Take A Knee’s 2009-10 SBC Basketball Preview

Florida Atlantic Owls

Probable Starters:

PG. Ray Taylor 5’7”  150 Fr.

SG. Shavar Richardson 6’2” 185 Soph.
(11.8ppg, 3.6ppg, 1.6apg)

SF. Sanchez Hughley 6’4” 210 Jr.
(6.4ppg, 2.1rpg, 1.1apg – 2007-08 season)

PF. Andre Mattison 6’7” 220 Fr.

C.  Brett Royster 6’9” 225 Jr.
(7.1ppg, 5.3rpg, 0.5apg)

FAU Certainties:

Mike Jarvis is building a winning program in Boca Raton, and he’s in it with the Owls for the long haul.

Big name coaches that see mid-majors as little more than a stepping stone don’t build rosters like this.  Instead of loading up on JUCO and risky Division I transfers, Jarvis has focused his recruiting efforts on bringing in talented freshmen.

Though such an approach rarely translates into immediate wins, it will give Jarvis a foundation of players with 3-4 years under his tutelage, and allow him to build roster continuity for the future.

FAU Questions:

Scholarships. No seniors, 2 juniors, 5 sophomores, 6 freshmen… How quickly can these kids adjust?

This is a lot of youth, especially when one considers that only one junior (Royster) played last season. And while returnees like Richardson and Alex Tucker (5’11” 165 Soph.) will help provide stability, Jarvis is going to have to rely heavily on, at the very least, 3 true freshmen.

A Nice Luxury Would Be:

Chris Watson (6’6” 210 Soph.) back healthy in time for conference play.

While FAU has plenty of size, Watson was a bull inside as a true freshman. His athleticism, effort, and game experience will be sorely missed as he sits with an ACL injury.  If he can work his way back into the rotation by the end of December, it would give Jarvis added depth and the ability to work in his freshmen during non-conference play, earning them valuable experience.

This Team Is Special If…:

They can use a tough non-conference schedule to mature as a unit and then make a push during conference play.

Jarvis has a lot of talent at his disposal, but it will take time before that talent is realized.  A difficult OOC slate, featuring road trips to Georgia, Maryland and South Florida and home games with Albany and Miami, will be a crash course in for D-1 basketball for these talented freshmen.

If it can help accelerate the learning curve for some of these kids, the Owls will prove to be a very dangerous team come conference play.

Email the author: jhemingway.sbc@gmail.com