and Isaiah Elohim and both figure to have a path to playing time right away.
Elohim, a 6’5 Combo G is a Chatsworth, California native and originally committed to play for Eric Musselman at Arkansas last season before eventually following him to USC, where he played in 18 games, averaging just 2.1 PPG, but making 59% of his field goals. Although his role was limited last season, Elohim showed flashes of his potential including an 11 point performance, with 2 rebounds and a steal against Purdue on 2/7 where he was also perfect from the field.
Logue, a native of Lyon, France will be a rising sophomore next season and played in 21 games this past year for Oregon State, averaging 2.9 PPG and 2.0 RPG, while converting 64.9% of his shots from the field. His biggest role of the season came in the final game of the year in the CBB Crown tournament, where he recorded 18 points and 10 rebounds, also hitting 6 of his 7 free throws in 24 minutes of action. Fitting in the trend with FAU recruits, Logue has extensive overseas experience, having played in 3 FIBA basketball tournaments for France, U16, U17 and U18, while also playing for Paris Basketball in LNB Pro A, the top French league.
Reported interest/contact in portal as of 4/2:
6’3 Senior G Derrin Boyd, College of Charleston, 13.9 PPG, 3.5 RPG and 2.2 APG– Interest, Per The Portal Report
Junior G Christian Henry, Eastern Michigan, 14.7 PPG, 3.2 RPG, 3.4 APG- Interest, Per The Portal Report
6’6 G Markhi Strickland, Western Michigan, 11.3 PPG, 3.9 RPG, 1.3 APG- Interest, Per The Portal Report
6’4 Junior G Brit Harris, USC Upstate, 11.6 PPG, 2.8 RPG, 2.5 APG- Interest, Per The Portal Report
6’5 Junior G Nick Anderson, PVAMU, 18.9 PPG, 5.3 RPG, 1.3 APG- Interest, Per The Portal Report
6’5 Freshman G Isaiah Elohim, USC, 2.1 PPG- Interest, Per Sam Kayser 24/7 High School Hoops
6’8 Junior F Alex Steen, Florida Southern, 17.9 PPG, 10.6 RPG- Interest, Per PDT Scouting
6’3 Junior G Derrian Ford, Arkansas State, 8.0 PPG, 3.4 RPG- Zoom scheduled (date unknown), Per his agents Parker St. Pierre and Ryan Straining of Always On Sports Agency.