THE GOOD NEWS
The Golden Panthers return all but two seniors and one of those, point guard Michael James, missed the last two months of the season after a suspension. They have a strong foundation to build off in 7-foot junior C Russell Hicks and junior F Alex Galindo.

THE BAD NEWS
The other senior, Chris Fuller, was a solid player whose toughness and maturity will be tough to replace. Unless someone makes some major strides, FIU will still be young and uncertain in the backcourt.

KEY RETURNEES
F Alex Galindo, C Russell Hicks, F Nikola Gacesa, G Erick Nsangou, F Cedric Essola.

ROSTER REPORT

--FIU coach Sergio Rouco finally has the inside presence he'd had been longing for in C Russell Hicks, a 7-foot transfer from Pepperdine and a third-team all-conference selection who finished 18th in the Sun Belt in scoring (12.3 points per game), eighth in rebounds (6.1 per game), fifth in field-goal percentage (.537) and first in blocked shots (2.00).

--Rouco wanted to use Galindo exclusively at small forward, where he could cause mismatches inside with his athleticism, but often had to go with him at power forward when Nikola Gacesa and Cedric Essola didn't measure up. Galindo still earned third-team all-conference honors with 13.3 points and 6.8 rebounds per game.

--With Michael James suspended and Texas A&M transfer Kenneth White leaving the team in January, FIU played the last two months of the season without the two guards they were counting on the most. That left freshman PGs Tremayne Russell and Nick Taylor to carry the team, a primary reason why FIU finished last in the Sun Belt with 18.5 turnovers per game.

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