By Scott Morganroth
Although the FAU Owls Men’s Basketball team lost in the opening round of the Sun Belt Conference Basketball Tournament to North Texas, 78-64, the players still have at least one more game left.
The Owls finished with a 21-10 record and won the Sun Belt Conference regular season championship. FAU will play in the NIT, and the Owls opponent, time and date will be announced March 13.
FAU’s drive to the post season began on Feb. 19, as they won an overtime thriller in Miami against rival Florida International University at the Century Bank Arena. The Owls had luck as the Golden Panthers 21-33 free throw attempts enabled the Owls to emerge 80-78.
Those 12 missed free throws had Golden Panthers Hall of Fame Coach Isiah Thomas smiling and asking reporters if we knew of any players that could convert their shots at the charity stripe.
Meanwhile, FAU Coach Mike Jarvis couldn’t offer Thomas any suggestions to find a cure for his team’s free throws.
Jarvis just wanted his team to win two more games and end the season with a three-game winning streak. The coach saw that come to fruition as FAU trounced Troy, 77-60, at home on Feb. 24, and three days later, the Owls cruised past South Alabama, 74-64, in Mobile, AL.
When I spoke to Jarvis three years ago, after his first season, he knew he had a tough challenge building this program. In his first season, FAU finished with a 6-26 record and he told me that this was a “gut job; therefore, the team was going to be overhauled.”
In his second season, Jarvis brought in freshmen Raymond Taylor, Greg Gantt, Kore White, Jordan McCoy, and junior Brett Royster began to mature. These players demonstrated a great work ethic and FAU finished the year 14-16. This progress would lead to what transpired in Jarvis’ third season that has him going back to the post-season.
Now in his 22nd season as a coach, Jarvis has led three programs to the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament.
His three stops include Boston University (1985-90), George Washington University (1990-98) and St. Johns University (1998-2004). Jarvis has a 404-254 record.
Jarvis said, after the Owls defeated FIU, that any tournament his team would play in would be a good accomplishment.
“For our program, an NIT berth would be a fantastic accomplishment, and the players deserve to be rewarded for an excellent season,” Jarvis said.
Jarvis added that he’s enjoyed coaching at FAU, even though he’s coached at St. John’s, which played its home games at the 20,000-seat Madison Square Garden, compared to the 3,000 seat FAU Arena.
“I haven’t had as much fun coaching since high school,” Jarvis said. “I coached Patrick Ewing and Rumeal Robinson. I got into it because I wanted to teach and coach. I’m having a lot of fun even though it looks tough, and I’m in a lot of pain. On most nights, it’s like a mother giving birth to a child. It feels like hell until the child comes out.
“I told these kids that they are killing me, and I told three of them if I die, they’ll be pallbearers at my funeral. I’ve already asked 100 guys to be pallbearers.”
Scott Morganroth can be reached at www.scottsports 33.com.
