Fort Myers, Florida — Fifth graders after a tribute video to him after FGCU’s 89-71 win over Austin Peay at Arico Arena on Friday night Caleb Katto He choked when he mentioned the word family.
The video tribute included recorded comments from his father, Bill, who mentored him at the Southwest Florida Christian Academy in Fort Myers.
Teammates surrounded him during the ceremony, after which they hugged him and ruffled his hair.
“Thank you for coming and supporting us,” Catto said to fans.Pat) Chamber I said, I have unfinished business. ”
yes, I have.
After a roller coaster season, the Eagles (17-14) beat the Governors to claim the 10th and final seed in the ASUN Tournament. After a two-day break, they will play the 9th seed Queens, NC at 7:00 PM in Kennesaw, Georgia on Monday, with the winner facing the 1st seed Owls on Tuesday.
In their only matchup on January 26, Queens beat FGCU 84-82. In their only meeting with Kennesaw State on January 21, the Eagles lost 65-63. These are two of seven meetings lost by 4 points or less.
“This could be the most growing year I’ve had in college,” said Catto. , struggled in the conference after participating in midseason tournaments.”
“But you learn a lot about yourself in adversity. It stinks to be in the moment in the midst of adversity. But worst of all, you really learn about the people you’re with.” It’s been a year of education, but I think you’ve grown a lot with everyone in the locker room.”
When the FGCU was running, Ken Pomeroy of a website called College Basketball Ratings ranked the Eagles among the top five teams in the country based on luck. Pomeroy, also known as KenPom, defines luck as “the deviation in winning percentage between a team’s actual and expected record.”
According to Pomeroy, the luck factor has nothing to do with his rating calculations, but very lucky teams (positive numbers) are rated lower by his system than their record suggests. tend to.
“We plummeted,” said Chambers after the top five ranking.
The law of averages has caught up with FGCU in results, but so has health and away play.
“When we were healthy, we were playing with good teams and winning,” said Chambers. “As soon as Christmas came around, this guy got hurt, this guy got hurt, this guy was sick, this guy was sick. In January we spent 17 days on tour. It was one after another. I don’t want to make any excuses, but there was no going back, and even if I was healthy, I was mentally and physically exhausted.”
Chase JohnstonHe recorded his first career double-double on Friday with 23 points and 10 rebounds.
“We can be the best team or we can go downhill quickly,” he said. “You can stand or you can stand up.
“I’ve grown as a man, and I’ve done that as a team. My coach preached me to be present every day. There were a lot of tears in that locker room. But there’s still a lot to play.”
As a way to relax and take the pressure off his players after Wednesday’s 73-64 loss to Lipscomb, Chambers ushered his players to the FGCU’s Aquatic Center on Thursday, stripped off his sneakers and jumped into the pool. .
“We were very tight against Lipscomb,” he said. “They were trying so hard but they didn’t get the shot and they made a defensive mistake and he gave the team 22 points.
“We told ourselves we stink a little bit. So the guys stayed with me and they all ran blind. We just jumped in the pool. I I told them they had to cleanse.I saw men laughing and jumping off the diving board.
And what did the Eagles do in the first half? Splash, splash, splash. At one point they were shooting 78 percent from the field and 70 percent from the 3-point line.
After nine minutes of action, FGCU picked up the pace and scored 120 points.
After the first half, the Eagles scored a season-high 62 points and made 11 3-pointers.
“We were losing three or four points every game and it was a little frustrating,” Johnston said.
Chambers said he and his staff prepared for what looked like an early start to the ASUN tournament.
“And we were lucky enough to get a home game,” he added. “We wanted them to go out and play, have fun, and enjoy the experience.”
Combining Lipscomb’s second half and Austin Peay’s first half, FGCU outscored their opponents 105-77.
So the Eagles are doing it. They also have wins on the road at USC and St. Bonaventure this season, and at the Gulf Coast Showcase he has three wins in three days.
That last one is important because the FGCU needs four wins in seven days to make the NCAA for the first time since 2017.
“We have the mental condition to play four games,” Chambers said. “Now is the season. We’ve had a great start and we’re ready to go down a bit and hopefully go up a little bit now.”
Catto added: Energy and new life returned.
“If you believe you can do it, I think that’s the most important part.”
