Point guard Arturo Dean leads FIU men’s basketball team’s hopes for turnaround season

Auburn University has raided FIU – twice.

In football this past December, Auburn signed ex-FIU tight end Rivaldo Fairweather.

In basketball in April, it was even more painful for the Panthers, who lost their leading scorer – Denver Jones – to Auburn.

Jones, who reportedly got $300,000 in NIL money, averaged 20.1 points and ranked fifth in the nation in mid-range field-goal percentage last season.

But despite the loss of Jones, sixth-year FIU coach Jeremy Ballard said he has his deepest and most talented team yet as the Panthers prepare for their opener on Nov. 6 at UCF.

“It’s also our biggest team,” Ballard said. “That’s going to allow us to be more competitive on the glass, which is an area where we’ve struggled.”

Indeed, the Panthers are coming off a season in which they finished last in Conference USA in rebound margin (minus-6½ boards per game).

That contributed to FIU’s 14-18 record, which was the Panthers’ third straight losing season. During that span, FIU is 15-40 in league play.

In a poll of C-USA’s nine coaches, FIU has been predicted to finish seventh.

However, FIU sophomore point guard Arturo Dean was named to the preseason All-C-USA team. He’s the only underclassman on that list.

Dean, a 5-11 Miami native, is also the reigning C-USA Freshman of the Year, and he made the league’s first-team All-Defense.

“He’s as elite a competitor as you will ever find,” Ballard said of Dean, who finished sixth in the nation in total steals. “He is disruptive defensively.”

Dean, who averaged 11.9 points and a team-high 3.8 assists, will next strive for greatness by attempting to cut down on his turnovers (a team-high 3.2 per game) and by trying to improve his shooting stats (64.0 percent on free throws, 20.0 percent on 3-pointers).

Ballard said he has daily conversations with Dean about taking care of the ball, and the coach added that his star guard can be a great player even without pristine shooting statistics.

Dean’s backcourt running mate is 6-3 sophomore Dashon Gittens, who averaged 6.9 points and made C-USA’s All-Freshman team.

“Dashon and Arturo were unique as freshmen in that they were defensively oriented,” Ballard said. “They take pride in defending.”

Gittens has an explosive vertical leap of at least 40 inches, and he could develop into FIU’s best all-around scorer.

FIU’s third starting guard figures to be fourth-year junior Petar Krivokapic, a 6-4 native of Montenegro who made a team-high 40.5 percent of his 3-point shots last season. He averaged 6.9 points but showed his potential by scoring a career-best 25 against Louisiana Tech, making 7-of-9 from deep.

“He’s one of the best shooters in the country,” Ballard said. “He was our leading scorer all summer -- shot the cover off the ball.”

Guard depth will come from 6-6 Jayden Brewer, who is a great leaper; and 5-11 Javaunte Hawkins, a fifth-year senior who is perhaps the most vocal leader on the team. Two junior-college transfers – 5-11 George Pridgett Jr. and 6-5 Jaidon Lipscomb – arrive with reputations as shooters.

Up front, 6-9, 200-pound junior Mohamed Sanogo and 7-1, 200-pound senior shot-blocker Seth Pinkney return after combining to start 32 games for FIU last season. Both of them stay close to the basket, and they combined to average 10.5 points and 6.5 rebounds.

Two newcomers who figure to push for playing time are 6-9, 225-pounder Okechukwu Okeke and 6-9, 210-pounder Jonathan Aybar.

Ballard said Okeke is an “athletic freak” with a natural feel for the game. He averaged 8.9 points and 5.6 rebounds at Tallahassee Community College.

Aybar played for North Florida last season, averaging 8.3 points and 3.3 rebounds. He played in 30 of UNF’s 31 games, tying for team lead with 14 double-doubles.

Perhaps Aybar’s best game was a 26-point, 10-rebound performance against Stetson.

“He’s a legacy player,” said Ballard, noting that Aybar’s father, Ramon, played for FIU along with program legends Carlos Arroyo and Raja Bell. “We’re excited he’s here.”