Brimming with confidence and a newfound veteran swagger, Florida Atlantic University’s Anthony Adger has been a consistent high-scoring source for a suddenly revived 9-4 Owls program.
After averaging just 6.1 points during a mercurial junior season, one of the few holdovers from the previous regime is averaging 20.4 PPG over a recent four game span.
The diminutive but rugged senior guard has embodied the leadership component. It has all been a necessity, as a pair of injuries to Jailyn Ingram (torn ACL, out for the season) and sharpshooting 6-foot-7 grad transfer Xavian Stapleton (eyeballing a return as early as next week) instantly propelled Adger to the role of elder statesman on a youth-laden team.
With his 27-point eruption (8-for-15 FG, 2-5 3FG, 9-9 FT), Adger was the scoring engine that propelled Florida Atlantic to a wild 73-71 OT victory over Illinois back on December 29.
He’s shot over 50 percent in his last two performances. The South Carolina native has knocked back 16 of his last 17 free throw attempts.
It was Adger’s pull-up 3-pointer with 2:28 remaining in OT that gave the Owls’ a 68-67 edge. Adger accelerated from halfcourt into the teeth of Illinois defense for a traditional 3-point play and a 73-71 advantage with 20.1 ticks remaining.
Illinois misfired on two final 3-point attempts as FAU pulled off a resume win– despite missing three starters.
A high-octane guard and the team’s primary ball handler, Adger brings unbridled energy on a day to day basis. He’s rapidly evolved as a quintessential “buy-in” guy, leading by example as his style aligns with the responsibility required of a seasoned point guard.
“From Day 1, Ant has been an extremely hard worker and an infectious leader,” FAU head coach Dusty May said.
“His success is a direct result of the work he’s put into his game.”
After starting in just 14 games last season, Adger has been as consistent a shot-maker as there is across the roster.
The full throttle, sustained relentlessness he exhibits is evident throughout practice, as even the slightest in-house competition elicits maximized competitive juices within him.
The aforementioned Ingram was playing at the furious pace of an unrivaled go-to guy before sustaining the injury. He was averaging a team-best 18.9 PPG and shooting it at a 55 percent clip.
After a 75-55 trouncing at the hands of Miami, the Owls appeared hell-bent on a bounce back.
A win against a high-profile program of Illinois’ caliber was what FAU had been thirsting for since implementing the proverbial national search for a new head coach.
Following last year’s disappointing 12-19 season which ultimately sent Michael Curry packing in March, May surfaced as the ideal choice to help put basketball on the same plane as football.
The primary assistant and lead recruiter under Mike White at Florida, May has helped instill a new culture and establish basketball as a bellwether program on the sprawling Boca Raton campus.
With the roster thoroughly cleansed from last year and promising new blood, FAU has already totaled the most non-conference wins (9) since it ascended to the Division-I ranks.
The Illinois win culminated with May being named Dick Vitale’s Coach of the Week.
Home Boys: The FAU/Illinois matchup elicited unique memories for local Florida basketball fans. FAU’s Richardson Maitre and Illinois’ Andres Feliz, once the dazzling 1-2 punch for West Oaks Academy of Orlando, played against each other for the first time in their collegiate careers. Both are remembered as one of the state’s best backcourt tandems during the 2015-16 SIAA-FL season, when they accounted for roughly 55 percent of a callow and youth-laden team’s offensive output.
It was another SIAA product, DME Academy’s Madiaw Niang, who put his stamp on the game. The raw and evolving 6-foot-9, 208-pound forward had 12 points and 14 rebounds in his most meaningful minutes to date.
