Florida Gulf Coast Basketball: 2021-22 season preview for Eagles

Florida Gulf Coast Basketball will always be remembered for their historical run in the 2013 NCAA Tournament taking down Georgetown and San Diego State on their way to earning a berth in the Sweet 16 as a 15 seed – the first and only 15 seed to do so until this past year.

The run, featuring a pair of double-digit wins and many highlight-reel dunks, earned FGCU the nickname “Dunk City” and since then, fans and media alike tend to compare other NCAA darlings to the Cinderella that calls Fort Myers home. On the staff of that infamous 2013 Eagles squad was a young Michael Fly. In just his third season on the bench, the Kentucky alum was in an assistant role on current USC coach Andy Enfield’s staff.

A lot has changed since then, and the upcoming season marks Fly’s fourth season as head coach for FGCU. He will look to bring another NCAA tournament berth, something the program has not done since 2017. Fly knows what it takes to reach the Big Dance, and the new-look roster for the Eagles just might be what he needs to achieve the goal of playing deep into March.

Last season, the Eagles went 10-8 overall but just 4-5 in conference play. Covid-related pauses in the months of January and February had a major impact on the team and rerailed any hopes of competing for an ASUN title. Their campaign was ended by a 15-point loss to North Alabama in the conference tournament.

With things heading back to normal scheduling-wise, Florida Gulf Coast hopes that a revamped roster will be the key to getting them back towards the top of the conference.