Florida Atlantic University Athletics
2001-02 FAU Men's Basketball Preview
11/7/2001 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
The future is bright for the Florida Atlantic University men's basketball program when one considers the team returns nine players and adds four junior college transfers. In addition, the team is coming off a year in which it improved its win total by five games both overall and in conference play. It also doesn't hurt when four starters return from that squad as well as the Atlantic Sun Conference freshman-of-the-year and the team's top six scorers.
The 2001-02 FAU men's basketball team will be one identified by senior leadership braced by a strong supporting cast. It's nine returnees put on an Owls uniform for the first time last year. Unlike the past two seasons, the team will have a year's worth of experience to build on.
The senior class includes Raheim Brown (6-10, 210, F), John Smart (5-10, 160, G), and Daryl Dingle (6-7, 225, F). Brown's late-season success last season after missing time due to a knee injury will serve as a springboard into his senior campaign. Smart and Dingle both joined FAU as junior college transfers and will play a large role in the backcourt and frontcourt, respectively. Smart led the team in assists while Dingle led in rebounding.
The Owls strong freshman class of a year ago now becomes a core of five sophomores. It is led by Jeff Cowans, who led FAU in scoring (13.7ppg) and set the FAU freshman scoring record a year ago. The 6-2, 170 guard also became the first Owl to receive the conference freshman-of-the-year award while setting the FAU freshman record for treys in a game (8) and season (63).
Cowans' classmate, Earnest Crumbley, also received A-Sun all-freshman honors while finishing second on the team in scoring (11.7ppg). The 5-10, 175 guard complemented Cowans with 53 three-pointers on the season. Another sharp-shooter among the cast of sophomores is Jeff Hamilton (6-7, 210, F), who connected 24 times from beyond the arc in the 25 games that he played in.
Returning low-post players include Brown, Dingle, Pierre Downing (6-6, 225, F, So), Robert Williams (6-8, 225, C, So), and Nick Neumann (7-0, 245, C, Jr). Brown averaged 9.3 points and 5.5 rebounds in 2000-01. His performance at the conference tournament included a scoring average of 18.5 points and a record setting 9-for-9 field goal shooting display in the team's first round win. Dingle, on the other hand, led the team with 5.7 rebounds while averaging 7.6 points.
Williams is one of four players (Cowans, Crumbley, and Smart are the others) who played in all 31 games last year. He had a pair of double-doubles in his freshman campaign. Neumann played in 24 games before missing the final three weeks of the season due to a concussion and orbital fracture. Downing saw only 17 games of action due to consecutive concussions suffered midway through the season.
While the team returns a wealth of experience, it also brings in four players from the junior college ranks. They include Andre Garner (6-4, 200, F), Avery Headley (6-7, 245, F), Anthony Slater (5-9, 165, G), and Antoine Stevens (6-1, 190, G). Headley will add depth to the frontcourt that already includes Brown, Dingle, Neumann, Williams, and Downing. Garner, Slater, and Stevens serve to bolster an already talented backcourt.
Fans can continue to expect an up-tempo style from the Owls that is complemented by full-court pressure. Last year, FAU set team records with 611 attempts from beyond the arc while connecting 206 times. That trend is sure to continue with Cowans and Crumbley returning along with Smart, who led the team with 120 assists and a nearly 2-to-1 assist-to-turnover ratio.
The schedule should also favor the Owls when it comes to having a break-out season in 2001-02. The team's November/December schedule is not nearly as imposing as it has been the past few years. A familiar face is the University of Miami while St. Mary's College, Liberty, Birmingham-Southern, Virginia Commonwealth, and Hofstra help round out the non-conference slate.
The Owls will play a record 20 games against A-Sun (formerly the Trans America Athletic Conference) opponents. That's because of the addition of Belmont University. That also means FAU will play four A-Sun games before January.
In all, the 27-game schedule concludes with the A-Sun Championship in Orlando, FL February 28-March 2. FAU hopes to continue its unprecedented run of two straight trips to the A-Sun Tournament as it seeks its first conference championship.
