FORT MYERS, Fla. – Following their performances in the win over Georgia Southern to close out the non-conference schedule last week, sophomore
Cyrus Largie (Miramar, Fla./Mater Lakes Academy) and graduate student
Eli Abaev (Deerfield Beach, Fla./Austin Peay) have been named the ASUN Men's Basketball Player and Newcomer of the Week, respectively.
The honors are the first for each and marks the second time this season FGCU has received one of the two weekly league awards. Junior
Caleb Catto (Cape Coral, Fla./Southwest Florida Christian Academy) was named the ASUN Player of the Week on Dec. 14.
The win over Georgia Southern improved FGCU to 5-2 on the year entering league play which starts this upcoming Friday and Saturday (Jan. 1 & 2) against North Alabama at Alico Arena.
"I'm really happy to see Cyrus and Eli earn this league recognition," said head coach
Michael Fly. "They have been playing well consistently throughout the start of the season. A lot of our success so far has been due to effort plays, getting second-chance opportunities, and hustle on the defensive end – I thought they, in particular, did all that and more last week in our win over Georgia State."
Largie tallied a career-high 16 points on 7-of-12 shooting against Georgia Southern. He added a team-high eight rebounds while recording two assists and a steal. The sophomore has had a strong start to the year with six consecutive games scoring in double-figures. He now ranks as FGCU's second-leading scorer at 12.0 points per game while also averaging 6.6 rebounds.
Abaev notched 10 points and hauled in six rebounds marking his third game this season in double-figure scoring. He also added a season-high two blocks, a steal, and an assist in the win. The graduate transfer from Austin Peay has been a stalwart in the front court averaging 7.9 points and a team-high 8.6 rebounds per game. Among league players, Abaev ranks second overall in rebounds per game.
2020-21 ASUN Weekly Award Winners
Dec. 28 | Player: Cyrus Largie, FGCU; Newcomer: Eli Abaev, FGCU
Dec. 21 | Players: Emanuel Littles, North Alabama & Rob Perry, Stetson; Newcomer: Chase Johnston, Stetson
Dec. 14 | Player: Caleb Catto, FGCU; Newcomer: Dontarius James, Jacksonville
Dec. 7 | Player: Keegan McDowell, Liberty; Newcomer: Dontarius James, Jacksonville
Nov. 30 | Player: Darius McGhee, Liberty; Newcomer: Romeao Ferguson, Lipscomb
Single-game tickets, along with several mini-plan packages, are on sale now through the Alico Arena Ticket Office. Fans are encouraged to order tickets online through
www.FGCUTickets.com or by calling 866-FGCU-TIX. FGCU is using mobile ticketing this year as part of its COVID-19 protocols so please check
www.FGCUTickets.com for complete details or call the ticket office to speak with a customer service representative. Fans who order one of the four-game mini-plans that are offered, they will also receive their choice of an Eagles hat, bag, or t-shirt!
For complete coverage of FGCU men's basketball, follow the Eagles on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook at @FGCU_MBB and online at
www.FGCUAthletics.com. You can also sign-up to have news on FGCU men's basketball and other programs delivered directly to your inbox by visiting
www.fgcuathletics.com/email.
SUSTAINING FLIGHT
To help offset the financial impact of COVID-19, FGCU Athletics has launched the Sustaining Flight Fundraiser. The fundraising campaign will help mitigate operational revenue loss and the additional expenses incurred as a result of COVID-19 protocols. All funds raised during the campaign will go to support areas that directly impact student-athletes. For more information, visit www.fgcuathletics.com/sustainingflight.
E.A.G.L.E. CAMPAIGN
IT TAKES A TEAM to achieve our newest goal - a $10 million campaign to address student-athlete needs in continued academic success, life skills, mental health, nutrition, and strength and conditioning as well as departmental needs in facility expansion and improvement as well as mentoring and leadership training for coaches and staff. The name embodies our mission and the purpose of the E.A.G.L.E. Campaign - Eagle Athletics Generating Lifetime Excellence.
Join Our Team and pledge your gift today to help the Eagles of tomorrow!
COACH FLY
Michael Fly was introduced as the fourth 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 his time with the Eagles, he helped FGCU to a 169-110 record (.603 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 16. He has coached 13 all-conference selections while with the Green and Blue, including two ASUN Player of the Year honors in Sherwood Brown and Brandon Goodwin, two ASUN Defensive Player of the Year selections in Bernard Thompson and Demetris Morant and one ASUN Newcomer of the Year in
Schadrac Casimir. 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).
#FEEDFGCU
FGCU Athletics sponsors events in November and April 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.
ABOUT FGCU
FGCU teams have combined to win an incredible 82 conference regular season and tournament titles in just 13 seasons at the Division I level. Additionally, in just nine seasons of D-I postseason eligibility, the Eagles have had a combined 38 teams or individuals compete in NCAA championships. Seven FGCU programs have earned a top-25 national ranking in their respective sport – including women's basketball (No. 24, 2019-20) and both men's soccer (2018, 2019) and women's soccer (2018) as three of the most recent. In 2016-17, the Green and Blue posted a department-best sixth-place finish in the DI-AAA Learfield Directors' Cup and top-100 showing nationally, ahead of several Power-5 and FBS institutions. In 2018-19, the Eagles had an ASUN and state of Florida best seven teams earn the NCAA's Public Recognition Award for their Academic Progress Rate (APR) in their sport and have had the highest percentage of teams so honored from these two groups over each of the past three years. FGCU also collectively earned a record 3.46 GPA in the classroom in the spring 2020 semester and has outperformed the general University undergraduate population for 22 consecutive semesters. The 2019 Fall and 2020 Spring semesters each saw another milestone reached as all 15 programs achieved a 3.0-or-higher team GPA. The Eagles also served an all-time high 7,200 volunteer hours in 2017 – being recognized as one of two runners-up for the inaugural NACDA Community Service Award presented by the Fiesta Bowl.
--FGCUATHLETICS.COM--
