FORT MYERS, Fla. – Ever since the FGCU men's basketball season ended, head coach Pat Chambers has been all over the Naples area, meeting with perspective donors at the Hilton, along Fifth Avenue and at Bonita Bay.
 
Coffee-and-breakfast meetings, lunch-and-learns, dinner speeches.
 
"I have to keep my fitness program up, because all these events are over food," he joked. "We've had boots on the ground; and we've been grateful because donors have given back to the program, like getting us a charter to Atlanta for the Kennesaw State trip in the ASUN Tournament."
 
That trip finished with a 61-55 loss to Queens (N.C.), which ended a roller-coaster season for the Eagles.
 
They began by going out to Los Angeles and beating USC, which made the NCAA Tournament.
 
"That's something I'll never forget, and magical for our players," Chambers said. 
 
In the Gulf Coast Showcase, played over three straight days before Thanksgiving at Hertz Arena, the Eagles won all three games, including the opener against Northern Kentucky, another NCAA Tournament team.
 
After a road win against St. Bonaventure and two ASUN wins to start the conference season, FGCU was 12-3, the best start in school history. The Eagles also rated highly in strength of schedule.
 
But as well as things went in November and December, they went the opposite direction in January, February and March.
 
Close losses. Injuries. Going from the hunter to the hunted, Chambers said.
 
"A tale of two seasons," Chambers said. "I felt we were snakebit. Nonetheless, I was still proud how we competed. We easily could've mailed it in but we competed to the bitter end. Guys got better and now we have shared experiences."
 
Those experiences, the credibility Chambers built, and his willingness to tell players they were welcome to stay after he took the job has led to just one player entering the transfer portal.
 
In today's college basketball, that's rare. Chambers said there are 1,000 players in the transfer portal and teams like North Carolina and Kentucky are having starters transfer while other top programs are seeing numerous players leave.
 
Chambers credits player retention to the parents.
 
"They come from good families and are good kids, really good kids," he said. "We also had an improved GPA and our staff did a heckuva job.
 
"Two words I use are trust and loyalty. I can say with confidence I have faith in what we're doing. That's huge for any culture."
 
That's why when Chambers is looking at bringing transfers in, he's going to be selective. They must be a good fit with the players they have.
 
Two recruits FGCU will bring in are freshman guard Rahmir Barno and junior guard Xavier Pina.
 
Fans of The City of Palms Classic – one of the top high school tournaments in the country played in Fort Myers – may recognize Barno for being named MVP after leading Imhotep (Pa.) to the championship.
 
Pina, Chambers said, "is a lights-out shooter."
 
The 2023-24 non-conference schedule will include a trip to the U.S. Virgin Islands for the Paradise Jam in November as well as home games with St. Bonvaventure and Final Four participant FAU. The conference schedule also will change with the defection of Liberty and Jacksonville State, two ASUN contenders last season.
 
During all games, Chambers – the youngest of 12 children – wore sneakers in honor of his sister Donna, who died of cancer. He also supports dementia research, which affected his father before he died.
 
He also is involved in Habitat for Humanity, and will take a deeper look at helping support a rebuild of Naples Pier – which needs a $6-8 million facelift.

"After church, we'd go walk on the pier," he said. "It was a slice of heaven.

"We do love this community. My wife Courtney and I have made some really good friends. We're grateful."