Inheriting a roster that lost 14 players to graduation and the transfer portal isn’t easy, but first-year head coach John Jakus put together a roster from scratch in just a few months.
On April 1, the mass exodus began with former Owls’ Nick Boyd and Giancarlo Rosado being the first to announce their decision to transfer, with nine other players following suit in the weeks to come.
By May 29, Jakus had his squad in totality when the final player of the roster in Florida State University transfer Baba Miller officially committed.
Obtaining five freshman players through international recruitment, today we take a look at the six players Jakus and his staff recruited through the National Collegiate Athletics Association (NCAA) transfer portal.
Leland Walker – Junior Guard; Indianapolis, Ind.; Eastern Kentucky University
Walker is listed as a 6 feet 1 inch, 185 lbs guard who spent last season averaging 15 points per game at EKU as their lead point guard.
Going through the tape, Walker shows great ability to make tough shots. He makes a living off having the ball in his hand, and with his ability to handle it, fans won’t mind.
Walker’s strength is creating offense off of pick-and-roll action. Last season at EKU, his favorite screener was Isaiah Cozart, a 6 feet 7 inches center who seemed to have a great chemistry with Walker. When Cozart set screens for Walker, it allowed him to get to his spots that he’s most comfortable making a shot, which is that mid-range to restricted area part of the court.
On the flip side, Walker showed flashes of making passes to his screener for easy dunks or lay-ups, or kicking to the perimeter for open shots. He averaged a career high 4.1 assists a game and held a 1.64 assist-to-turnover ratio. Now that he’s at FAU, he’ll be running these same pick-and-roll actions with three seven footers on the roster.
Some room for improvement lies in Walker’s efficiency. His field goal percentage last season was 43%, which put him at 258 out of the top 350 NCAA players last season. He also averaged one made three for every three attempts, which leaves more to be desired in your potential starting point guard. However, with Jakus’ looking to run a two-point guard system, there’s opportunity for him to be more efficient as the burden of running the offense won’t all fall on him.
Kaleb Glenn – Sophomore Forward; Louisville, Ky.; University of Louisville
Glenn is listed as a 6 feet 7 inches, 210 lbs guard, but after watching the tape, it’s clear he plays way above his height. The athletic guard, who should be listed as a forward, has made it his business to bring back old school basketball.
A majority of his offense comes from the paint in all kinds of fashion: post-ups, triple threat position, cuts, in transition or rolling on screens. He makes it his business to get low position against defenders and seek contact in the paint. His athleticism makes him play like a human spring that can catch the ball low and finish in the matter of a second.
His vertical and second jump ability also makes him a tenacious rebounder. In 15 minutes a game his freshman year, Glenn averaged at least one offensive rebound a game. He also ended the season shooting 49% from the field. His arm length also makes him a natural defender.
It is yet to be determined how Glenn will fit in an offense that Jakus’ mentioned plans on shooting a lot of three’s in his interview with the University Press back in April. Glenn attempted just nine threes and made one all last season.
Glenn spent a majority of his time at Louisville coming off the bench, only starting in 11 of 32 games played, so if the plan is to have him come off the bench at FAU, he can serve as a spark of energy and scoring for the team.
Ken Evans Jr. – Redshirt Senior Guard; Jackson, Miss.; Jackson State University
Evans Jr. is listed as a 6 feet 5 inches, 205 lbs guard who can be classified as a well-rounded, three-level scoring guard. Last season he averaged career highs in both field goal and three-point percentage with 41% and 39% respectively. The most interesting stat was his 206 free throw attempts for an average of six a game, which he made at a 78% clip.
On offense, Evans Jr. puts pressure on opposing defenses for his ability to score from anywhere on the court. What makes him valuable is that he doesn’t need the ball to do so either, as he’s shown an ability to score off-the-ball in spot-up situations.
According to College Basketball Scouting, Evans Jr. shot 60% in efficient field goal percentage on catch and shoot attempts. In Jakus’ two point guard system, having a guard that can do damage both on and off the ball will be a luxury.
Also, at his size, he should not be a liability on defense, coming off a season where he averaged a steal a game.
