Staff
Head Coach
Michael Fly

Michael Fly, who has spent the previous seven years as an assistant coach on the Eagles’ staff, has been selected as the head coach of the FGCU men’s basketball program, Director of Athletics Ken Kavanagh announced on Apr. 5, 2018.

Fly has been a part of more than 150 wins the past seven years, six ASUN Tournament Final appearances, three NCAA Tournament victories, three ASUN Tournament titles and three ASUN Regular Season Championships, two berths in the NIT, a CIT appearance and a run to the Sweet Sixteen which captivated the nation and put the Southwest Florida campus on the national radar for good.

The only remaining member from that 2013 Sweet Sixteen squad, Fly has been an integral and loyal member of two staffs which have changed the men’s basketball culture in every facet, resulting in team accomplishments and player developments to coincide with the Dunk City mantra.

A 2006 University of Kentucky alumnus, Fly will become the program’s fourth all-time head coach (since 2002; Division-I in 2007), joining Dave Balza (2002-11), Andy Enfield (2011-13) and Joe Dooley (2013-18), who on Wednesday accepted the same position at East Carolina University.

Fly, who will turn 35 on May 29, has coached a dozen all-conference selections while with the Green and Blue, including two ASUN Player of the Year honors in Sherwood Brown and Brandon Goodwin, and two ASUN Defensive Player of the Year selections in Bernard Thompson and Demetris Morant.

More recently, Fly is responsible for recruiting Zach Johnson, Brandon Goodwin and Christian Terrell. Johnson is on pace to break the FGCU all-time scoring record as the current redshirt junior has 1,344 career points. Goodwin holds the top-two single-season scoring campaigns in program history in his only two years with the Eagles. Terrell is set to graduate next month as the only player in program history with at least 1,300 points, 500 rebounds and 250 assists.

Of the top-10 players in career points at FGCU, Fly has helped develop eight of them, including all-time leading scorer Thompson (1,835). Additionally, the Fulton, Ky., native has coached both the ASUN all-time assists leader Brett Comer (845; 24th in NCAA history) and FGCU all-time leading rebounder Chase Fieler (714).

Looking ahead to the 2018-19 season, Fly has recruited four of the five incoming student-athletes: Troy Baxter Jr. (UNLV transfer; Tallahassee native), Haanif Cheatham (Marquette transfer; Fort Lauderdale native), Caleb Catto (Southwest Florida Christian HS) and Zach Scott (Fort Lauderdale’s Westminister Academy).

Fly came to FGCU from Florida State where he was the video coordinator for three Seminoles’ NCAA Tournament teams (2008-11) and worked with future NBA players Okaro White, Toney Douglas, Solomon Alabi, Ryan Reid, Chris Singleton and Bernard James. Fly also served as the assistant director of Leonard Hamilton Basketball Camps during his time in Tallahassee.

This past year, the Eagles earned an automatic NIT berth with their second-straight outright ASUN Regular Season Championship, and became the only school in the history of the ASUN (since 1978-79) to post six-straight 20-win seasons. From Dec. 29-Feb. 14, FGCU won 13-straight games – the longest in D-I program history, besting a 10-game run in 2014-15.

FGCU set single-season all-time program records for points (2,847; previous: 2,703 in 2015-16), 3-pointers made (254; previous: 251 in 2011-12), free-throw percentage (.740; previous: .714 in 2003-04) and field goals made (1,045; previous: 1,008 in 2015-16), while establishing D-I single-season marks for assists (535; previous: 527 in 2016-17) and free throws made (503; previous: 501 in 2015-16).

In 2016-17, FGCU posted a 26-8 record, matching the program’s D-I single-season wins record and securing the first single-digit loss campaign in the D-I era. The Eagles played their sixth NCAA Tournament game in five seasons after receiving a program-best No. 14 seed and fell just short to No. 3 seed Florida State – the second-tallest team in the nation in 2016-17 – 86-80.

Fly helped lead FGCU to an ASUN Tournament title in 2015-16, advancing to claim its third NCAA Tournament win in four years with a 96-65 victory over fellow No. 16 seed Fairleigh Dickinson in the First Four – with the 31-point margin of victory in that round of the tournament being the largest in NCAA history.

In 2014-15, FGCU (22-11, 11-3 ASUN) finished with the second-most wins of any D-I team in Florida (North Florida, 23), and a 10-game winning streak during conference action which at the time was the longest in D-I program history.

In 2011-12 under then-head coach Enfield, the Eagles advanced to the ASUN Tournament Final in the program’s first year of postseason eligibility, falling just 20 minutes short of the NCAA Tournament and finishing with 15 wins.

Associate Head Coach
Donnie Marsh

Bringing nearly 40 years of collegiate experience, veteran Donnie Marsh is in his first season in 2018-19 as the program's associate head coach.

