FAU Coach John Jakus spoke to the media Tuesday afternoon, speaking on a variety of topics before the team heads to Orlando for a road tilt with UCF.
The Owls head into their road matchup off of 2 games that they won in dominant fashion and left John Jakus and his staff with a lot to like. It also gave the team valuable experience together off of the court as the team went on a 6 day road trip between Auburn and the season opening matchup against Indiana State.
On the court, the Owls have displayed an array of depth which has given the Owls optimism that they will be able to be a team that can compete in a variety of ways. Jakus has learned as much as he can through the first 2 games of the season, as the next few matchups will provide challenges greater than what Indiana State and Coastal Georgia provided.
“Yeah, I think the first thing is probably the five or six days on the road between our exhibition and the Indiana State game. I think that probably gave us a good beginning indicator of how to handle ourselves as we travel. You know, sleep and food and peaking at the right time as you play and not exhausting yourself is really important. I thought the guys were incredibly mature. And then the other thing that probably stood out is just the fact that we had four different guys do the press conference after the game, and we’ve had seven or eight guys, different guys and double figures. So the depth and the willingness to share has been a really positive thing. And then I thought defensively, there was some growth. Our defense efficiency numbers are better than I thought they’d be at this point, so we still got to grow there. And I think each of the next three teams caused some wrinkles for us that’ll really test our defense. But those three things we’re pleased with, and then from this point on, I just think it’s taken a day at a time,” Jakus said.
As for the teams next opponent, UCF, the Knights also check in at 2-0 and their resume already includes a victory over a ranked opponent with their season opening victory over Texas A&M. They bring in veteran guards with Darius Johnson and Jordan Ivy-Curry, along with a slew of size and will bring the Owls first real test of the season.
In their last matchup against Purdue Fort Wayne, UCF found a way to win despite shooting only 2 of 20 from the field, doing that with an aggressive playstyle which saw them attack the basket and get to the free throw line. Jakus believes that their 3 point struggles are something FAU can’t rely on and they need to stick to playing strong defense and limiting UCF’s second chance opportunities.
“What first I would say, UCF is really good right now. I mean, 2-9 and Texas A&M, 13th in the country. That win is no joke. And then I think the other thing is, you can look at a stat sheet and point out one negative thing. I don’t expect them to ever go two of 20 again from three, they got really good guard play. I think they’ll make shots. And then I thought it was a sign of their maturity. When they knew someone’s going right, they fixed it by getting to the free throw line. They shot over 30 free throws in both games, and then our free throw margin against our opponents was something that is a really positive thing. So we’re going to play defense without fouling, obviously, we’ll contest the three point shooters, but I think the second chance points and then the free throw line are two things we’ve got to make sure we end up on the right side of,” Jakus said.
UCF’s main scoring so far has come from their guards in Johnson and Ivy-Curry, both who have the ability to attack the basket and convert from beyond the arc. Despite their struggles from 3 against PDFW, both were able to find ways to contribute and in their wins against Texas A&M, both were key figures.
The Owls have veteran guards in their own right, however Jakus mentions that UCF’s guards are very talented and they will have scouting plans for them, but FAU will need to be on their toes all game in defending them.
“Both the guards are really good. I think they’re going to have big games throughout the year. I thought Johnson made huge plays down the stretch in the last two games, and then Ivy, I know FAU fans know a little bit, because he had 34 against him last year. And so as he transfers, I’m sure people know who he is. We definitely know who he is. They’re both on a scouting report on the front page, and we’ll have plans for each guy as far as how we guard him in handoffs and and ball screens and make little adjustments, but at the end of the day, they both can get their own shot one on one, so our guys are going to have to lock in after we get through the set and then be able to contain them and keep them out of the paint,” Jakus said.
One way FAU will look to match the scoring that UCF gets out of their 2 guards is using their depth to attack them in many different ways. The Owls have gotten 90 bench points combined so far through 2 games and their slew of guards have all been able to take on different roles so far to help this team succeed.
Jakus is happy with what he’s seen so far from his squad and by the end of the season he wants to get to a point where the statistics look like they have 8 or 9 starters, and through 2 games they are hitting that mark.
