John Jakus made one request of his players in his opening press conference — wait until Monday to make any decisions. As the weekend came to a close, it was apparent that today would play a crucial role in shaping FAU’s future.
Most of the afternoon was quiet in Boca, but the first domino fell as the clock struck 4 PM. Backup big man Giancarlo Rosado posted a statement on Twitter announcing his entrance into the transfer portal.
The junior forward has spent all four years of his career in Boca Raton. He averaged 4.8 points, 3.0 rebounds, and 1.3 assists per game this season, a step down from his 2022-2023 stats.
Rosado’s announcement was closely followed by a similar statement from Nick Boyd, the hero of last season’s thrilling tournament win over Memphis.
Boyd, a redshirt junior, has started 51 games for the Owls since 2022. He averaged a career-high 9.3 points per game this year and served as one of the team’s best shooters.
Both Rosado and Boyd emphasized the “consideration of returning to FAU” in their statements.
The biggest domino fell last. Vlad Goldin, the All-AAC center who led the conference in field goal percentage this year, entered the portal roughly 20 minutes after Boyd. He did not immediately post a statement to social media.
A former Texas Tech transfer, Goldin made massive developmental strides over his three seasons in Boca. The Russian big man has anchored the FAU defense since 2021 and averaged 15.7 points, 6.9 rebounds, and 1.6 blocks per game this year.
The futures of the remaining Owls, including Johnell Davis and Alijah Martin, are still unclear.
North Texas‘ day was arguably worse. The Mean Green lost both Aaron Scott, one of the country’s premier defenders, and Rubin Jones, the winningest player in the history of UNT basketball.
Both players averaged double-digit points this season. Scott has been with the program since 2022, while Jones has worn green since 2021. They join backup guard Christian Moore, backup forward Chris Morgan, and star guard Jason Edwards in the portal. The Mean Green also lost sixth man Robert Allen to graduation.
North Texas now faces a significant rebuild, perhaps their largest since the early years of the McCasland era. Of their top five scorers from this season, only guard CJ Noland returns.
Temple lost Hysier Miller to the portal this morning. The guard signed with the Owls out of high school and has been with the program since fall 2021.
Miller was Temple’s unquestioned offensive centerpiece this season, boasting averages of 15.9 points, 3.6 rebounds, and 4.0 assists on the year. He used a series of explosive performances to lead his team on a shocking run to the conference championship game.
Miller has deep connections to Philadelphia, graduating from high school in the city and publishing a book about his “upbringing in South Philly” called No Place Like Home. He entered the portal last spring but decided to return to Temple, citing “unfinished business.” However, Miller made no mention of a possible return to TU this time around, concluding his statement by saying “the Temple community will always have a special place in my heart.”
Temple becomes the sixth AAC team of the offseason to lose their best player to the portal, joining North Texas, Charlotte, Tulsa, Wichita State, and UTSA.
Wichita State is the heavy favorite to land Oral Roberts transfer Isaac McBride, who scored 19.8 PPG this season while playing in a whopping 97.7% of his team’s minutes. The senior guard took an official visit to Wichita two days ago.
McBride played under current Shockers coach Paul Mills for two years at ORU, joining the team the season after the Golden Eagles’ magical run to the Sweet Sixteen. He began his career at Vanderbilt and would instantly serve as one of the conference’s premier high-volume scorers.