Beyond his head-coaching stints at FIU and Alabama A&M, Marsh's 35+ years of college coaching experience includes stops at Florida State, Virginia Tech, Indiana, UAB, Texas Southern and USF, in addition to more than a decade in Division III to begin his career.

Prior to his most recent tenure as the head coach at Alabama A&M, Marsh served as the associate head coach from 2014-17 at Texas Southern, helping the Tigers to NCAA Tournament appearances in 2015 and 2017, and an NIT berth in 2016 following a Southwestern Athletic Conference Regular Season Championship. TSU also won regular-season titles in 2015 and 2017, in addition to a 2013 crown when Marsh spent the 2012-13 season as an associate head coach with the program.

During his one year away from Texas Southern in 2013-14, Marsh was an assistant coach at USF. That year, FGCU and USF's matchup ended controversially in double overtime, when Chase Fieler's full-court tip-in with .3 of a second showing was waved off.

Marsh spent 2006-12 as the associate head coach at UAB, helping guide the Blazers to four-straight postseason appearances (3 NITs and 1 NCAA) from 2007-11. During that span, UAB compiled an impressive record of 95-41 (.698), including the program's first outright Conference USA Regular Season Championship in 2011.

Marsh, who is known as one of the top recruiters in the nation, made an immediate impact on UAB during his first season in 2006-07. He was responsible for bringing several newcomers who made up the nation's 9th-ranked class in 2007, according to CollegeHoopsUpdate.com. Additionally, the 2007 class was ranked among the nation's top 25 of incoming classes by almost every major recruiting service.

Prior to his time at UAB, Marsh was an assistant coach at Indiana from 2004-06. Before his arrival, Indiana ranked 8th in the Big 10 in points allowed (67.6) and 5th in field-goal percentage defense (.433). Under Marsh's tutelage, the Hoosier defense improved considerably, rising to 5th in scoring defense (63.6) and tied for 3rd in field-goal percentage defense (.420). While with IU, Marsh helped guide the Hoosiers to the 2005 NIT and 2006 NCAA Tournament.

Marsh arrived in Bloomington after spending the previous four seasons as the head coach at FIU. During his tenure in Miami from 2000-04, the Panthers ranked among the Sun Belt Conference leaders in total defense and offensive rebounding. Marsh also played a key role in the development of guard Carlos Arroyo.

After his stellar FIU career ended in 2001, Arroyo became – at the time – just the fifth Puerto Rico native in history to play in the NBA when he debuted for the Toronto Raptors. Arroyo has also played with the Denver Nuggets, Utah Jazz, Detroit Pistons, Orlando Magic, Miami Heat and Boston Celtics. Arroyo was a member of the Puerto Rico National Team that participated in the 2004 Athens Summer Olympic Games.

Prior to FIU, Marsh served as an assistant (1997-99) and associate head coach (1999-00) at Virginia Tech. Marsh had gone to Virginia Tech after serving as an assistant coach at Florida State from 1995-97, helping the Seminoles to the 1997 NIT Final.

As the head coach at Trenton State (N.J.) College, now named College of New Jersey, from 1989-93, Marsh compiled a four-year record of 64-41. That was highlighted by a 22-6 record and NCAA Tournament berth in 1990.

A 1979 graduate of Franklin & Marshall (Pa.) College with a bachelor's degree in history and education, Marsh earned All-American honors and helped the Diplomats to a 27-5 record and Division III Final Four. He averaged 15.4 points per game during his career, including 18.9 as a senior, which helped him become the 3rd-round pick of the Atlanta Hawks in the 1979 NBA Draft.

After a brief professional playing stint, Marsh spent six years as assistant basketball coach, head baseball coach and associate director of admissions at Franklin & Marshall from 1980-86. Marsh was inducted into the Franklin & Marshall Hall of Fame in 1984. In 1987-88, Marsh served as the president of Players in Action, Inc., a firm that represented professional athletes.

Marsh, who earned a master's degree in health and human performance from Texas Southern in May 2017, made his head-coaching debut at Division III Elizabethtown (Pa.) College in 1988-89 before moving on to the College of New Jersey.

A graduate of Atlantic City (N.J.) High School, Marsh and his wife, LaRoyce, have a son, Tyler, and a daughter, Sydnee.

Assistant Coach
Justin Furr

Bringing a wealth of experience at the Division-I and Division-II levels, former Barry University top assistant coach Justin Furr is in his first season as FGCU's assistant coach in 2018-19.

Formerly the lead assistant coach with Barry for the past three seasons, Furr – who has been an assistant with the Miami-based school since 2013 – began his duties with the Eagles on May 14.

