Florida Atlantic University freshman Madiaw Niang managed to grow up rather rapidly and simultaneously give 2018 a memorable sendoff for the 9-4 Owls.
Niang, who has played primarily backup minutes this season, was the unlikely and unheralded source who played a pivotal role in FAU’s 73-71 OT upset of Illinois on Saturday.
A product of DME Academy in Daytona Beach, Fla., the 6-foot-9, 208-pound forward submitted career bests of 12 points and 14 boards. He exemplified a wide ranging defensive aptitude for the Owls, which rode the hot hand of gritty 5-foot-11 guard Anthony Adger (27 points).
A win of this magnitude is part of the national visibility the tony, massive Boca Raton school envisioned when hiring Dusty May to supplant Michael Curry in March.
“The coaching staff really prepared me mentally for it all,” said Niang, who is from the Senegal originally.
“It being a big stage and it being a game we really wanted after the Miami loss, coach May emphasized a bigger performance from me on both sides of the court from me coming into it.”
The Owls were dealt a dose of adversity when Jailyn Ingram was lost for the season to a torn ACL.
Ingram, who had surfaced as one of the nation’s leaders in field goal percentage, was playing at the rate of a league Player of the Year hopeful.
Also on the shelf has been Xavian Stephenson, a 6-foot-7 grad transfer via Mississippi State.
“Those guys are our leaders, they are the foundation. It’s easy to go out and want to win for them.”
If only Niang’s story were as easy.
Niang arrived at the United States at the Conrad Academy in Orlando during the 2016-17 campaign.
He played just 11 games during a shortened season, as an I-20 issue within the school ultimately cancelled the team’s season and sent him to Calusa Prep in Miami at the 11th hour.
While Niang’s raw feel for the game grew during the half year he spent at Calusa, he could not circumvent an SIAA-FL law preventing a player from sitting out the remainder of the season in the case of an in-conference transfer.
A late bloomer on the recruiting market, Niang’s stock soared during his lone season at the aforementioned DME Academy.
He erupted for 35 points and 14 boards during a win against Downey Christian, displaying a skill set which grew around the raw potential he arrived with.
Niang continued to entertain the role of focal point when he torched the now defunct and once nationally acclaimed Arlington Country Day School (FL) for 33 points.
He wound up averaging 15.2 points and a team-best 10 boards in conference play, shooting it at a 52 percent clip and even snatching 23 boards during a single game performance.
While he’s shown spurts and also struggled while acclimitizing to this level of play, Niang’s performance against the Illini is a powerful portent of what could be.
“This game gave me confidence of what I can do,” Niang explained.
“I was working a lot on rotations because Illinois has a bunch of guys who can flat out shoot it. I was more focused on my defense and then letting the offense come to me. Rebounding is the best thing I can do for this team, I think. A good rebounding game is a good game for me.”
Adger, who starred at Southern Methodist (JUCO) and only started half the season last year, is one of the few holdovers from the previous regime. He’s been a revelation with his scoring consistency.
He previously put up 19 against Miami and had 21 against Arkansas State. He’s ramped up his scoring presence, significantly, in the absence of Ingram (18.9 PPG).
