FAU coach John Jakus spoke to the media on Monday afternoon, speaking on a variety of topics in preparation for the Owls 2 home games this week.
The Owls snapped a 3 game losing streak in their last matchup against FIU, showing an ability to adjust in game and attack the basket when their 3 point shot wasn’t falling. Their defense also was solid in the second half and heading into this 2 game home stand, Jakus has made more adjustments defensively in hopes to limit open looks allowed.
“We have some counters that we put in offensively, but that’s not necessarily because of anything we’ve seen that has more to do with how we think will be guarded by Jacksonville, their normal ball screen coverage and when they switch and don’t switch. So we made some adjustments, just like we had two last game against FIU. They pressed the whole game, so we had to flow into offense. Couldn’t really call sets. We see some different things that we can pick on this game. So that’s more match up based and defensively. We have made some changes. As far as when we personally will make adjustments on and then we’ve made some adjustments on how we guard some things off the ball, like post touches. But I think, and the whole it’s been a big couple days for us,” Jakus said.
Leading against FIU was Tre Carroll, who scored a career high 24 points and was a key force of the bench for the Owls as they nearly scored 60 bench points. In rewards for his efforts, he was rewarded with AAC player of the week, something Jakus said he is proud of, however he knows Carroll only is happy because the team won.
“That’s great. Not only does he win, but he getting career high 24 points was special. I think he made all of us free throw a couple off into rebound. So he did more than just score. The basketball was incredibly positive, and it came off us winning the game also. So I think you’ll hear in Tre’s interviews that at the end of the day, those awards only matter because we win the game. So but man, was he special, and what a curve ball against a team that presses full time to have undersized five who can pick on a mismatch and then get you into offense in an unconventional way. So we’re thrilled for him, and we expect more good things from TC,” Jakus said.
Something that Jacksonville will be able to do differently than FIU is crash the offensive glass, as the Dolphins currently rank top 50 in the nation in offensive rebound percentage and the Owls have struggled at times on the offensive glass. Jakus is aware of JU’s offensive rebounding prowess and he says his team will need to crash the glass harder heading into this matchup.
“Yeah. I mean, we got to crash harder. We’re also going to send our guards to, I guess, help each other out in ways. There’s times where they’re staying around without a job. We really focused on them always having a job, especially on that end. And then, sure, it’s a huge part of the game, not only their top 50, but at times, they’ll send four or five. So not only do we have to be ready to hit do our job and understand where the ball is going to land, but then we think there’s an opportunity, if we can secure it, to get into our offense out of some flow and some transition instead of slowing down. So they’re also going to make us play defense for a long time, over 20 seconds, or one of the slower teams when it comes to going side to side. So because of that, you don’t want to play defense for 50 seconds. So the worst thing that could happen is an offensive rebound,” Jakus said.
One of Jacksonville’s biggest threats this season is Junior guard Robert McCray, who is averaging 15.8 points, 5 rebounds and 5 assists per game and has been consistent, hitting 47.8% of his shots this season. Jakus has high praise for McCray and says that he is someone FAU will have to slow down in this one.
“He’s an unbelievable player. What a good kid. He made a great decision. Sometimes people transfer up, sometimes they transfer down, sometimes they transfer based on fit. And he seems to have found a wonderful fit that coaching staff is doing a really good job with him. The Freedom he’s found is pretty special, and I would say the growth for him both on a three point shot and then the ability to get to the rim and dunk on almost anybody at any time. He’s a pretty unique guard in that way, so we know that we’ve got our hands full with him. He’s had huge moments, and certainly we’re going to have to slow him down,” Jakus said.
For FAU, on the offensive side of things, a big factor in their success against FIU was Leland Walker who was a floor general, finishing with the 3rd most assists in a single game in FAU history with 12. Although 12 assists isn’t something Jakus wants to see forced into the offense, he believes his game against FIU was part of the players trusting the system and it could be something to continue to develop over time.
“Some of it depends on how the game goes. But, you know, we’re still a work in progress. In some sense. We’ve got 10 new guys, and we got 3 starting guards that all led their teams in scoring last year. And so we think there’s this upside, as the three of them learned to play together and inside, that upside is people got to make sacrifices. And I thought his sacrifice down the stretch to make sure that others got shots and include them were huge. His dunk was pretty special in the half court, but I think when he did Tre Carroll on the slip out of the horn, set against some of their switching and train ended up making that layup. I thought the pass was just as powerful as the dump, so he’s doing a great job for us after the dump. The digits, really proud of him and thankful that he’s here. But as those three guards learn to interact with each other, we’re only going to get better,” Jakus said.
Another factor in the Owls success against FIU was their diverse scoring, which early on in the season has been one of FAU’s most appealing traits, getting significant contributions from 8-9 different players. Jakus says that the early portion of the season has shown that his guys have accepted their roles and that their love for each other will only improve as the season wears on.
