Florida International Lands JUCO Pair
With its South Florida location, Florida International is the ideal place to attract talented Latin American basketball players.
So from that standpoint, Donnie Marsh's Panther program has appeared to hit the daily double this summer with a pair of early commitments from Dominican natives Junior Matias and Eulie Baez.
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Matias and Baez play at Southeastern C.C. in West Burlington, Ia., for Head Coach Joe O'Brien, who confirmed the commitments for JUCO Junction/Rivalshoops.com. (O'Brien is pictured at right)
Matias, a strong 6-1, 195 pound shooting/combo guard, and Baez, a rock solid 6-7, 220 pound power forward, could be impact players in 2002-2003 for FIU.
Both players enjoyed fine freshmen years for the Blackhawks.
Matias averaged 12 points, three rebounds and two assists before a midseason injury severely curtailed his playing time.
Baez, who did not become eligible until after the first semester, averaged 15 points, nine rebounds and two assists per game. He was a major reason that Southeastern clicked in the second half of the season and gave Indian Hills a serious run at the Region 11 crown.
Matias had attended Miami Christian H.S. in Florida prior to enrolling at Southeastern, so he has some prior acquaintance with the Sunshine State. On the other hand, Baez did not play high school ball in the states before arriving at junior college.