2024–25 FIU Panthers men's basketball team

2024–25 FIU Panthers men's basketball
2024–25 FIU Panthers men's basketball
Conference	Conference USA
Record	1–2 (0–0 C-USA)
Head coach	Jeremy Ballard (7th season);
Associate head coach	Jesse Bopp
Assistant coaches	Joey Rodriguez; Zavier Anderson;
Home arena	Ocean Bank Convocation Center
	Seasons ← 2023–24 2025–26 →

The 2024–25 FIU Panthers men's basketball team represents Florida International University in the 2024–25 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Panthers, led by seventh-year head coach Jeremy Ballard, play their home games at Ocean Bank Convocation Center in Miami, Florida as members of Conference USA.

2024–25 Conference USA men's basketball standings
v t e	Conf				Overall
Team	W		L	PCT	W		L	PCT
Louisiana Tech	0	–	0	–	4	–	0	1.000
Jacksonville State	0	–	0	–	4	–	1	.800
Kennesaw State	0	–	0	–	4	–	1	.800
Liberty	0	–	0	–	4	–	1	.800
Middle Tennessee	0	–	0	–	4	–	1	.800
New Mexico State	0	–	0	–	3	–	1	.750
UTEP	0	–	0	–	3	–	1	.750
Sam Houston	0	–	0	–	3	–	2	.600
Western Kentucky	0	–	0	–	3	–	2	.600
FIU	0	–	0	–	1	–	3	.250

† 2025 CUSA tournament winner As of November 21, 2024

Previous season

The Panthers finished the 2023–24 season 11–22, 5–11 in C-USA play to finish in last place. As a No. 9 seed, they defeat Jacksonville State in the first round of the C-USA tournament before losing to Sam Houston.

Offseason

Departures

Name	Number	Pos.	Height	Weight	Year	Hometown	Reason for departure
Arturo Dean	2	G	5'11"	163	Sophomore	Miami, FL	Transferred to Oklahoma State^[1]
Javaunte Hawkins	3	G	5'11"	160	Senior	Lee's Summit, MO	Graduated
Seth Pinkney	4	C	7'1"	200	Senior	Warminster, PA	Graduated
Petar Krivokapic	23	G	6'4"	214	Junior	Budva, Montenegro	Transferred to Pacific
Mohamed Sanogo	33	F	6'9"	200	Junior	Pittsfield, MA	Signed to play professionally in Spain with Córdoba CB^[2]

Incoming transfers

Name	Number	Pos.	Height	Year	Hometown	Previous School
Asim Jones	2	G	6'2"	Junior	Paterson, NJ	College of Southern Idaho^[3]
Vianney Salatchoum	23	C	6'10"	Junior	Yaoundé, Cameroon	Panola College
Olajuwon Ibrahim	34	C	6'9"	Junior	Lagos, Nigeria	Southeastern CC^[4]

2024 recruiting class

US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes
Name	Hometown	High school / college	Height	Weight	Commit date
Ashton Williamson #34 PG	Gary, IN	Calumet High School	6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)	175 lb (79 kg)	May 23, 2024
Ashton Williamson #34 PG	Recruiting star ratings: Rivals: N/A 247Sports: ESPN: ESPN grade: 79
Kole Williams SF	Dallas, TX	Carter High School	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)	195 lb (88 kg)	May 24, 2024
Kole Williams SF	Recruiting star ratings: Rivals: N/A 247Sports:
Overall recruiting rankings:
Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight. In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale. Sources: "2024 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved October 21, 2024.

