Coach John Jakus takes over the Owls after Dusty May moves to the head coaching seat at Michigan. Coach Jakus has an extensive background as a head coach overseas. He worked for three years under Coach Mark Few at Gonzaga before joining Scott Drew’s staff at Baylor. He was the associate head coach at Baylor for the last two seasons. An irony in his career is that he was on Drew’s staff when the Bears met the Bulldogs for the 2021 national championship. Coach Jakus looks to keep FAU’s transition game and three-point attack as a continuation of the Owls’ team identity.

Questions of Content include:

• Coaching overseas as well as at Gonzaga and Baylor
• Developing the transition and culture at FAU
• The return of Tre Carroll and his presence on the floor
• International players coming into the Owls’ program

… And much more!

Coach Hamilton returns to “Marching to Madness” as he will feature another group of Colonels who can follow the team’s first conference championship in 45 years. Building the program with his quality approach has allowed him to win ASUN Coach of the Year in back-to-back seasons. The Colonels will run the floor, look for the early three, and feature many types of presses to wreak havoc on defense with their talented players.

Topics of Discussion Include:

• The confidence and stability of senior Tae Tae Blanton
• Building rotations with generally a new roster
• Developing shooters and attacking from three
• Playing for and coaching as an assistant at NC State to Coach Kevin Keatts

… And Much More!

Coach Drew is back for his 22nd season, leading the Baylor Bears. It’s amazing to trace back to how he took a wavering program and built it into a national champion in 2019. Baylor will be a Big 12 challenger is what has become one of the deepest conferences in the nation. The Bears will look to a backcourt of Jeremy Roach and VJ Edgecomb as complementary tools to Norchad Omier and Josh Ojianwuna in the post.

Topics of Discussion Include:

• Building Bears culture
• How Roach and Edgecomb could be a major 1-2 punch in college basketball
• Omier as a potential shooter from the perimeter as well as a aggressive athlete in the paint
• The 6-10 Ojianwuna’s inside presence

… And Much More!

Stephen F. Austin returns to the Southland Conference after the Lumberjacks have spent their last three seasons in the WAC. Coach Keller’s ‘Jacks tied for the regular season WAC title in year one before the team was besieged with injuries in the last two seasons. Before the move to the WAC, SFA went to the NCAA Tournament in 2018 and 2020 as the later was the season where Keller’s forces took an 85-83 win at Duke.

Topics of Discussion Include:

• The return to the Southland Conference
• Return of Matt Hayman and Nana Antwi-Boasiako
• Discussing how the offensive attack is made
• How coaching is different with the transfer portal and NIL

… And Much More!

Coach Hamilton starts his 23rd year as the Seminoles head coach as he has recorded 443 wins at FSU with 643 overall. He and his staff have worked throughout the recruiting season to put together a squad that will challenge in the ACC. Coach Hamilton returns Jamir Watkins as he is the only returning player in the ACC to be in the Top 10 in the league in both scoring and rebounding. Think back to 2020 when the NCAA Tournament was canceled because of COVID. Florida State finished with a 26-5 record and would have been a favorite to get to the Final Four and potentially win a national championship.

Topics of Discussion Include:

• Presenting information to a new squad so that everyone starts at the same place
• The opportunity for Jamir Watson to be a key leader
• The abilities of Daquan Davis and Bostyn Holt to be key components in the Semiole system
• Thoughts and ideas on the changes which are based on the transfer portal

… And much more!

Pittsburgh head coach Jeff Capel returns to MTM as he starts his seventh season with the Panthers and brought Pitt back into the NCAA Tournament in 2023 for the first appearance since 2017. The Panthers were 22-11 last year and were erroneously left out of the NCAAT despite winning 11 of their last 14 ACC games. Pittsburgh returns a solid group of contributors from a year as Ish Leggett could be the catalyst as he is the leading returning scorer and led Pitt in rebounds.

