After winning 18 games in his first two seasons at Florida International, head coach Donnie Marsh thought he had assembled a squad that would allow the program to take a step forward last season. But injuries and off-the-court headaches fueled a wave of attrition that left Marsh's team walking the ball up the court, and, for long stretches, making wide open perimeter jumpers look like prayers.

 

FIU opened 4-0, including wins against Iona and at Princeton, despite dressing nine players. Kevin Harvey was expected to play point guard, but never recovered from off-season surgery, and Marsh's frontcourt was decimated.

 

Al Harris was kicked off the team in January. He was second on the team in scoring, rebounding and blocked shots at the time. Rodrigo Viegas played in six games all season. And 6-9, 245-pound junior forward Taurus Johnson (5.0 ppg, 2.0 rpg) missed all but two games for personal reasons. Johnson was the Golden Panthers' leading returning scorer and rebounder and finished third in the Sun Belt Conference in blocked shots as a freshman.

 

The result? Probably the most gratifying 8-21 season in the nation.

 

With Carlos Morban out of position at point guard, wings filling in for him that couldn't shoot very well and a by-committee frontcourt, the Panthers lost five games by three points or less (one in overtime and another in double-overtime). And still, come tournament time, they got wing Junior Matias back healthy and beat New Orleans by 17 points in the Sun Belt Tournament opener.

 

Perhaps even more impressive was an 11-point loss a day later to home-standing and top-seeded Western Kentucky, which finished the year with 24 wins after a tough five-point loss to Illinois in the NCAA Tournament.

 

"We had nine-point leads in the first and second half against Western and still had a shot to beat them with two or three minutes left in the game," Marsh said. "I thought my guys really battled to do that on their home floor in front of that crowd after the season we'd been through with a shortened roster."

 

Marsh's luck might've turned when he signed junior college point guard Marcus Robinson in May. Robinson, a 6-0 junior, averaged 25.6 points at South Mountain Community College (Mesa, Ariz.) and spurned NCAA Tournament participants Wisconsin-Milwaukee and Dayton in choosing Florida International.

 

"Getting Marcus was a very pleasant surprise," Marsh said. "As you often do in recruiting, we got a little bit lucky. He didn't like cold weather.

 

"Marcus is a pure playmaker. He should be able to help us immediately."

 

That will allow Morban (8.0 ppg, 3.5 rpg, 2.2 steals), a 6-2 junior, to move back to the wing. He is much more comfortable there as his 79 assists and 98 turnovers last season suggest. Morban's 64 steals were third in the league.

 

Matias (12.6 ppg, 3.8 rpg), a 6-2 senior, is capable of an all-conference season. His numbers were watered down last year as he missed four games and considerable portions of several others.

 

"If Junior had stayed healthy, we would've probably had four or five more wins," Marsh said. "He had 21 points in 22 minutes at UMass, then pulls a groin in the last five minutes and we get beat by six. Then he got the flu and then he hurt his thumb.

 

"But we get him back and beat New Orleans by 17 in the tournament because of his presence. He just has a knack for making big plays."

 

Other minutes on the perimeter will go to Harvey, a 6-0 junior, 6-2 senior Slavcho Slavtchev (2.9 ppg, 0.9 rpg) and newcomer Harry Lum, a 6-2 junior-college transfer out of Compton, Calif.

 

"Harry is very athletic and has a chance to help us," Marsh said.

 

Johnson is expected to return to his freshman form in the frontcourt. Other experience comes from another 6-9, 245-pounder in senior Belco Bamba (3.2 ppg, 3.0 rpg), who averaged 16 minutes in the 22 games he was healthy enough to play in last year.

 

"Belco's probably picked up 10 pounds and he's a big body that we'll definitely bang," Marsh said. "I can see him getting 20, 22 or maybe 25 minutes a game."

 

Two newcomers in the frontcourt that should help are 6-9, 255-pound junior Byron Burnett, a polished defensive player who initially committed to Mississippi, and 6-5 freshman Rafael DaSilva.

 

Burnett, from Southern Union State (Ala.) Junior College, averaged 5.7 points and 7.1 boards in an injury-shortened sophomore season. Despite playing in just 21 games, he blocked 42 shots. He figures to give the Golden Panthers a much-needed defensive presence in the middle.

 

Warren Gale, a 6-7 transfer from Pensacola (Fla.) Community College, could also factor in to the rotation.

 

One thing Marsh definitely needs is better shooting, whether it's from six feet out or behind the three-point line. The Panthers shot 41 percent from the field last year, including a 31 percent mark behind the three-point line. Free throws were costly too, as Marsh's squad shot 61 percent from the line.

 

"Shooting the basketball has been our Achilles heel," Marsh said. "We were last in the league in three-point shooting and foul shooting. We were the No. 1 defensive team in the league but we just couldn't score."

 

BLUE RIBBON ANALYSIS

With the return of Moran and Matias and contributions expected from Harvey and Robinson, Marsh's guard play could go from shaky to solid in a year's time.

 

Marsh also appears to have some new tools in the frontcourt. There is no science to knowing how personalities will mesh, but if the newcomers are content with their eventual roles and the Panthers catch a break on the injury front this season, they could discover the flip-side of a lot of last year's narrow losses.

Thanks for posting this, I was going to PM you to ask for it Our team was very disappointing last season but hopefully we get it together this year. We have some tough games against Stanford, Miami, South Florida and FAU all on the road.

I lived next to FIU for 7 years. SW 24 Street and SW 112 Ave area.

 

Now if they only could add a meteorology department, it would be perfect with the Miami NWS office and Nat'l Hurrican Center being there.