By Brett Shweky/Editor
With the 2018-19 season in the rearview mirror for FIU, one aspect is blatantly obvious for the Panthers as they head into year two of the Jeremy Ballard era – the team will significantly miss graduating senior point guard Brian Beard Jr.
Behind the impactful efforts of Beard Jr., the Panthers orchestrated a historic season after the team earned their first-ever postseason victory against Texas State in the opening round of the Collegeinsider.com Tournament on March 23 in San Marcos, TX.
Beard Jr. throughout the campaign was consistently the glue that held FIU’s remarkable season together with him having led the team in scoring (17.6), assists (6.0) and steals-per-game (2.9).
The Panthers, who reached the postseason for the first time since the 1994-95 season, also recorded 20 wins this season which tied them for the second most victories in program history. The 1992-93 squad posted 20 wins as well.
He closes out his two-year FIU career sixth on the school’s all-time scoring list (1,096) while placing second in program history in assists (381) and steals (190).
“It feels go knowing that we accomplished something here. The younger class coming in, I feel like they’re going to take this program to a different level then we did. It just feels good,” said Beard Jr. following the team’s victory against North Texas to conclude the regular season.
For the second year in a row, the five-foot-ten, 180 pound playmaker proved to be one of the most dynamic players in Conference USA with Beard Jr. having been named to the All-Conference Second Team as well as the league’s All-Defensive Team this season.
Beard Jr.’s 17.6 points-per-game placed him sixth in C-USA in scoring, while his 6.0 assists-per-game placed him second in the league.
The statistic that caught the eye of the nation, however, was Beard Jr.’s steals-per-game total in the regular season (2.9) which ranked him fourth in the entire nation. Washington’s Matisse Thybulle led the country in the category with 3.4 steals-per-game.
During his first season with FIU in 2017-2018 under former head coach Anthony Evans, Beard Jr. flashed onto the C-USA high-profile player radar as he earned Third Team All-Conference honors and was named to the league’s All-Defensive team for the first time.
Despite his eye-opening inaugural season with the Panthers, the team never failed to generate success as they posted a dismal 14-18 record.
Following the conclusion of the 2017-2018 campaign, Evans was let go as the team’s head coach.
As the program flipped the page the Ballard era, Beard Jr. was thrusted into a more significant leadership role for the team after fellow senior Eric Lockett announced his intent to transfer to North Carolina State from FIU.
Lockett, who spent his sophomore and junior seasons with the Panthers, was a cornerstone of the team’s roster as the six-foot-five guard averaged 14.3 points-per-game and 6.5 rebounds-per-contest during his final year with FIU.
“It’s very hard going into your senior year, and you get a brand new coaching staff,” Ballard said. “These guys didn’t sign up for a new coaching staff to come. They didn’t sign up for me to come. I couldn’t be more thankful for them allowing us to coach them. A team is nothing without its seniors and its senior leadership.”
As one of three seniors on the team, Beard Jr. displayed his leadership abilities on and off the court throughout the season and also helped mold some of the younger players on the roster.
Beard Jr. proved to be a mentor for freshman and fellow guard Antonio Daye Jr., who found himself playing and contributing during critical moments in the season.
“When I first got here, he used to push me every day,” Daye Jr. “He used to just attack me in practice, and I didn’t know what to do. I wanted to quit at times, but he just kept telling me just to keep pushing and that I’ll be the future of this program. He sees potential in me and knowing that he believes in me made me believe in myself.”
Daye Jr., a Fort Lauderdale High School graduate, showed flashes of his diverse skillset throughout the season and might perhaps be the player to take the torch from Beard Jr.
