FIU Men’s Basketball Looking For Bounce-Back 2024 Season

MIAMI, FL – Entering Jeremy Ballard’s seventh year with the FIU Panthers, the pressure to win is higher than ever.

After an 11-22 season which included a win in the first round of the CUSA tournament, FIU will look to not just raise the win total but also go deeper than ever into the tournament.

“Just feel so fortunate to be out here,” said Ballard. “We had a good summer and we had a really good fall leading up to this week. We’re just excited to be in official practice mode and to have our sights on another opponent coming sooner than we even think. It’s great to be back out here with the guys.”

One of the biggest blessings for FIU was the transfer portal not hitting them as hard, only losing two players due to graduation and three to the portal, one of those being Arturo Dean.

“I think a lot of people want to focus in this day and age on what you lose and who you lose,” said Ballard. “We returned a lot of guys and we return a lot of key guys. Jonathan Aybar and Dashon Gittens. Those are two guys that missed all of conference play, so it’s kind of like having returners, but guys that miss a lot of time.”

One of the biggest questions entering the season will be how will FIU fill the void left behind by Dean who had a career season, leading the nation in steals and among the team, leading in points per game, rebounds, and assists.

“We’ve added new wrinkles, but we’re going to be who we are,” said Ballard. “We’re going to push the ball on offense, spread the ball around, and set a lot of ball screens. I think we have a lot of guys who can come off ball screens and make ball screen reads, which is great. We have more size than we’ve ever had across the board.“

“We’ve got very good depth in the front court and a lot of big guys, but at each position, I feel like we have good size and a good length, which should hopefully translate as being good on the defensive end and good on the glass as well.”

Gittens, who was coming off an all-freshman team selection, posted 9.5 points per game, 3.5 rebounds, 2.3 assists and a 40.6 field goal percentage. From beyond the arc, Gittens shot 27.9%. Just like other players, the injury bug got to the sophomore guard who only played in 22 games. This upcoming season, Gittens will be heavily relied on, becoming the primary scorer.

“I think people forget he was on the all-rookie team just two years ago,” said Ballard. “He made big plays and helped us win some big games in his time here and missed a great portion of the season last year, but that’s just made him hungrier. He’s playing better than he ever has with the ball in his hands, the ball outside of his hands, and leading and talking. Been pleased and proud of him.”

Jonathan Aybar is entering his second season with FIU and the injury bug hit him the hardest, being limited to 13 games and missing almost all of the conference slate. He provided the ability to spread the floor and his height made him the ideal power forward which FIU lacked in years prior.

Jayden Brewer entered the transfer portal but immediately withdrew his name. This past season, Brewer was the Panther’s sixth man and posted 8.5 points per game, 3.2 rebounds, 0.8 assists, and had a 48.4 field goal percentage.

There is a chance he starts, but his role off the bench did provide plenty of value in the 33 games that he played.

Other returners include big man Okechukwu Okeke who seems a lot more active and comfortable entering his second season with FIU.

Expect Jaidon Lipscomb to play a bigger role than he did last season. Amongst players who had over 100 attempted three-pointers, Lipscomb ranked second on the team in three-point percentage.

A name to keep an eye out for is Travis Gray who redshirted last season after arriving late to campus due to an injury. There was consideration to burn the redshirt, but that never came to fruition.

Standing at 6’5,” Gray should be a nice option at the forward position to potentially start some games in 2024-25.

Throughout the offseason, Ballard recruited five newcomers: Asim Jones, Ashton Williams, Vianney Salatchoum, Kole Williams, and Olajuwon Ibrahim.

Early on, Jones, the JUCO transfer has stood out, being described as a true point guard who will distribute the ball well and can be a nice secondary scorer behind Gittens and will pass up the ball to find a better shot.

“He’s a true point guard,” said Ballard. “He’s got great feel, he’s got a great ability to get guys shots and to run a team. He played for a great junior college program and had great coaches. He brings really good experience and he’s a junior college All-American.”

The Panthers will hit the road to begin the season as they take on former Conference USA opponent Rice on November 5th. Time and TV designation is still to be determined.