C-USA scoring champ reflects on collegiate career

David Drucker/Staff Writer

David Drucker speaks to C-USA scoring champ Dennis Mavin

 

For senior guard Dennis Mavin, leading all Conference USA players in scoring wasn’t the goal – it just came with the territory of being a leader.

The Gainesville native entered the 2014-2015 men’s basketball season with high expectations. He would have to score often enough to replace players like Tymell Murphy, but the pace he set ended up becoming a C-USA best mark of 17.2 points per game.

“[Being a leader] is something that me and Head Coach Anthony Evans talked about at the beginning of the season. My role was going to be bigger this year and I embraced that,” Mavin said.

Mavin’s team finished the season with a record of 16-17. After a dramatic victory over the University of Texas at San Antonio Roadrunners, the Panthers were eliminated in the second round of the C-USA Tournament by the University of Texas at El Paso Miners.

In addition to scoring, Mavin led FIU players in assists with an average of 3.1 per game.

The senior guard wasn’t the Panthers’ only impact player this season. Mavin attributes some of his success to the play of junior forward Adrian Diaz (13.0 points per game, 6.9 rebounds per game).

“When you have a high-level player like Diaz, it automatically draws a lot of attention to him. It made teams double Diaz, which opened up the floor for me” said Mavin.

What may be the biggest moment of Mavin’s career so far came in the final seconds against UTSA in the first round of the C-USA tournament. After the Roadrunners tied it up at 54-54, Mavin had less than three seconds to throw up a shot and avoid overtime.

“I know I only had time to get one or two more dribbles. I just wanted to have the ball in my hands because I knew I could get it to half court. It was a crazy shot – I can’t really put it into words,” Mavin said.

Coach Evans hardly seemed surprised that Mavin pulled off the shot after the game. He stated that he’s seen shots from that distance made in practice before. Mavin, however, told FIU Student Media that those attempts are usually just taken for fun.

“Me and some of the guys mess around a lot going through different scenarios. We’ll throw up a lot of half court shots, messing around with a countdown like ‘5, 4, 3, 2, 1,” said Mavin.

Now that his career at the University is complete, Mavin is ready for his next venture – professional basketball.

“I’m talking to different agents and should be signing with one in the next week or so. I’m getting ready to pursue my professional career,” Mavin said.

“It’s been an amazing year. I’m grateful for all of the achievements I accomplished in a short amount of time. I appreciate all of the coaches that worked with me and definitely [Head Coach] Evans, who trusted me enough to lead the team,” he said.