FORT MYERS, Fla. – The FGCU men's basketball team makes its home debut on Sunday as the Eagles host Ave Maria. Tip-off against the Gyrenes is set for 6 p.m. and can be streamed on ESPN+ with John Vittas and Greg Anderson on the call.
After a big season-opening 74-61 win over former Eagles head coach Andy Enfield and the USC Trojans in Los Angeles, the Green and Blue could not complete the California sweep as they fell to San Diego, 79-73, on Wednesday.
In the win over the Trojans, newcomers
Chase Johnston (Boca Raton, Fla./Westminster Academy/Stetson),
Isaiah Thompson (Zionsville, Ind./Zionsville HS/Purdue), and
Dahmir Bishop (Philadelphia, Pa./Imhotep Charter/Xavier/Saint Joseph's) all scored in double figures led by Johnston's 20 points. Bishop also added seven rebounds, two blocks, and two steals while veteran
Zach Anderson (Apopka, Fla./Apopka HS) grabbed a game-high 10 rebounds.
Monday's win over the Trojans was the first in three tries against USC and the fifth power-six (Power five + Big East) win in program history which includes the Eagles win over Georgetown in the 2013 NCAA Tournament when Enfield was at the helm of the Green and Blue.
Against the Toreros, Johnston once again led the Eagles in scoring with 23 points which included going 5-for-10 from distance. Anderson also contributed with 17 points, nine rebounds, and five assists.
Entering this season, the Eagles were picked fourth in both the ASUN Coaches and Media polls. Last season, the Eagles went 22-12 and 10-6 in the ASUN and also picked up a victory over North Alabama in the ASUN Tournament. FGCU competed in The Basketball Classic where they defeated Detroit Mercy before falling to Coastal Carolina.
Scouting the Competition
Ave Maria enters the game with a 3-1 record after defeating the 15th-ranked team in Division II, the Southeastern Fire, 79-76, Saturday. The game on Monday will count as an exhibition for the Gyrenes.
Matt Gillis leads Ave Maria in scoring at 15.8 points per game while Jonathan Effertz is not far behind at 14.8 points per contest. Klajd Kiri is pulling down 7.5 rebounds per game and is also averaging 2.5 blocked shots.
Familiar Faces
Entering the 2022-23 campaign, FGCU returns several key pieces including Andeson,
Caleb Catto (Cape Coral, Fla./Southwest Florida Christian Academy),
Cyrus Largie (Miramar, Fla./Mater Lakes Academy),
Dakota Rivers (Windermere, Fla./Windermere HS),
Andre Weir (Hollywood, Fla./Chaminade-Madonna College Prep/Richmond), and
Austin Richie (Glenwood, Ill./Bloom High School/Northern Illinois/Triton College/Tulsa). Largie is the team's leading returning scorer after averaging 10.4 points per game in 33 starts. Catto also started 33 games for the Eagles last year and averaged 8.0 points per contest.
Traveling Through the Portal
The Eagles also bring a wealth of talent by the way of the transfer portal, adding guards
Isaiah Thompson (Purdue),
Dahmir Bishop (St. Joseph's), and
Chase Johnston (Stetson) as well as big man
Sam Onu (Memphis). Johnston averaged 15.2 points per game last season with the Hatters and was named to the All-ASUN Second Team. In just two collegiate seasons, he has made 178 three-pointers, including 99 a season ago, the 22
nd-most in the nation and a new Stetson school record. Entering this season, he was named to the Preseason All-ASUN Team.
Thompson comes in from Purdue where he played 96 games for the Boilermakers in three seasons with 25 starts, playing alongside future lottery pick Jaden Ivey. He has averaged 4.6 points per game in college and is a career 39.1% three-point shooter. Bishop started his career at Xavier before playing the last two years at St. Joseph's, averaging 4.9 points per contest. With his long frame, he is expected to play a leading role in FGCU's perimeter defense.
2022-23 Campaign
The schedule for the year also lends itself to the fans seeing some exciting basketball as FGCU will host FIU, Mercer, and Canisius in non-conference play. Additionally, the Eagles will stay close to home for Thanksgiving as they will play in the Gulf Coast Showcase at Hertz Arena that will also feature Northern Kentucky, Toledo, Kansas City, East Carolina, Indiana State, Drexel, and UT Arlington. The Eagles will also hit the road for big matchups against San Diego, Tennessee, Georgia Southern, FAU, and St. Bonaventure.
The ASUN slate will get underway on December 31
st against Jacksonville. The top 10 teams in the league will qualify for the ASUN Tournament beginning on February 27 with the top six teams receiving byes into the quarterfinals. All games will be hosted by the higher seed.
NOTABLE
FGCU is now 8-13 all-time in season openers dating back to 2002-03 with a 3-11 mark in games away from home. Chambers has won 10 of his last 11 openers and four straight.
The Eagles' victory at Bethune-Cookman on Monday, Nov. 12, 2007 (W, 60-57) was the program's last season-opening win on the road before the victory over the Trojans. All three of FGCU's season-opening road wins have come in games on Mondays (Nov. 7, 2022, Nov. 12, 2007, & Nov. 17, 2003, win at Nova Southeastern, 89-73).
Sunday's game against the Gyrenes is the only contest Alico Arena in November. The Eagles will play three additional games in Southwest Florida when they partake in the Gulf Coast Showcase at Hertz Arena in Estero, Nov. 21-23.
INDIVIDUAL TICKETS, MINI PLANS AVAILABLE
• Tickets for the 2022-23 FGCU Basketball season are on sale now and can be purchased by going online to www.FGCUTickets.com or calling 866-FGCU-TIX. Group tickets can also be purchased for 10-or-more making a memorable evening for families, businesses, or other organizations.
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.
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 CHAMBERS
Pat Chambers was officially introduced as the fifth FGCU men's basketball head coach in March 2022 bringing a wealth of experience in college basketball highlighted by head coaching stints at Penn State and Boston University. Chambers spent nine years leading the Penn State (2011-20) program and two years as head coach at Boston University (2009-11). He has 191 career victories ncluding four 20-plus win seasons. Part of his career as a head coach was highlighted by leading the Nittany Lions to a No. 9 national ranking in 2019-20 which tied the program's best-ever ranking set in 1996. Prior to becoming a head coach, he spent five seasons as part of the Villanova staff helping the Wildcats to a Final Four (2009), two Elite Eight, and three Sweet Sixteen appearances during his tenure.
#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 93 conference regular season and tournament titles in just 15 seasons at the Division I level. Additionally, in just 11 seasons of D-I postseason eligibility, the Eagles have had a combined 45 teams or individuals compete in NCAA championships. In 2022, the men's golf team became the first program to earn at at-large berth to the NCAA Tournament. Eight FGCU programs have earned a top-25 national ranking in their respective sport - including women's basketball (No. 20, 2021-22), beach volleyball (No. 20, 2022) and both men's soccer (2018, 2019) and women's soccer (2018) as four 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 3.50 GPA in the classroom in the fall 2020 semester and has outperformed the general University undergraduate population for 26 consecutive semesters. The past five semesters (Fall 2019 – Spring 2022) saw another milestone reached as all 15 programs achieved a 3.0-or-higher cumulative 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.