Roster

2024–25 FIU Panthers men's basketball team

Players

Coaches

Pos.	#	Name	Height	Weight	Year	Previous school	Hometown
F	0	Chris Okeke	6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)	235 lb (107 kg)	Sr	Lipscomb Tallahassee CC	East Chicago, Indiana
G	1	Dashon Gittens	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)	180 lb (82 kg)	Jr	Putnam Science Academy	Hartford, Connecticut
G	2	Asim Jones	6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)	170 lb (77 kg)	Jr	Paterson Charter College of Southern Idaho	Paterson, New Jersey
G	3	Ashton Williamson	6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)	170 lb (77 kg)	Fr	21st Century Charter	Gary, Indiana
G	5	Jaidon Lipscomb	6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)	170 lb (77 kg)	Sr	Dohn Community High School Lakeland CC	Columbus, Ohio
G	10	Travis Gray	6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)	195 lb (88 kg)	Sr	Henninger HS Mohawk Valley CC	Syracuse, New York
G	11	Jayden Brewer	6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)	160 lb (73 kg)	Jr	Combine Academy	Indianapolis, Indiana
F	12	Dante Wilcox	6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)	220 lb (100 kg)	RS Sr	Oxbridge Academy	West Palm Beach, Florida
G	15	Renato Ruiz (W)	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)	185 lb (84 kg)	Sr	American Heritage HS	Plantation, Florida
F	21	Jonathan Aybar	6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)	215 lb (98 kg)	Sr	Central Pointe Christian Academy North Florida	Kissimmee, Florida
G	22	Onyx Pastoriza (W)	5 ft 8 in (1.73 m)	150 lb (68 kg)	GS	Miami Triple Threat Prep	Arecibo, Puerto Rico
C	23	Vianney Salatchoum	6 ft 11 in (2.11 m)	225 lb (102 kg)	Jr	Panola College	Yaoundé, Cameroon
G	24	Jaden Grant (W)	5 ft 11 in (1.8 m)	170 lb (77 kg)	Sr	NSU University School	Davie, Florida
G	25	Kole Williams	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)	220 lb (100 kg)	Fr	Carter HS	Dallas, Texas
G	31	George Pridgett Jr.	5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)	160 lb (73 kg)	Sr	Roswell HS Polk State College	Boston, Massachusetts
F	34	Olajuwon Ibrahim	6 ft 10 in (2.08 m)	210 lb (95 kg)	Jr	Southeastern Community College	Lagos, Nigeria

Head coach

Jeremy Ballard (Colgate)

Assistant coach(es)

Jesse Bopp (Plymouth State)
Joey Rodriguez (VCU)
Zavier Anderson (Clemson)

