Starting to return to form following back-to-back wins over Tulane and UAB, the Florida Atlantic men’s basketball team hopes to keep their rhythm going when they host Wichita State on January 18th before heading on the road to play UTSA on January 21st. Head coach Dusty May (pictured via Bob Markey II) spoke with media on Monday to evaluate the current state of the team and their preparations against the Shockers. Below are some of the highlights from the session. Opening Statement on this week’s set of games “Thursday with Wichita State up first. They’re big, they have guards who can really go make plays individually. It’s a storied program, and like a lot of teams in college basketball, they have a lot of new parts that are still trying to find themselves in their rhythm together, but they’re capable of being one of the better teams in the league.” Status update on Giancarlo Rosado “It’s a (knee) sprain. I don’t remember all the details, but we’re looking at least four weeks.” Using their frontcourt depth more in the light of Rosado’s absence “I saw Tre today. He came through and it wasn’t laid out. It wasn’t presented to him like that. I think they’re all aware that there’s 20 minutes a game, it’s probably what Giancarlo’s averaged the last couple years, there’s 20 minutes a game that is now up for grabs, and I think they all bring different things to our team and we have such great teammates. They just want to contribute and help us win. So no, it hasn’t been discussed because today’s an off day. I haven’t seen Isaiah and I’ve gone recruiting now. So yeah, but anyway, they’re all aware that there’s going to be more of an opportunity and we’re well-equipped to overcome injury anywhere on our roster.” Preparations for Wichita State “They’re obviously big, they’re talented, they’re skilled. They’ve added some pieces that were going to sit out earlier in the season with the two-time transfer rule. They’re just like everyone in our league. There’s ebbs and flows of a season. They haven’t gotten off to a good start. I’ve watched them. I’ve watched Tulsa and both of those teams, they’re at the bottom of the standings today, but they could beat anyone and they’re going to both win a lot of games this year.” “We’re approaching it just like we would any other conference game. It’s going to be tough. We’re going to have to defend, rebound, play good sound team basketball on the offensive end, and trust that the results will be what we need them to be, but anytime we’re playing a team with the size they have and the mass on the frontline, we’re gonna have to have a cumulative effort rebounding the ball.” Managing Vlad Goldin’s workload while maximizing his production with Rosado out “Ideally, we get Vlad a few more minutes. Hopefully he can avoid foul trouble and play with great aggression. After that, this allows us to simply evolve and be a little more different. As you saw Trey shooting more threes than the rest of our fives, he’s able to playmake, not like Giancarlo, but in a similar way. And then Isaiah is a great defender, someone that continues to improve and practice every day. Then Brenen Lorient, he didn’t play yesterday, but he’s played very valuable minutes in recent games, and he’s gonna have opportunities as well. He’s capable of adding value in a lot of different areas for our team.” “It seems as if since we’ve been in league play, the conference officials have let all post players play with more physicality. They wanted the fouls to be obvious so the people that are there to watch the players play can watch them. So Vlad is settling in defensively. I thought yesterday, he played with great physicality and avoided foul trouble so he’s got to find the right mix of when there’s a play that’s already decided, sometimes he’s just got to let the guy go, maybe on a breakaway, and save that foul so we can have him on the court when we need him. He’s working through those things, but I do think the early-season foul troubles caused him to be a little bit skittish and less aggressive because of the way the games were officiated earlier this season. The Owls will continue practicing at The Burrow before facing Wichita State on Thursday night.
