FAU basketball star players announce they'll return for 2023-24 season
The Florida Atlantic men's basketball team picked up its biggest win of the offseason on Wednesday evening.
Johnell Davis and Alijah Martin announced their intent to return to the Owls for the 2023-24 season via the program's official Twitter account.
The duo declared for the NBA Draft but did not hire agents earlier this spring, leaving the potential to return to FAU. The deadline to declare a return to college basketball is midnight Wednesday.
Davis and Martin were the Owls' two leading scorers and played a central role in the Owls' historic run to the NCAA Tournament Final Four last season.
Davis averaged 13.8 points, 5.4 rebounds and 1.8 assists per game and scored in double digits in four of five NCAA Tournament games.
He scored 29 points with 12 rebounds in FAU's second-round win over Fairleigh Dickinson.
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Martin averaged 13.1 points, 5.3 rebounds and 1.4 assists per game last season and is on pace to become one of the top scorers in FAU basketball history.
He played one of the finest games of his collegiate career in the Final Four with 26 points and seven rebounds in the Owls' season-ending loss to San Diego State in Houston.
FAU men's basketball enjoyed the best season in program history under head coach Dusty May with a 35-4 record and run to the Final Four. The Owls' 35 wins were a single-season school record and the most by any NCAA Division I team last season.
With Martin and Davis' announcement, the Owls are expected to return the majority of pieces from last year's run except the program's all-time leading 3-point shooter, Michael Forrest.
Eric J. Wallace is deputy sports editor for The Palm Beach Post. He can be reached at ejwallace@gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: FAU basketball stars Alijah Martin, Johnell Davis to return next season