Boston College and Florida Atlantic are on the rebound when they collide in the season opener in Boca Raton, Fla., on Monday.
The Owls are two seasons removed from their 2022-23 Final Four run under former coach Dusty May. FAU hired former Baylor assistant John Jakus following May’s departure to Michigan. Jakus, who led the Owls to a 18-16 record and an NIT appearance in his first season, will have an almost completely new roster after replacing nine players with four additions through the transfer portal and six combined high school and international recruits.
Among the most notable is 6-7 freshman forward Josiah Parker, a four-star recruit out of Charlotte, N.C., who has already earned Preseason Freshman of the Year honors in the American Conference.
Transfer guards Isaiah Elohim (USC) and Kanaan Carlyle (Indiana) hope to improve a team that ranked 281st in the nation in scoring defense and struggled with its 3-point shooting (35.2 percent).
The losses for the Owls include the team’s top six scorers from last season.
“I think we were surprised by a couple transfers, but for the most part, the number of people we had at each position earlier, and the way we were able to manage that was much better,” Jakus said of embracing the turnover. “If you look at our league, I think over half the league, nine of their top 10 players are from another team. So we can all call this a weakness, but it’s a weakness that everybody’s going through, and so you can’t complain about it, you just have to get better at it. So I think we got better at the concept. How can we teach in four months instead of four years?”
Boston College, which went 12-19 last season and finished second-to-last in the Atlantic Coast Conference, is entering its fifth season under coach Earl Grant. The Eagles had a 20-win season and made it to the second round of the NIT the prior season, but have not earned a bid to the NCAA Tournament since 2009.
Boston College returns last season’s leading scorer and rebounder Donald Hand Jr. (15.7 points per game, 6.1 rebounds per game). Guard Fred Payne and center Jayden Hastings also return. Missouri transfer Aidan Shaw, a 6-9 forward, adds size and depth.
The addition drawing the most excitement is projected starting point guard Chase Forte, a senior transfer from South Dakota State, who averaged 17.9 points, 4.4 rebounds and 3.2 assists per game last season.
“We’ve got a blend with the returners who understand our culture, understand BC, have been in tight games where we won, tight games where we came up short, those are valuable experiences,” Grant said.
