ESTERO, Fla. — The FGCU men’s basketball team continues to turn heads nationally with their hot start to the season. Part of that success can be credited to junior Zach Anderson, who is having a career season.
In the day and age of the transfer portal, leaving a school after a coaching change is a common path.
“Going through a coaching change is really, really hard. You are unsure about the person that is coming… you don’t know them so those things can be really, really hard,” Anderson said.
Former coach Michael Fly was relieved of his duties and replaced by former Penn State head coach Pat Chambers.
Once Chambers joined the staff, he began re-recruiting some of the players from the former roster, and one of those was Anderson.
Entering the transfer portal did cross Anderson’s mind at one point, but he wasn’t going to follow that script.
“This coaching staff, from the moment they came here they told me what their plans were, and it was to win. That is my biggest concern, they checked off the number one thing on my box, and that was to win,” Anderson said.
Now halfway through the season, with 13 wins and three wins in their first four conference games, it is safe to say that Anderson feels he made the best decision.
“On a scale from 1 to 10, I will say a 10 right now,” Anderson said.
Anderson has helped lead the charge for the Eagles. The Apopka native has been the ASUN player of the week twice this season and is currently averaging 12.5 points per game, which is second-best on the team. He has also surpassed most of his season totals from last year, including starts, points, rebounds and more.
“His willingness to do more has been impressive. He is doing extra. He wants to do extra. It is really his approach to everything that has changed, and he’s benefited from that,” FGCU head coach Pat Chambers said.
Getting technical and saying it’s the scheme would be an easy spot to give credit, but that’s not the secret to the turnaround.
“Confidence. Last year I’d say I struggled with confidence. Mentally I struggled a lot. This year this coaching staff, my players and my teammates have all instilled so much confidence in me and has made it easier to play the game,” Anderson said.
But the best part for Eagles fans is that they are just scratching the surface with Anderson and the team.
“I love where we are but we can get a heck of a lot better. He can get a heck of a lot better and we all can,” Chambers said.
The Eagles play Eastern Kentucky on the road Thursday. They’ll return to Alico Arena on January 19 against Jacksonville State.
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