FGCU Men's Basketball 2019-20 Season Recap
Record	10-22, 7-9 ASUN (6th)
Final Stats	Interactive | PDF
Final Results	2019-20 Schedule & Results
ASUN Newcomer of the Week	Dakota Rivers (2/24), Jalen Warren (2/3), Sam Gagliardi (1/6)
FGCU Scholar-Athlete of the Month	Sam Gagliardi (March), Caleb Catto (December)
Twitter	@FGCUEagles // @FGCU_MBB
Instagram	FGCU Men's Basketball
Facebook	FGCU Men's Basketball

FORT MYERS, Fla. - Though the 2019-20 FGCU men's basketball season did not meet lofty preseason expectations,  the development and experience of young players this season in addition to Coach Fly's second recruiting class arriving in Fort Myers offers fans reason for optimism and excitement moving forward.
 
That optimism is based on the growth of the team during the course of the year where only three scholarship players entered the season with extensive playing experience and a wealth of newcomers earned valuable minutes. A rash of preseason and early season injuries impacted the line-up forcing young players to see extended minutes and more extensive roles sooner than expected.
 
Bright spots from the past year included the emergence of sophomore Caleb Catto as one of the league's top scorers and most improved players. The Cape Coral, FL, native increased his scoring by over eight points to lead the Eagles with 12.7 per night after starting all 32 games of the year. He notched five 20-point games during the season and ranked among the top 10 of ASUN players in eight statistical categories.
 
Junior transfers Justus Rainwater and Jalen Warren (Milton, Ontario) each became go-to pieces of the puzzle and solidified themselves among some of the best returning players in the ASUN heading into 2020-21. Rainwater found himself playing more significant minutes early in the season after an injury to junior Brian Thomas (Kennesaw, GA) in the season-opener at defending Atlantic 10 champion Saint Louis. The native of Enumclaw, WA, anchored the defense as one of the top shot blockers in the league and grew to be a significant offensive presence as the year went on.
 
Warren had several clutch performances as the lead point guard during the year including the game-winner against FAU which was the No. 1 Play of the Day on ESPN's SportsCenter. He finished the year as the team's second leading scorer with 10.9 points per game while leading the squad, and ranking second in the ASUN, for assists (120). Those 120 assists rank as the ninth-most for a single season in program history. In overtime, Warren displayed a knack for making crucial plays as he led the Eagles with a total of 20 points in three extra session games.
 
Other newcomers who made impactful debuts for the Green and Blue included freshmen Cyrus Largie (Miramar, FL) and Dakota Rivers (Windermere, FL) alongside junior Sam Gagliardi (Gig Harbor, WA). Largie earned a scholarship following the season and started the last four games he played during the year where he averaged 9.5 points and 6.3 rebounds. Rivers set the FGCU freshman record for blocked shots (39) which were the eighth most for a single-season in program history. Gagliardi showed flashes throughout the year of his prolific shooting ability from deep with eight games where he hit three-or-more triples and was one of three Eagles to be named ASUN Newcomer of the Week during the season (Warren, Rivers).
 
Freshman Qwanzi Samuels also earned valuable minutes in his rookie campaign having played in 25 games with four starts. The District Heights, MD., native showed flashes of potential throughout the year both on both sides of the floor. Also earning minutes during the year was freshman guard Jalen Harper (Mableton, GA) who played in 16 games with two starts and averaged 2.9 points per outing.
 
The Eagles do lose four players from 2019-20, but only sophomore Zach Scott (Miami, FL) and senior Tracy Hector Jr. (Riverdale, GA) played consistent minutes throughout the season of the players departing.
 
Scott finished third on the team in scoring at 10.8 points while starting in 23 of 32 games played. Scott led the team and ranked third in the ASUN with 43 steals.
 
After suffering an injury against Saint Louis, Thomas missed 12 games before returning to the line-up in limited minutes. On the defensive side, Thomas was able to contribute with 34 blocked shots including a single game-tying performance with eight at Lipscomb in the ASUN Quaterfinal.
 
Redshirt freshman Malik Hardy (Miramar, FL) also played a shortened season suiting up in just 18 games after missing the start of the year due to injury. He posted the team's first double-double of the year with 13 points and 12 rebounds against Campbell and scored a career-high 16 points against North Alabama.
 
Hector became immediately eligible for the year just prior to the start of 2019-20 after transferring from Florida A&M. That waiver helped the Eagles as it came right when returning senior Christian Carlyle (Jacksonville, FL), one of the top returners from the prior year, was deemed out for the year due to injury. Hector earned 23 starts in 30 games and ranked third on the team in both rebounds (121) and assists (73).
 
Entering the 2020-21 season, head coach Michael Fly has a talented group of newcomers already signed to the program that will bolster the returning group to give the Eagles the most experienced team to suit up for the Green and Blue since the 2017-18 season. The Eagles return 70-percent of their scoring from a year ago and seven players who saw action in 25-or-more games. That total alone puts FGCU ahead of this past year where the Eagles had just 22-percent of its scoring coming back and three players who saw significant action during the previous season.
 
Zach Anderson (Orlando, FL/Apopka HS), Dom London (Christiana, PA/Octorara HS/Harcum College), Luis Rolon (Ponce, Puerto Rico/Central Pointe Christian Academy) and Victor Rosa (Naranjito, Puerto Rico/Central Pointe Christian Academy) all signed National Letters of Intent with the Eagles during the November early signing period and will be a key group moving forward. Rosa, Rolon and Anderson are all ranked in the top 26 high school players in the state of Florida (FloridaHoops.com) while Dom London was recently honored as a third team junior college all American (njcaa.org). Rolon and Rosa are high school teammates who won a state championship at Central Pointe Christian Academy and were consistent performers while playing a nationally ranked prep schedule.  
 
Anderson will add to the front court for the Eagles after a standout career at Apopka High School. Rosa, Rolon and Anderson also played for Florida AAU powerhouse E1T1 during the summer of 2019 together.  London just completed a standout junior college career at nationally ranked Harcum College in Pennsylvania and had games of nine and 10 made threes during his sophomore campaign. He closed out his career there earning NJCAA Third Team All-America honors for the 2019-20 campaign.
 
Austin Peay grad transfer Eli Abaev (Deerfield Beach, FL/Zion Lutheran HS/Eastern Florida State) signed on the first day of the Spring signing period and will bring proven production at the Division I level after averaging almost 8 points and 8 rebounds for a 21 win OVC program. Abaev also played with FGCU senior to be Jalen Warren at Eastern Florida State College during a 30 win campaign that resulted in a third place finish nationally.
 
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.
 
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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!
 
#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 12-plus seasons at the Division I level. Additionally, in just eight-plus 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 (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 in their sport. FGCU also collectively earned a record 3.35 GPA in the classroom in the spring 2018 semester and has outperformed the general University undergraduate population for twenty-one consecutive semesters. The 2019 Fall semester 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.
 
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