Florida Gulf Coast University’s basketball teams returned to the court for their first official practices earlier this week.
When it came to offseason priorities, player retention was at the top of the list for both men’s and women’s basketball coaches. Eight men’s players and seven women’s players from last season’s squads are returning to play for the Eagles this upcoming season.
“I think it’s super important to have some sort of retention … to be able to achieve what we did [of bringing back seven players] is unheard of,” Raina Harmon, who is entering her second season at the helm of the FGCU women’s basketball program, said. “We’re truly blessed to be in that situation where they came back, but that’s how you know that you're building it from the ground up and building it the right way.”
Fifth-year head men’s basketball coach Pat Chambers shared a similar point of view.
“[I’m] really proud of what the staff was able to do,” Chambers said. “Your top of the list is retention. I thought we did an amazing job. I think we were top four in our league in that, just a great feat right there.”
Chambers is looking to build on his best postseason finish where his team reached the semifinals of last season’s Atlantic Sun Conference (ASUN) Tournament, falling to Central Arkansas. It was the first time FGCU advanced past the first round of the ASUN Tournament under Chambers and the first since the 2021-22 season.
Harmon led the women’s team to a 16-16 overall record and a 11-7 record in the ASUN. The women’s team made an appearance in the first round of the Women’s National Invitational Tournament (WNIT) where they lost to Loyola-Chicago.
Now with a full year of experience behind her, Harmon said she feels more comfortable going into her second season.
“We’re all speaking the same language now,” she said of her staff and returning players.
Darren Williams, now in his junior year with the men’s team, believes the roster continuity is something the Eagles can use to their advantage this season. Williams is coming off a sophomore season where he connected on 50 3-point shots.
“I think that definitely gives us a leap,” Williams said of eight players returning. “Having that on and off the court connection … it’ll be something that those hurdles on the road or in a game, whatever it may be, I feel like we could get through that a little easier just from us being together for so long.”
Like her head coach, junior guard Sinai Douglas of the women’s team is also going into her second season with the program.
“I’m looking forward to a better year, building off of last year,” Douglas said. “I don’t think we went where we wanted to go, but I feel like this year we just have a lot more under our belt. A lot of us were sophomores, now we’re juniors, and I just feel like we have a lot more experience to refine ourselves.”
The men’s team added four freshmen and four players from the transfer portal while the women’s team brought in two freshmen and four transfers.
Chambers said he has experimented with new styles of play, explaining that this year’s men’s team is more athletic and featuring “more shooters than I’ve ever had, including my 2020 team at Penn State,” he added.
“It’s been fun to experiment in what we’re trying to do,” he said. “That’s what the fans can look forward to, and I think they’re really gonna like it. And again, we have athleticism. I’m not gonna say Dunk City all the way, but close, very close. So, raining threes on one side, maybe Dunk City as well.”
A fun, fast-paced style of play is also expected from the women’s team, but Harmon has made an emphasis on her team playing a synergetic brand of basketball this upcoming season.
“They’re gonna compete, play with joy. I think last year we played with each other, this year they’re starting to play for each other,” Harmon said.
The season tips off in November, with the men’s team starting play Nov. 2 against the University of Central Florida and the women’s team opening its season against Indiana Nov. 3.
For the full season schedule and tickets, visit the FGCU Athletics website.
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