Legend

(C) Team captain
(S) Suspended
(I) Ineligible
(W) Walk-on

Injured
Current redshirt

Roster

Schedule and results

Date time, TV	Opponent^#	Result	Record	High points	High rebounds	High assists	Site (attendance) city, state
Non-conference regular season
November 5, 2024* 7:00 p.m., ESPN+	at Rice	L 70–77	0–1	18 – Tied	9 – Brewer	4 – Brewer	Tudor Fieldhouse (1,111) Houston, TX
November 9, 2024* 8:30 p.m., ESPN+	at Southern Utah C-USA/WAC Alliance	L 75–80	0–2	22 – Brewer	7 – Brewer	5 – Williamson	America First Event Center (2,856) Cedar City, UT
November 14, 2024* 7:00 p.m., ESPN+	Florida National	W 110–55	1–2	18 – Okeke	10 – Okeke	6 – Brewer	Ocean Bank Convocation Center (947) Miami, FL
November 18, 2024* 7:00 p.m., ESPN+	Howard						Ocean Bank Convocation Center Miami, FL
November 22, 2024* 1:00 p.m.	vs. Northeastern Homewood Suites Classic						Alico Arena Fort Myers, FL
November 23, 2024* 11:00 a.m.	vs. Cal State Bakersfield Homewood Suites Classic						Alico Arena Fort Myers, FL
November 24, 2024* 3:00 p.m., ESPN+	at Florida Gulf Coast Homewood Suites Classic						Alico Arena Fort Myers, FL
December 4, 2024* 6:30 p.m., CBSSN	Florida Atlantic						Ocean Bank Convocation Center Miami, FL
December 6, 2024* 7:00 p.m., ESPN+	New College of Florida						Ocean Bank Convocation Center Miami, FL
December 14, 2024* 4:00 p.m., ESPN+	at Stetson						Edmunds Center DeLand, FL
December 17, 2024* 7:00 p.m., ESPN+	at East Carolina						Williams Arena Greenville, NC
December 21, 2024* 6:00 p.m., ESPN+	IU Indy						Ocean Bank Convocation Center Miami, FL
December 30, 2024* 12:00 p.m., ESPN+	Utah Tech C-USA/WAC Alliance						Ocean Bank Convocation Center Miami, FL
Conference USA regular season
January 2, 2025 7:00 p.m., ESPN+	Middle Tennessee						Ocean Bank Convocation Center Miami, FL
January 4, 2025 2:00 p.m., ESPN+	Western Kentucky						Ocean Bank Convocation Center Miami, FL
January 9, 2025 7:30 p.m., ESPN+	at Louisiana Tech						Thomas Assembly Center Ruston, LA
January 11, 2025 3:30 p.m., ESPN+	at Sam Houston						Bernard Johnson Coliseum Huntsville, TX
January 16, 2025 7:00 p.m., ESPN+	New Mexico State						Ocean Bank Convocation Center Miami, FL
January 18, 2025 2:00 p.m., ESPN+	UTEP						Ocean Bank Convocation Center Miami, FL
January 25, 2025 6:00 p.m., ESPN+	Liberty						Ocean Bank Convocation Center Miami, FL
January 30, 2025 7:00 p.m., ESPN+	at Jacksonville State						Pete Mathews Coliseum Jacksonville, AL
February 1, 2025 5:00 p.m., ESPN+	at Kennesaw State						Convocation Center Kennesaw, GA
February 6, 2025 7:00 p.m., ESPN+	Sam Houston						Ocean Bank Convocation Center Miami, FL
February 8, 2025 2:00 p.m., ESPN+	Louisiana Tech						Ocean Bank Convocation Center Miami, FL
February 13, 2025 9:00 p.m., ESPN+	at UTEP						Don Haskins Center El Paso, TX
February 15, 2025 9:00 p.m., ESPN+	at New Mexico State						Pan American Center Las Cruces, NM
February 22, 2025 2:00 p.m., ESPN+	at Liberty						Liberty Arena Lynchburg, VA
February 27, 2025 7:00 p.m., ESPN+	Kennesaw State						Ocean Bank Convocation Center Miami, FL
March 1, 2025 2:00 p.m., ESPN+	Jacksonville State						Ocean Bank Convocation Center Miami, FL
March 6, 2025 8:00 p.m., ESPN+	at Western Kentucky						E. A. Diddle Arena Bowling Green, KY
March 8, 2025 3:00 p.m., ESPN+	at Middle Tennessee						Murphy Center Murfreesboro, TN
Conference USA tournament
March 11–15, 2025 TBA	vs.						Von Braun Center Huntsville, AL
*Non-conference game. ^#Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Eastern.

Source^[5]

References

^ Wright, Scott (April 24, 2024). "Oklahoma State men's basketball adds Florida International guard Arturo Dean from portal". The Oklahoman. Retrieved October 21, 2024.
^ Herman, Howard (August 26, 2024). "Former Taconic basketball standout Mohamed Sanogo signs to play professionally in Spain". The Berkshire Eagle. Retrieved October 21, 2024.
^ Engel, Adam (April 18, 2024). "CSI's Asim Jones signs with Florida International". Times-News. Retrieved October 21, 2024. (subscription required)
^ Sesker, Craig (June 12, 2024). "SCC's Ibrahim commits to Florida International". The Hawk Eye. Retrieved October 21, 2024.
^ "2024–25 Men's Basketball Schedule". FIU Athletics. Retrieved October 21, 2024.

[1] Wright, Scott (April 24, 2024). "Oklahoma State men's basketball adds Florida International guard Arturo Dean from portal". The Oklahoman. Retrieved October 21, 2024.

[2] Herman, Howard (August 26, 2024). "Former Taconic basketball standout Mohamed Sanogo signs to play professionally in Spain". The Berkshire Eagle. Retrieved October 21, 2024.

[3] Engel, Adam (April 18, 2024). "CSI's Asim Jones signs with Florida International". Times-News. Retrieved October 21, 2024. (subscription required)

[4] Sesker, Craig (June 12, 2024). "SCC's Ibrahim commits to Florida International". The Hawk Eye. Retrieved October 21, 2024.

[5] "2024–25 Men's Basketball Schedule". FIU Athletics. Retrieved October 21, 2024.

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