2018-19 FAU Men’s Basketball Media Day Notables

FAU Men’s Basketball held their 2018-19 media day today. Below are some notable highlights of what Head Coach Dusty May, Junior forward Jailyn Ingram, Graduate forward Xavian Stapleton had to say. FAU Head Coach Dusty May “It’s our 10th practice, so we’re still learning a lot about our team. Overall, very, very impressed with our intensity, our enthusiasm, our camaderie, our leadership by the older guys, it’s such a unique situation where we have so many new faces. Even with the guys that have played college basketball before, they’re in such new roles.” “Jailyn Ingram last year played a supporting role here, he’ll have a starring role this season. Xavian Stapleton was a starter, a complementary guy at Mississippi State because of their talent level and here he’ll have a starring role. Anthony Adger didn’t play a lot of minutes last year in a backup role, but he’ll play a big part in our success this season. Richardson Maitre didn’t play last year in junior college, Karlis Silins didn’t play last year at Ole Miss because of injury, so we’ve got guys that haven’t played in a year and then we have guys taking on new roles, in addition to the high school players that this is all new to. So we’re learning ourselves daily, but overall, very, very happy with our progress.” On Jailyn Ingram “He is blessed with a lot of gifts, he’s put in a lot of time working on his shooting. That’s probably been his biggest jump (in improvement) is his outside ability. We need him to be a multi-positional threat, where he can guard bigger and smaller guys. He’s done a great job of leading by example and also with his voice and through his experience. We’ve very, very happy with his progress this offseason.” “We think the style of play as whole, using him all over the floor, will benefit him. We think his strengths are shooting, driving and offensive rebounding more than traditional post play. I know last year, (the team) had a lot more size upfront and were post dominant. This year, we’re going to spread it out, shoot a lot quicker, get up and down the floor and try to use our players who can drive and shoot a little bit more.” On Michael Forrest “I love a lot about Mike. He’s the same kid everyday mentality-wise. He’s a hard worker, he’s an intense competitor. Every drill looks like the national championship as far as his preparation, every shooting drill, he looks like he’s preparing for game seven of the NBA Finals. Obviously, being a freshman point guard, he has a lot to learn and he’s learning daily I know we can throw him on the court any game this year and he’ll be ready to compete, score and defend.” On the attributes he’s wants from the team “Intensity and communication are the two issues we harp on daily. (The coaching staff) meets everyday and I challenge my staff to be very critical of me because we all see the game through a different lens.” On naming a starting lineup “It changes daily, we have a lot of parity. Our depth is going to be one of our biggest strengths. So everyday it’s different. Every single day, (the coaching staff) comes in and talk about who had a good day. It’s not just the five guys we think are playing the best, it what lineup played well together. Throughout the season, we’ll really have to get to know what our guys do well, who plays well together, who plays well off of each other.” Junior forward Jailyn Ingram On the team’s mentality “The team is just about effort and everything uptempo and that’s something I had to adjust to from the last two years, where we liked to play halfcourt ball, but Coach May wants to play fast.” On playing at a faster pace “It helps my game a lot. I played that way in high school, we played very fast, so it’s good to get back to playing that way. On improving his shooting “I really tried to stay consistent. I come and get extra reps every day and try and be a better shooter each and every day and it’s been working so far.” On Michael Forrest “He’s a very energetic and athletic guard. He definitely has a good career ahead of him. There’s still a lot of things he has to learn, but once he gets the hang of it, he’ll be a great player for this program.” On being a leader “The young guys coming in don’t really know what the atmosphere is like and you just have to set the tone for those guys. I’m not really a vocal leader, but I know I have to do those things to help those guys have a good career.” Graduate forward Xavian Stapleton “So far, I like FAU a lot. It’s positive vibes out here. The people are great, my teammates are great, the coaching staff is great. So far, it’s been a great experience for me.” On why he chose FAU “When I left Mississippi State and was looking for a school, I saw that Coach May got the job down here, we have a history from when we were both at Louisiana Tech. I know what he brings to the table, how competitive he is. He wants to win, he wants to be great, he wants his guys to be great, not only as players, but as men, so it was kind of a no-brainer for me.” “I know what (Coach May) expects, and what he’s looking for, so being with him at (Louisiana) Tech made (the decision) easier for me.” On his time at Mississippi State “It improved me a lot, playing under Coach Howland, who’s a great coach, been to three Final Fours, he was able to teach me a lot. It was a great learning experience.”