FIU Men’s Basketball Banking on Another Year of Experience

MIAMI, FL – Last season, FIU Men’s Basketball felt like they just scratched the surface of what they could accomplish.

They only went 14-18, and 8-12 in Conference USA, but they did it with a lineup comprised mostly of underclassmen.

Most of their starting lineups during conference play included three sophomores and one freshman, but seven of FIU’s 10 leading scorers will return this year.

“We had three freshmen last year that all won Freshman of the Week honors at one point or another that are all back,” said head coach Jeremy Ballard.

“We have several veteran guys that are all back, and newcomers that we’re all excited about. So I truly believe this could be the deepest team that we’ve had. I think it’s our most talented team that we’ve had from top to bottom.”

FIU also added junior forwards Jonathan Aybar from North Florida and Okechukwu Okeke from Tallahassee Community College.

One of the Panthers returning underclassmen is sophomore guard Arturo Dean, who was named to the C-USA Preseason All-Conference Team.

“With the attitude and mindset we approached this summer… like coach said, I like us,” said Dean, who was also the C-USA Freshman of the Year last season – the first Panther to do so.

“We’re motivated. We certainly worked very hard this summer. We had almost the whole team locked in and put in extra work. I caught a couple of guys late at night putting in work, and waking up early in the morning. So seeing that gave me motivation and reassured me that we’re going to be alright this year.”

The Miami native put up 11.9 points and 4.1 rebounds per game. He also recorded a team-high 122 assists in 29.7 minutes per contest.

Dean led the conference with 81 steals, averaging 2.5 per game. Dean also ranked sixth in CUSA with an average of 3.4 assists.

With sophomore guard and 2022-23 leading scorer Denver Jones transferring to Auburn, one underclassman who could see a larger role is Dashon Gittens.

The guard from Connecticut started 18 games last year and averaged 6.9 points and 22 minutes per game.

“There’s a lot of things I had to get used to in the system,” Gittens said. “With one of our key players leaving, it’s a lot more that I have to think about and a lot more stuff that I have to do to manage to step up in his role.”

One facet of his game that Gittens wants to improve on during camp is his shooting. Last year, he shot 48.5% from the field and 35.8% from three.

“I think my game talks for itself. So I feel like just being on the court and being the playmaker that I am lets my presence be felt. So I feel like if I get better at shooting, that’s when the sky’s the limit.”

FIU will open their regular season in Orlando against the UCF Knights on Monday, November 6th at 8pm.