On Tuesday from 2-3 p.m., the 2024-25 Florida Atlantic men’s basketball team held their first open practice for students only at Eleanor R. Baldwin Arena.

With a positive turnout, the first 100 students received a red “Defend Paradise” shirt. The practice began with one-on-one focused drills before transitioning into gameplay style. Players had on a blue or gray jersey to differentiate between the teams they were on.

“I think it’s been 21 straight sellouts and the last 12 games at home have all been wins. So we were recently voted in the top 25 student section of college basketball…We should be top 10. You should be top five. I expect the school section to be top one this year. So, thank you for all you do, please keep flying out thanks for coming to watch practice,” said head coach John Jakus.

Forward Tre Carroll, one of the four returning players from the 2023-24 season, shared a similar sentiment as Jakus. He thinks that the strong fan base is crucial as it has limited opponents success when making play calls, but FAU is used to the noise and comes prepared with special hand signals. 

“During our Final Four run, you saw more and more people come into the Elly and you saw the energy just go way up…we were only beaten one time in the past two years at home, it’s like the fans bringing the energy,” said Carroll.

The Owls were top 25 in offense last year, according to teamrankings.com. At his previous school, Baylor University, they were top five in offense three out of the last four years. FAU assistant coach Jordan Fee is coming in with previous experience at Gannon University where they averaged over 100 points per game.

Jakus said they got lucky in signing 10 new players from seven different countries. They’re still working on a specific team identity, but he believes that the depth of their shooting will make them unique compared to other teams in the American Athletic Conference (AAC). 

“We’re going away this week as a team. We’re pretty intentional about team building, but I would say even if you took the coaches out of it, this group specifically has done a really good job of getting along. So I’m thrilled with that,” said Jakus. 

Forward Baba Miller transferred to Florida Atlantic for his junior year from Florida State University. He withdrew from the National Basketball Association (NBA) Draft this past summer to join the Owls instead. Miller said the transition to Boca Raton has been great. With great coaches, staff and teammates, he said he made friends instantly.

“Me and Nico [Moretti] got here the same day and I was talking to him my first week and it seems we’ve been together for three months already,” said Miller. “The chemistry in the locker room, we all have the same sense of humor. We always laugh around, we work hard on the court and in the weight room. So it’s been great.” 

Carroll has been enjoying the new group, but he said that the transition was slightly confusing at first. After playing under former head coach Dusty May for three years and learning his system then switching to Jakus’s style, Carroll had to learn a new defense and offense.

“He [Jakus] plays the five (center position) differently than coach May did, so it’s been a really fun time and really confusing at the start. But just really enjoying the process and studying film has been really enjoyable,” said Carroll.

Miller has noticed differences between FAU’s practices compared to his previous school, FSU. He said that Jakus’s system allows the players to continue playing and teach throughout the practice games, rather than stopping at every mistake. Where at FSU, practices were more “stop and go,” with an emphasis on drills. 

“Everyone needs to work on their shooting because shooting is now the main part of the game. It’s no longer dribble pull up middies [mid-court shorts]. It’s catch and shoot threes and getting to the basket,” said Carroll. “Working on passing because I think my main gift is passing the court.”

Florida Atlantic will play their first game of the season against Saint Leo University on Oct. 26 in Boca Raton. The game is an exhibition and will not count against their record.

Gianna Alberti is a staff writer at the University Press. Email her at galberti2021@fau.edu or @giannaalbertii on Instagram for information regarding this or other stories.