John Jakus' first impression at Florida Atlantic prompts laughter, cheers, tears | D'Angelo
BOCA RATON — John Jakus' 18-minute introduction to the Florida Atlantic University community was part story time about how a man can become intoxicated by the beach, part emotional when talking about his family and journey to get to his first collegiate head coaching job, and part recruiting pitch.
Make that a big part recruiting pitch.
Because Jakus, the man selected to continue the momentum created by coach Dusty May, was talking to those players who were at this celebration Friday inside the Eleanor R. Baldwin Arena as much as he was talking to the approximately 300 who attended.
Who knows whether Vladislav Goldin or Johnell Davis or Alijah Martin or Nick Boyd will wear an FAU uniform again. But until a decision is made, Jakus will make it his mission to exhaust every possibility.
Jakus, 48, called his meeting with the team Monday his "second interview." That was after the one at which Athletic Director Brian White purposely positioned him facing the beach and ocean when they talked at the Boca Raton Hotel, which came after he had lunch on a patio overlooking the seductive blue water.
"I said, 'You guys can stop right now,' " Jakus said.
And this is what he said to his players, telling the story Friday to those sitting on the same floor on which this team was 30-1 the past two years and in a gym in which a 2023 Final Four banner hangs.
"The reality of the situation is, if you leave you might find something better," he said. "But I doubt it. Because what you built here is fantastic."
Then, just to make sure everybody understood exactly how that meeting went, Jakus added:
"I don't know if you noticed. None of them are in the portal."
This drew the loudest cheers of the day. But Jakus was not done.
"I don't know if we are going to keep them all," he added. "If they want to go to the NBA, God bless them. I'm going to do everything I can to help them. That's OK. If they go into the portal, that's OK. Coaches change jobs. I just did it. They have the freedom. But I'm going to fight like crazy to keep you."
But ...
"If you're a season ticket holder, I wouldn't give that up. And if you're a student who had to wait in line because it's so hard to get into this place, I'd tell you to get here earlier next year."
When Jakus met with the team, he said forward Giancarlo Rosado, of West Palm Beach, told him the Owls' Final Four run, "was like a train and everybody was on board. And there was literally nothing anyone could do to stop it.
"My goal in this whole thing is that train doesn't slow down, it actually speeds up. And we keep these guys on it and we do it again."
Jakus introduction: Laughter, cheers, tears
John Jakus' first impression could not have gone any better.
He tugged at hearts when he became misty-eyed talking about his family and praising his wife, Sara, which drew a standing ovation in which the first out of his seat was football coach Tom Herman.
"I wasn't nervous about this speech at all," he said later. "But I was nervous about the crying because I knew I would do some."
He entertained when he talked about being infatuated with the beach. He told White, "I'm going to retire here, so if you're just going to bring me here 20 years earlier, let's just do it."
And, of course, he motivated when he talked about (to?) his players, and continuing May's legacy, and speeding up the train.
"We had a little bit of everything," someone said. "We laughed, we cheered and we cried."
More: Why Baylor's Scott Drew says former assistant John Jakus is prepared to lead FAU
Still, Jakus is realistic. He knows the temptation for players to try to find bigger and better (and more lucrative) gigs. He knows NIL money will be floated and advice (not all in the best interest of the player) will be given.
But he's encouraged by what he has seen.
Jakus was asked about the challenge for a new coach — one being that these players likely didn't even know his name before Saturday, and had never met him before Monday — to convince them to put all their trust into him keeping the train on that track.
More: 'We'll miss him': Dusty May's departure a bummer for South Florida basketball coaches
"In today's culture, you would say on a challenge scale, that would be 10 out of 10," he said. "But if FAU was today's culture then this wouldn't have happened here.
"I didn't know what (that meeting with the players) it was going to be. When I walked into the locker room it could have gone horribly. But it went the opposite. It doesn't mean they are all going to be here, but it means they are giving us a chance."
Tom D'Angelo is a senior sports columnist and golf writer for The Palm Beach Post. He can be reached at tdangelo@pbpost.com.
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: John Jakus introduced as Florida Atlantic Owls' new men's basketball coach
