DUNK CITY, Fla. – FGCU men's basketball rising redshirt junior Haanif Cheatham has withdrawn his name from the 2018 NBA Draft and will return to the Eagles to make his debut season with Dunk City in 2018-19.
 
Cheatham – who transferred to FGCU in January after two extremely impressive seasons at Marquette – announced his intention to declare for the draft in March, but not hire an agent, allowing him to maintain his amateurism as he went through the recent evaluation process.
 
"We are extremely excited about what Haanif will bring to our team both on and off the court," said FGCU head coach Michael Fly. "He's a versatile offensive player who is a great decision-maker, play-maker and an elite defender. He's also a positive force in our locker room and the type of person we want to continue to build our culture around. I can't wait for all of Dunk City to get to see him play."
 
Cheatham will be eligible for at least three semesters (as it stands now beginning in December of 2018) as he sits outs in accordance with NCAA transfer rules.
 
At Marquette, the Fort Lauderdale native started 63 of 70 games he appeared in and was named to the Big East All-Freshman Team after averaging 11.8 points per game in 2015-16, starting all 33 contests. He reached the 20-point plateau four times – including a career-best 24 against Jackson State – and a stretch of 21, 21 and 20 points over a four-game Big East run versus Xavier, Providence and DePaul.
 
As a sophomore, Cheatham averaged 8.7 points and 3.8 rebounds per game, reaching double-figure points 14 times. As a junior this past year he played in the first five games before transferring, averaging 8.2 points and 2.8 rebounds in 26.2 minutes per contest.
 
The 6-5 guard from Pembroke Pines Charter High School has already scored 710 career points in 2+ seasons in one of the nation's top basketball conferences. Additionally, he won Marquette's Best Defensive Player Award both of his seasons in Milwaukee.
 
Cheatham is a career 79-percent free-throw shooter (183-232), in addition to connecting at a 47-percent rate from the floor (240-508) in his time at Marquette. He also had a positive assist-to-turnover ratio, averaged nearly a steal per game and played more than 27 minutes per outing.
 
Coming out of high school, Cheatham was a consensus top-100 prospect and was named to the First Team All-State as a senior after averaging 24 points, five rebounds and three assists per game. As a junior, he recorded four triple-doubles en route to Class 6A Player of the Year honors following averages of 26.2 points 7.5 rebounds, 4.5 assists and three steals per outing.
 
Cheatham returns to an FGCU program which went 23-12 in 2017-18, and won the ASUN Regular Season Championship outright for the second-straight season with a 12-2 record. FGCU played in the NIT for the second time in program history; part of a larger stretch of six postseason appearances in the program's first seven years of eligibility – believed to be the only team in NCAA D-I men's basketball history to have accomplished that feat.
 
SOCIAL CENTRAL
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COACH FLY
Michael Fly was introduced as the 4th FGCU men's basketball head coach on April 5, 2018. He had spent the previous seven years as an assistant coach on the Eagles' staff. In that time, he helped FGCU to a 155-86 record (.643 winning percentage), including six ASUN Tournament Final appearances, three NCAA Tournament victories, three ASUN Tournament titles and three ASUN Regular Season Championships, two berths in the NIT, a CIT appearance and a run to the Sweet Sixteen. He has coached a dozen all-conference selections while with the Green and Blue, including two ASUN Player of the Year honors in Sherwood Brown and Brandon Goodwin, and two ASUN Defensive Player of the Year selections in Bernard Thompson and Demetris Morant. Of the top-10 players in career points at FGCU, Fly has helped develop eight of them, including all-time leading scorer Thompson (1,835). Additionally, the Kentucky alumnus has coached both the ASUN all-time assists leader Brett Comer (845; 24th in NCAA history) and FGCU all-time leading rebounder Chase Fieler (714).
 
SUPPORT THE CAUSE
FGCU Athletics sponsors events throughout the year to benefit the FGCU Campus Food Pantry (www.fgcu.edu/foodpantry) and the Harry Chapin Food Bank (www.harrychapinfoodbank.org), FGCU Athletics' charities of choice. For more information, including how to make a contribution, please visit www.fgcu.edu/foodpantry and utilize the hashtag #FeedFGCU to help raise awareness.