The Rock guard Dennis Mavin, right, jokes with his coach, Justin Harden, at his signing ceremony in Gainesville on Wednesday.
In with the new
The Rock senior guard Dennis Mavin signed with FAU on Wednesday hoping to make an immediate impact on the Owls' program.
Originally published on
5/5/2010
by
Marcus Nelson
When The Rock was playing in The Kruel Classic in Coral Springs, the team needed a nearby place to practice between games and found that FAU Arena fit the bill.
Dennis Mavin, a senior guard for The Rock, may not have known it then, but he was getting an early feel for the rims where he will play in college.
The 6-foot-2 Mavin signed with FAU on Wednesday.
“I felt real comfortable with the coaching staff,” Mavin said by phone from Gainesville. “I just felt that FAU is a program on the rise and with what coach Mike Jarvis is trying to do, I can help the program get to the next level.”
Mavin was also impressed by the atmosphere when he took another visit to FAU to see the Owls play FIU in a game that had a sold-out crowd. He saw FAU play one of it's best games of the season.
“I watched the game vs. FIU and I like how they played and pushed the ball in transition,” Mavin said. “That really fits my style of play…I’m a slasher. I’m a very aggressive player who likes to get to the rim and finish and I don’t mind finishing with contact.”
Mavin averaged 15.1 points per game for The Rock during his senior season and had 10 games where he scored more than 20 points, including a season-high of 29 points twice.
“Dennis has great talent,” The Rock coach Justin Harden said. “He is a really good player. He had a high ankle sprain and it took a little while to get going. He’s a streaky shooter, but his main game is going to the rack.”
FAU may sign another player in this recruiting period, FAU coach Mike Jarvis said.
The Owls didn’t lose any seniors but two scholarships beacame available since junior guard Sanchez Hughley will graduate early and sophomore guard Chris Watson will transfer to Division II Lynn University.
Jarvis put recruiting guards at the top of his list during te late signbing period.
“We are pretty much committed to playing three guards, so we need depth to be able to do that,” Jarvis said. “Hopefully with the addition of some guys, we’ll be at full strength.”
Summer plans: With the spring semester coming to an end, players are making plans for the summer. Jarvis said his players will be able to spend some of the summer at FAU working out.
“They’ll all go home for a minute and then they’ll be back for summer school,” Jarvis said. “That’s critical. You have to go to summer school because basketball is a two-semester sport. We’ll have some guys trying to get some credits in the tank.”
Jarvis also said the team is still trying to finalize a foreign tour for the team.
“We’re still trying to see if we can take a 10-day foreign tour in Europe right after summer school,” Jarvis said. “When I was a George Washington I took a team to Australia and it was great.”