Topics of Discussion include:

• The abilities of Jaland Lowe with his ballhandling and playmaking skills
• How Ish Leggett could get even more shots this upcoming season
• Stylizing the Panthers’ three-point attack
• The solidity of assistants Jason Capel, Tim O’Toole and Milan Brown

Coach Kyle Smith comes back onto “Marching to Madness” as the new head coach of the Stanford Cardinal. He built Washington State back into an NCAA Tournament contender as the Cougars were a 7-seed last season and defeated Drake to get into the Round of 32. Stanford hasn’t been in the NCAAT since 2014, but the Cardinal had a run of 13 tournaments in 14 seasons under legendary Mike Montgomery. Coach Smith and the Cardinal open their first season in the ACC after the Cardinal was a long-standing Pac-12 member.

Topics of Discussion include:

• The return of Maxim Reynaud and how his many basketball talents will drive Stanford
• Developing his stellar defensive philosophy with use of the game’s metrics
• Eight quality new players who will fit with Reynaud, Ryan Agrawal, and Jaylen Thompson
• Changing from the PAc-12 to ACC play

Coach Pitino is bringing back the tradition of New Mexico in The Pit in Albuquerque as he has a 61-41 record after three seasons. Last year, UNM won 26 games and went to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2014. The Lobos won the Mountain West Tournament with four wins and four days as they took a 68-61 decision over San Diego State in the MWC Finals in Las Vegas.

Topics of Discussion include:

• How last season’s championship experience and NCAA Tournament berth can play a key role in this upcoming season
• The abilities of returnees Donovan Dent and Nelly Junior-Joseph
• How Nelly and last season’s co-MWC Freshman of the year Mustapha Amzil can maintain the paint
• The depth and challenge of the Mountain West after six teams were selected to the NCAAT last season
• Much more!

Louisiana head coach Bob Marlin joins us on “Marching to Madness” as he begins his 15th season as the head coach of the Ragin’ Cajuns. He has recorded 260 wins at Louisiana in a 32-year career that has seen him at Pensacola JC and Sam Houston State. Coach Marlin is currently the Sun Belt Conference leader in wins with 150.

Topics of Discussion Include:

• The injury to star Hosana Kitenge
• A backcourt with Kentrell Garnett and Oregon State transfer Michael Wright
• Coach Marlin’s philosophy on time management in practice
• Newcomers in Jeremiah Evans and Koron Davis
• Much more!

Coach Dru Joyce debuted on MTM as he was the associate head coach to Coach Keith Dambrot who retired after the 23-24 campaign and after a 40-year career. Joyce’s ability was a key concept in last season’s 25-12 record, A-10 Tournament championship, and the Dukes’ 71-67 win over BYU in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. He is a lifelong friend of NBA superstar Lebron James as LBJ broke the news on social media of Coach Joyce’s move to the head coaching position.

Topics of Discussion Include:

• Transition from associate head coach to becoming Duquesne’s head coach
• David Dixon and Jake DiMichele as key returnees and starters from a year ago
• 5-9 point guard Kareem Rozier with his skills as a playmaker who made 38.1 percent of his triples last season
• Eight transfers who can provide depth which will highlight the Dukes’ successful opportunities
• Much more!

Auburn Tigers head coach Bruce Pearl returns to the layup line on “Marching to Madness” as he brings back numerous talent, leadership, and a bevy of players that can make another run towards the top of the SEC. Pearl has led these Tigers to a pair of SEC Tournament titles in 2019 and 2024 while finishing on top of the league in the 2018 and 2022 regular seasons. His 676 lifetime wins give him a 72 percent winning percentage for his career.

Topics Include:

• Auburn Basketball’s accountability with the sustained success over these 10 years
• Johni Broome’s toughness and leadership on the hardwood
• The Tigers’ defensive endeavors
• Players’ abilities and how this team can fit into one of the country’s top programs in 2024-25
• Much more!