FAU guard Greg Gantt broke the school's scoring record for freshman with 468 points this season. (FAUOwlAccess photo)
Solid footing
> Owl Analysis: By relying on freshmen and still managing to win eight more games than last season, FAU built a solid foundation which should pay dividends in the coming years.
Originally published on
3/8/2010
by
Marcus Nelson
HOT SPRINGS, Ark. – When Florida Atlantic prepared for the 2009-10 season, the Owls knew their freshman would have an impact.
What wasn’t known was just how much FAU would rely on first-year players.
But this season two of those freshmen - guards Ray Taylor and Greg Gantt - emerged as players the Owls will rely on heavily for the forseeable future.
And it’s a future that could be bright for the Owls.
“I think there are enough kids here and with a few new kids we’ll move onward and forward,” FAU coach Mike Jarvis said. “One thing I think we did this year is earn the respect of the competition, because no game is easy. Now we need to know how to win by getting more basketball sense and becoming mentally tough.”
Shortly after FAU’s season came to an end with a 52-51 loss to South Alabama on Saturday, Jarvis turned his attention to the 2010-11 season – and beyond.
“I am really excited to see what the kids do between this and next year,” Jarvis said. “We’ll see. It’s going to be an interesting off-season.”
A foundation built around Gantt and Taylor appears solid indeed for the Owls who went 14-16, a year after going 6-26 in the first season under Jarvis.
Gantt led the team in scoring with a 15.6 points per game average and set a school record for points scored by a freshman with 468 points, topping the 425 points scored by Jeff Cowans in 2000-01.
Taylor's 427 points also surpassed Cowans' total, and established a new school record of 177 assists, besting Earnest Crumbley's 145 in 2003-04.
Taylor and Gantt meshed well with guard Alext Tucker, guard Sanchez Hughley and forward Brett Royster.
“It’s going to be a good off-season, the guys will be coming back ready next year” said Royter, who was named the Sun Belt Conference Defensive Player of the Year and set a school-record with 90 blocks this season. “I don’t care what anybody says or what we have to do – we are going to be ready next year.”
Jarvis selected that quintet as his starters midway through the season and watched FAU mature from a team looking for an identity to one that flourished for a time with a four-guard lineup.
And there isn’t much reason to expect wholesale changes. The Owls will have everyone back and will gain the services of forward Kore White, who sat out this season after transferring from Marshall.
SeasonBrowser: A look at the 2009-10 season
Most Valuable Player: G Ray Taylor
What Taylor was asked to do this season would have been taxing for an upperclassmen to handle, much less a true freshman. In the beginning Taylor did it all. He ran the team, scored when needed and he handled both duties well. Later in the year, as other players settled into their roles, Taylor was asked to do less, but also took on a role as a game-manager type of player. FAU coach Mike Jarvis asked Taylor to do a lot and Taylor did what he was asked to do - and more.
Season High Point: Jan. 30 FAU defeats FIU 106-88
FAU won its fifth consecutive game in front a sellout crowd at FAU Arena by defeating FIU, led by coach Isiah Thomas. At that time the Owls were really clicking and it didn’t hurt that the packed house saw the Owls soundly defeat their rival.
Season Low Point: March 6 FAU scores 19 first-half points vs. South Alabama at Sun Belt Tournament
In a season with plenty of peaks, this is the unquestioned valley. FAU didn’t show up to play in the first half of the most important game of the season. The Owls shot 20 percent from the field as the Jaguars built a 30-19 lead. To FAU’s credit, the Owls erased the deficit with scrappy play in the second half before eventually falling 52-51. That only makes the cold start in Hot Springs that much more painful.
At the end of the day: After winning just six games last season, FAU made quite a leap by winning 14 games. The Owls ended with a whimper by losing four consecutive games and six of its final eight games. However, with no significant losses from the roster, ones has to think the Owls’ improvement will continue next season when FAU will likely compete for a league title if it can avoid the kind of late-season fade down the stretch it had this season.