Photo by Roberto Jimenez
Column by Patrick Chalvire
It was only a matter of time until FIU would feel the wrath of the NCAA. On Tuesday afternoon, the NCAA released their annual academic progress ratings (APR), with FIU, along with 18 other schools, receiving postseason bans.
The future looked bright for the Panthers’, completing one of the schools best seasons in more than a decade and making it to the conference championship game, before falling to Western Kentucky. Instead the Panthers’ are already set to finish the end of next season at home watching their opponents fight in the conference tournament.
The Men’s Basketball team is the only program in the school with a multi-year score of under 900, spanning between the years of 2008-2012. The Panthers’ recorded a score of 858.
The ban itself didn’t come as a surprise. Such action having been expected for a year now, mostly after the firing of former coach Isaiah Thomas. The 2010-11 season saw an APR score of 833, only to drop even lower in 2011-12 with a score of 750, according to the NCAA.
Not only will the basketball team, now under new head coach Anthony Evans, not be allowed to participate in the Conference USA tournament, they will also receive a reduction in practice time.
The Panthers’ will also be limited to five days and 16 hours of practice time a week. Such consequences though do not come as a surprise to Evans. Evans, while at Norfolk State, faced similar circumstances during his tenure.
Before the official news of the postseason ban, the Panthers’ had already felt the losses of guard Malik Smith, who followed in former coach Rick Pitinos footsteps to Minnesota, as well as Deric Hill and Juan Ferrales, who signed with Division two Barry University.
Isaiah Thomas’ time at FIU definitely hurt the program, but with the worst already upon us, the Panthers’ will have to continue the success of last season and begin to rebuild a program headed into a new conference.
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