John Jakus was just a kid who loved basketball. He never imagined his life would take him across the world and eventually give him his first head coaching position at Florida Atlantic University.

From a very young age, Jakus played basketball in his front yard. In his youth, Jakus was a three-sport athlete, playing little league and soccer as well. But,  for the majority, all he and his friends did was hoop.

“I could see the game, think it the right way, and make an open shot every once in a while, but for the most part, I just grew up loving basketball,” he said. 

In his junior year of high school, he blew out his left knee. Then, in his freshman year of college, he injured his right knee. After both injuries, he decided to go the coaching route.

Jakus started his coaching career in high school basketball before becoming a coach for Athletes in Action (AIA), a travel company that takes teams on foreign tours. The Florida Atlantic University men’s basketball team competed in an AIA tournament on Nov. 4 against Indiana State University. 

Through his relationships and traveling overseas, Jakus coached international basketball full-time until he was 36.

“AIA and international basketball is what won me over after I got injured; I really wasn’t thinking about coaching. I wanted to stay away from the gym and then once I got into it, I fell in love,” Jakus said.

He described his time with AIA as a “great” decade, saying the organization changed his perspective on life. Because of AIA, Jakus said he now sees coaching as a significant way to help other people. 

“Athletes in Action believes that there’s also a spiritual piece to everybody. It taught me to coach from a perspective of having an audience of one. Coaching wasn’t about me and being successful,” he said. “They just opened the John Wooden Center and so the first college games they hosted, I wanted to be a part of… So, that full circle moment meant a bunch to me, and I was really thankful for [it].”

Despite a 15-year-plus friendship, this is the first time FAU assistant coach Jordan Fee has worked alongside Coach Jakus. The two met through AIA and have stayed in touch since. 

“We talk about relationships over everything, and he definitely values relationships with friends, family and, in this case, our basketball family,” Fee said. “He’s been a great friend to me over the years, and I think part of the reason we stayed in touch is because we both value exactly that: relationship, whether there’s distance or not.”

Fee had a feel for the Florida Atlantic brand after the Nova Southeastern men’s basketball team scrimmaged the Owls before the 2023-2024 season. 

“The proof’s kind of in the pudding, right? They’ve made a Final Four. So, maybe the blueprint was already there. It had been proven that it can be done,” Fee said. “Then to go join my friend and do it in a place they call paradise that happens to love not just basketball, but love our basketball program, and support it.”

Jakus echoed a similar feeling about Florida Atlantic’s brand.

“You don’t just leave Gonzaga [University] and Baylor [University] unless it’s the right situation; and when Brian White called me, we felt like this could be a fit. It was a program that had gone to a Final Four and had a growing brand, that we believed that we could come and make sustainable,” Jakus said.

Fee called Jakus a basketball junkie, repeatedly saying he has “a great basketball mind.” 

“I think while he’s got a great knowledge of basketball. He’s got a great feel for people and I think he does a great job in recruiting, building relationships, and then I would say, maintaining and continuing to build [those] relationships with these guys,” Fee said. 

Assistant coach, Todd Abernethy, witnessed first-hand history at Florida Atlantic when the 2022-2023 men’s basketball team made a run to the Final Four. 

“I have four kids and a wife and Boca has a special place in our heart,” Abernethy said. “ I think with seeing what we did a couple years ago by going to the Final Four, having a chance to compete for a national championship here at FAU, and then following it up with another NCAA Tournament. You know, my family, personally, we love it here and we wanted to stay.”

Abernethy isn’t the only one who loves Boca Raton. Growing up, Jakus would frequently visit the city to see family. 

“I always wanted to retire in Boca and my cousin still lives here, and if you’re going to bring me here 20 years early, that’s fine,” Jakus said. “I think some of the personal poll, along with where the program was, with its recognition after the Final Four and it was time for my wife and I. We felt like this was the one to say yes to.”

However, in the profession of basketball, one cannot always choose where they will end up.  So, when Abernethy found out the next coach would be Jakus, he was shocked to see the many mutual friends and relationships they shared.

“I can’t believe we never met throughout our time in coaching. But I think one of the biggest connections that we had was he graduated from Trinity International… and the year before I came to FAU, I was a head coach at Trinity International,” Abernethy said.

Abernethy mentioned how amazing it has been working with Jakus. He called him a CEO type of leader.

“He gives us [his assistants] a lot of responsibilities and he lets me, specifically, coach and obviously recruit. He’s also a great teacher of basketball, a great motivator and he loves our players, and they really know that. They are loved by not only him but our whole staff,” Abernethy said. 

During his time at Baylor and Gonzaga, Jakus served as an assistant coach and director of operations. He worked with renowned basketball coaches Scott Drew and Mark Few. Jakus said that they made him feel comfortable in the new college basketball, Name, Image, Likeness (NIL) space where coaches have to lead a program from a general manager’s perspective. 

“You have to be a CEO in this profession. You’ve got to assign things to coaches. You’ve got to trust them. You’ve got to delegate. You’ve got to run a program…” Jakus said. “I don’t think I could have been more prepared without having done it without watching those two. I got really lucky to have two Hall of Famers teach me what it means to be the general manager or CEO of a program, and not just a coach.”

Florida Atlantic’s men’s basketball team has t-shirts that say, “Relationships over Everything.” Abernethy emphasized that it’s not just a slogan.

“Our guys are in a great spot emotionally. They know they are loved. They know they are being taken care of, not only on the court but off the court. And that’s going to allow them to flourish as basketball players here, so it’s been so much fun,” Abernethy said. 

Prior to becoming the associate men’s basketball head coach at Kentucky University, Alvin Brooks III spent seven years at Baylor University with John Jakus. The two coaches still keep in contact. 

“The first year [at Baylor], we were able to build a brotherhood. We spent a lot of time together, you become family,” Brooks said. “Now that’s Baylor family, and so we have different group texts together, and so we communicate through that, as well as talk to one another.”

During Jakus’ time at Baylor, the Bears consistently remained among the nation’s best offensive programs. In 2021, Baylor won the National Championship title and were back-to-back Big 12 champions in 2022. 

“He’s known as an offensive coach, but he’s a great coach overall. I learned a lot of details when it comes to offense on how to take advantage. He was kind of a big part of why we had one of the best offensive teams in the country,” Brooks said. 

Brooks said that what you see is what you get when it comes to Jakus.

“He loves to build genuine relationships, and that’s something that I pride myself on as well… I have a brother for life when it comes to John Jakus,” said Brooks.

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.