After back-to-back international recruits, FAU has gone back stateside and into the transfer portal, landing Jacksonville St. Transfer Dekeyvan “KyKy” Tandy.
The 6’2 G averaged 17.8 PPG, 2.6 RPG, 1.4 APG and 1.1 SPG last year in Jacksonville and prior to that played 4 years at Xavier, where he was recruited out of University Heights Academy as the #2 player out of the state of Kentucky in 2018.
As a freshman in 2019-‘20, Tandy was a member of the all Big East team after averaging 6.7 ppg during the Covid shortened season. The following year Tandy fell out of the rotation, playing in only 18 games during the shortened season, averaging 6.6 ppg and in the ‘21-‘22 season he played in only 5 games before missing the remainder of the year with a stress fracture.
Tandy returned for one more season at Xavier with Sean Miller at the helm and played in 22 games with 6 starts at the beginning of the season, however eventually dealing with a foot injury and falling out of the rotation once again.
With 2 more years of eligibility remaining following the end of ‘22-‘23 season, Tandy made the move to C-USA where he flourished. Tandy played in a career high 32 games starting all of them, and finished with career highs across the board, including shooting percentages where he shot 41.9% from the field, 38.9% from 3, on almost 7 attempts per game, and 88.4% from the free throw line.
Tandy seemed to be at full strength and thriving this past season, and the career highs in shooting percentages are largely thanks to a boatload of opportunities. While at Xavier he was very limited, averaging at his best only 6.4 Field Goals and 3.7 3 pointers attempted per game. This past season he averaged 14.2 FGs and 6.8 3’s per game, when given the opportunity to succeed he thrived, finding a fit in the J-State system.
The increased reps this past season were invaluable for his scoring confidence, however FAU is getting a battle tested guard with 5 seasons of development, and one who is fresh off a season where he fully found his groove at the D1 level.
A true late game bucket getter, Tandy is another Owl who has the ability to score the ball at a high level and has the ability to do it in a variety of ways.
At 6’2 he isn’t the most size dominant guard, however his speed allows for him to blow by defenders and attack the rim with an aggressive drive, and he combines that with his shooting ability that has only improved with expanded reps.
On the defensive end, he is extremely pesky and aggressive, not letting his height bother him and finding ways to win battles against larger matchups.
Bringing in a seasoned veteran guard who can go and get a bucket is a big addition for this Owls squad as he joins Leland Walker who averaged 15.9 ppg at EKU, and Aj Staton-McCray who averaged 11.5 at Samford.
Those 3 bring in a combined 254 games of experience, and all have the ability to go and get a bucket when their squad needs it, which is an invaluable trait.
The Owls land another big fish here in Tandy, as the former 4-star recruit had offers from Tennessee, Virginia Tech, Ole Miss. Oklahoma State, Oklahoma, Kansas State, Iowa State, Florida, Clemson, Cincinnati, and Auburn before eventually choosing Xavier out of high school. This year, he’s currently the #20 combo guard in the transfer portal, while also remaining a 4 star, per 247.
The Owls now have 3 scholarships remaining and one could reasonably expect FAU to target a big man here in the portal, as currently 6 ’11 Mantas Kocanas, an incoming freshman recruit from Lithuania, is the only player above 6′ 9 on the roster.