“I think we want to get to the point where we have eight or nine starters and that the guys view them themselves that way. And I don’t want who starts to impact how they view themselves or the confidence it is when they shoot the basketball. And then I’ve said early on that our goal is to get to the point by the time we get to league play that we can lead the league and bench points, and you can’t control things like foul trouble and injuries and so to go all in on five guys would be foolish. And I think short sighted. And then on top of that, I just think the assistants did a good job. Our depth offensively is really good. There’s really not a reason for us to view it in a positive light. And then instead of trying to get a guy a ball, I think we try to pick on certain things, so whether it’s a mismatch or a ball screen coverage, we use different guys in different ways. So different guys live at certain nights, but for the most part, we’re thrilled with that. We want to keep that going, and that’ll continue to be a focus,” Jakus said.
Something outside of balanced scoring that has been a key feature of this team so far is their ability to find their shot quickly. The Owls currently sit at second in the nation in average possession length, checking in at 12.9 seconds, only behind SMU who averages 12.4.
Despite a majority of this team coming together this offseason, the Owls have gelled in this offense very quickly, finding their shot early in possessions and converting a lot of times. Jakus believes this is a positive sign and that they want to be able to convert a bit more consistently going forward.
“It’s a good sign. I think there’s going to be people that get back on D and enforce us to have to execute other things. And we’ve got to have two plans, because when the first plan doesn’t work, you still need something to work. And then I think when you watch us, there can be this spurt ability where all of a sudden, really quick, we put a bunch of points together. And I would say our spurt ability is better than our consistency right now. So portions, the way we flow into things is exactly what we’re looking for. And then at other portions, I think we can stall ourselves or get stuck. So we’re going to keep tinkering with that balance, but we’re going to try to run and we need to be opportunistic when we run UCF staff, where defense is really good, that young kid Thiem as a shot blocker really protects the rim. There’s going to be moments you’ve got to score before the defense is set up, but none of that happens if we don’t get stops. But certainly we’re going to try to play fast when the opportunity presents itself,” Jakus said.
A big piece so far for the Owls that has been able to lead some of those “spurts” Jakus mentioned has been Kaleb Glenn, who has brought a boatload of energy off of the bench. Through 2 games, Glenn has averaged 13.5 points and 4 rebounds per game off of the bench, also shooting 44% from 3, impacting the game in a variety of ways for the Owls.
Jakus believes he has stepped into his role quite efficiently for the Owls, but what has helped him off of a freshman season where his Louisville squad really struggled has been the FAU coaching staffs positive approach.
“Some of it is confidence, but, he was a top 50 kid coming out of high school, his high school career at La Lumiere in Indiana, which is a prep school, one of the best in the country. He was a fantastic player. And I mean, most freshmen go through ups and downs. You can you can see it, whether they’re not winning teams or losing teams, there’s moments of doubt. And I know everybody wants it to go perfect, but things in this sport don’t always go perfect. But I would say the one thing you said is our positivity has probably helped him. The teaching has probably helped him. I think the assistants that have worked on his player development has helped him. But he’s been a surprise. His mental toughness and fortune, I think that comes from him, his parents. That’s less to do with us and more to do with us. Get lucky and mortal. And when we look at Kaleb right now, I think that we look and we feel like we got a top 50 High School recruit just on a second chance, and then that his mental strength and his three point shot are significantly better than we had hoped for. So we’re really thankful for him, and we expect more things in the future for sure,” Jakus said.
A lot of positives so far for the Owls, and their biggest test of the season is right in front of them as FAU is set to match up with a UCF squad which has been receiving AP top 25 votes. It would be foolish for Jakus to underestimate this UCF squad and he knows it will be a battle, however he also knows what this win could potentially do for FAU’s resume should they win it.
“No wins are guaranteed. They’re really good. I think that when we scheduled them, we felt like they’d be a quad one win, and they’re trending right there, and that win against Texas AM, along with the 15 to 20 quad one chances are going to get in the big 12 alone is going to put them in a really good position to be a tournament team. I don’t think that’s out of the realm for them. I think they did a good job building the roster, and they’ve even got two guys that I think will be contributors that are out right now with injury. So their upside throughout the season is even more than they’ve shown up to this point. So any chance that quad one win when you’re in our position is a real gift, we need to be humble about the way we address that. But we think UCF is of that quality, for sure,” Jakus said.