Baba Miller – Junior Forward; Mallorca, Spain; Florida State University
Miller is listed as a 6 feet 11 inches, 215 lbs forward that has the talent to be a premier stretch-big in the American Athletic Conference.
Miller has shown during his time at FSU how comfortable he is on the perimeter despite his tall and lanky frame. On offense, Miller has shown flashes of being a ball-handler who can run pick-and-roll and make passes that you’d usually see guards make.
He’s extremely comfortable taking shots from the outside, averaging at least two three-pointers a game. However, efficiency is a concern, shooting 29% from three last season.
On defense, Miller showcases a unique ability for a big, which is to defend along the perimeter. As a low-man defender, he’ll be able to defend the paint as well. He had 30 steals and 37 blocks in 33 games at FSU. His versatility for a 6 ‘11 player makes him a matchup nightmare for opponents.
Jakus has the opportunity to play Miller in a two-big lineup, allowing him to serve as a roamer on defense, who won’t have to worry about sitting under the basket and a stretch player on offense who won’t clog the paint for his guards.
If Jakus’ decides to run a small-ball lineup, potentially with Glenn at the power forward position, Miller should be more than comfortable playing the typical center position.
KyKy Tandy – Graduate Student Guard; Hopkinsville, Ky.; Jacksonville State
Dekeyvan Tre’von “KyKy” Tandy is listed as a 6 feet 2 inches, 205 lbs guard that has the skill to shoot the lights out the gym. Tandy is an experienced NCAA guard who spent four seasons at Xavier University from 2019-2023 prior to his one year stint at Jax. St.
His fifth year at Jax. St., almost 48% of his total shots were three-point attempts (454 total field goal attempts, 216 3-point attempts), which he made at a 39% rate. This efficient three-point scoring ranked him as 49th of the best 50 three-point shooters in college basketball last season.
The delivery of the three doesn’t matter for Tandy either. Going through the tape, he shows elite proficiency in catch-and-shoot, as well as off-the-dribble threes. According to College Basketball Scoring, Tandy had a 67 effective field goal percentage on catch and shoot last season, placing him in the 96th percentile for NCAA players. He also made 16 three’s deeper than 25 feet last season, displaying the confidence to pull up from the logo.
A concern in Tandy’s game is isolated scoring and ball security. Last season, he averaged 1.4 assists to 2.3 turnovers a game, giving him a 0.6% assist-to-turnover ratio. As a player who hangs his hat on being a three-point shooter, he uses screens to his advantage, but when a screen isn’t available, his handle on the ball is shaky.
He also started all 32 games he played last season, being the leading scorer for the team with 17.8 PPG (points per game), second leader holding 8.7 PPG. He led the team in field goal attempts, taking 209 more shots as the second shot attempt leader (454 FGA Tandy, 245 Quincy Clark). It will be interesting to see where Tandy fits in the rotation and how he will adjust to a new role that may see his amount of shot attempts dip.
Niccolo Moretti – Redshirt Sophomore Guard; Bologna, Italy; University of Illinois
Moretti is listed as a 6 feet 1 inches, 175 lbs guard who has yet to get a real opportunity at the collegiate level. He redshirted his freshman year at Illinois and only saw an average of six minutes a game in 16 appearances the following season.
Moretti’s brother Davide had a three-year career at Texas Tech University, where he was one of the star players in their 2019 NCAA tournament run. Their father Paolo held a 12-year professional basketball career as a player in Italy and has been a head basketball coach in Italy for over 20 years.
Going through the tape, the influence of a European basketball household in Moretti’s game is prominent. He’s a pass-first guard that has the chops of being able to facilitate an offense. He’s also shown flashes of being a capable catch and shoot maker.
With Tandy and Evans Jr. in their final year of eligibility, Moretti will have the time as a sophomore to develop underJakus’ system if he doesn’t find himself in the rotation this year.
JD Delcastillo is the Managing Editor for the University Press. For information regarding this or other stories, email him at [email protected] or DM on Instagram @jd.delcastillo or X (Twitter) @jd_delcastillo.