“I think from the beginning, we’ve preached the fact that we could lead our conference in bench points. And I think there’s moments where guys accept the role, not as starters, and realize that starting doesn’t matter. The matchups will dictate who ends games. And we finish so many different games with so many different Lane ups, and get 59 bench points last game, which is unbelievable. And then our two leading scorers, 22 and 24 were Caleb and Trey, and just like I said a little earlier, that the three guards who were leading scorers at their last stops have to learn to interact together. I think our top nine have to continue to learn to act together. When stars will celebrate the bench like that, and then the bench will wait for their moments to be stars, then you’ve got a chance to be good in the long run. So that’s another area where we feel like we have upside, because our guys truly do love each other,” Jakus said.
With having a plethora of scoring that the Owls do, the challenge becomes figuring out how to align the lineups so that FAU gets the most production possible out of their units. For Jakus, the lineups are sometimes analytically based and sometimes matchup and that it is still a work in progress heading into the end of non-conference play.
“Yeah, there’s lineup analytics. I would say, up to this point, people have a really hard time guarding us in the first five minutes again, and they immediately go small. And then we’ve had to fight to figure out what our best counters. But that is, do you remain big? Do you go small to match up? And then I would say defensive styles lend themselves to different actions. If they double the post, if they don’t, if they front the post, they put two on the ball, in the ball screen, if they plug, if they’re going to allow for a pop, and someone like Trey is going to play, if they’re going to allow for roles, and Matas is going to play. There’s just so many different dynamics for us, and we think, we think that’s a real positive for us. I mean, you can go so many different lineup combinations. We’ve just got to learn to guard within those line of combinations and finish those possessions with rebounds. But I think we’ve found the right offensive combinations dependent on what the other teams are doing 80 to 90% of the time. But defensively, we’re going to have to order what happens when we’re small and big still,” Jakus said.
The Owls have been streaky on both ends of the court at times this season, as they have been lights out from 3 some games, while others not and have had their defense exposed in certain matchups this season. Jakus believes this team has the potential to find consistency offensively and defensively, as he has seen it before with Gonzaga and Baylor and trusts this group can do the same.
“I’ve seen it before that guy. I’ve seen it at Baylor. I know it exists. I know we can do it. And what it really looks like for us is when our defense starts leading offense, and our turnover rates have to increase, and then our defensive rebounding numbers have to increase. If those two things will come, then those runs will happen naturally. So for us, hand activity, turnovers, understanding, sets, when we can pick things off, all those little things people don’t see that make you a good defender that has nothing to do with your physical abilities. There’s probably some growth for us in there, but the guys are taking the scouts more seriously. They’re growing in that area. And if we can turn people over and rebound, I think we’ll see it. We’ll see it on the same day in these next two weeks before conference play,” Jakus said.
Now heading into the final 3 games of non-conference play, the Owls have limited time to make final adjustments before heading into the jaws of the AAC, a conference which although it has struggled early on this season, has none to amp up once beginning the conference slate. Jakus mentions consistency once again as things he looks to shore up, however he knows this group cares and trusts they will lock in over this 3 game strech.
“One thing I think being home will help us. And when you coach college kids, their routines matter, the extra shots, asleep in their bed, the food, their weight sessions, all that kind of stuff, our guys feel strong right now, especially coming out of finals. And then I would say the defensive identity is probably the thing we continue to search for. These guys have the care factor. They love FAU. They love it here, you know, they never give up. You can see that in our games, even when we have these huge leads get lost, they don’t give up. The fight is there. But I think fight and then, like they’re interesting, fight and controlled intelligence while fighting is probably where everything I really want to see, when those things come together, we’re going to be alright,” Jakus said.
Lastly, Jakus made a trip earlier in the week over to Zach Kittley’s Introductory press conference and although he doesn’t have much advice for a football coach, he is excited for his arrival and believes his offense should bring fun back to FAU football.
“I don’t think I need to go around giving football coaches advice, but I will say he’s a good guy. We’re obviously friends with Grant and CeCe McCasland from our days at Baylor, he’s the head basketball coach there, Joey McGuire is a Baylor guy. Our guy Obim actually played at Baylor underneath them, and some of the guys on staff at least, were assistants at that time. And then coach AD (Aditya Malhotra) worked at Baylor for eight or nine years, and so he knows some of his assistants. So I would say they probably had even more recent dynamics with that staff than I do, but he knows what he’s doing. He scores a bunch of points. I think we probably have that more in common than Texas. He’s a true Texan. I’m from Chicago originally, but the scoring offense, the ability to identify and find a quarterback, I think, are special. But That’s Brian White’s job. I was just really there as a fan,” Jakus said.
Cover photo Via Dylan Vo