This past season with Barry, Furr helped guide the Buccaneers to a 23-9 record, advancing to the Elite Eight of the D-II NCAA Tournament for the second time in three years. In addition, Barry defeated Auburn – which won the SEC Regular Season Championship – in an exhibition contest to open the year. Barry made a school-record 391 3-pointers; in fact, Barry's top four 3-point total seasons came between 2014-18 with Furr on the sidelines.

In Furr’s five seasons at Barry, the Buccaneers made the NCAA Tournament each year, winning at least one game four times and advancing to the Elite Eight twice. Furr assisted Barry to an impressive 116-38 record (.753), including three-straight Sunshine State Conference championships. He also recruited the 2016, 2017 and 2018 SSC Players of the Year, in addition to three-time All-American Elvar Fridriksson. Furr was named one of the top 15 assistant coaches in the country by CoachStat.net.

In 2012-13, Furr served as an assistant coach at D-II Lynn University (Boca Raton, Fla.), where he served as a recruiting coordinator and on-floor coaching of guards, opponent scouting, fundraising, academic mentoring and all other facets of the program.

Prior to landing at Lynn, Furr was an assistant at D-II Newberry College from 2010-12 where he coached a conference First Team member in 2011 and the league’s Freshman of the Year in 2012.

Before Newberry, Furr served as an assistant coach at UNC Wilmington for four seasons from 2006-10. As the program’s recruiting coordinator, Furr assembled the No. 2-ranked class in the Colonial Athletic Association in 2007-08, according to Street and Smith’s College Basketball magazine. That class helped produce the largest turnaround among all D-I teams in 2007-08, going from 7-22 the previous year to 20-13.

He coached John Fields, who set the UNCW record for blocked shots in a season with 59. Furr also instructed Keith Rendleman, who finished his career among the top 10 in scoring, blocks and rebounds. Another one of his players, Chad Tomko, finished among UNCW’s career scoring, assists, steals and 3-point leaders.

From 2004-06, Furr was an assistant at High Point University. He aided in the development of Arizona Reid, a two-time Big South Conference Player of the Year, who scored more than 2,000 points and grabbed over 1,000 rebounds in his career. Furr also coached 2004 Big South Player of the Year Danny Gathings.

Furr was the associate head coach at Saint Andrews Presbyterian College in 2003-04. There he coached Chad Eichelberger, who played professionally in Romania, in addition to logging stints in the American Basketball Association.

From 2001-03, Furr worked as an assistant at his alma mater, Wingate University. In 2001-02, his team advanced to the D-II NCAA Tournament, finishing 26-7. He coached Lorinza Harrington, who went on to play for the Denver Nuggets, New Orleans Hornets and Memphis Grizzlies. His two Wingate teams had a combined record of 44-18.

Furr’s coaching start began at Pfeiffer University in 1999. He was there for two years and made the D-II Sweet Sixteen after becoming the first team in conference history to run the table with an 18-0 record in 1999-00. Pfeiffer led the country in scoring that year. Furr recruited 1,000-point scorer Rico Grier and a trio of All-American performers.

Furr played collegiately at North Carolina-based Wingate, receiving his Bachelor’s of Science in Sports Management in 1999. He has a wife, Jennifer, and son, Ezra.

Assistant Coach
Joey Cantens

Joey Cantens returns to FGCU as an assistant coach for his first season in 2018-19; he previously spent 2011-14 with the Eagles as the program’s Director of Operations.

In 12 total years of college and professional basketball coaching and playing experience, Cantens has served a valuable role in three Sweet Sixteen appearances, a No. 3 finish in the FIBA America’s Championship and a No. 20 FIBA World Ranking with the Dominican Republic National Team.

He has spent late June-mid July of 2018 assistant coach with the San Antonio Spurs – one of the most respected and well-run organizations in the NBA – for their training camp in Texas and Summer League games in Utah and Las Vegas.

A three-year letterwinner at Eckerd College, Cantens is reunited with Fly as the only two members on staff who helped lead FGCU to its historic Sweet Sixteen in 2013 – still the only 15 seed to reach that round in NCAA Tournament history.

Cantens has spent the past two years in Germany as an assistant coach with a pair of professional clubs. He was on staff with Hebeisen White Wings in 2016-17 before moving to MHP Riesen Ludwigsburg in 2017-18, helping lead the team to the Champions League Final Four and a top-10 ranking in Europe.

Prior to that, Cantens was an assistant coach at Division-II Indiana University of Pennsylvania for 2015-16, aiding in the Crimson Hawks’ 21-8 record and Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference West Championship. Cantens went to IUP from USC where he was the Director of Scouting and Video Operations for the Trojans in 2014-15 under former FGCU head coach Andy Enfield.

Cantens worked with Enfield in his two seasons with the Green and Blue, culminating in 2012-13 with the program’s first ASUN Tournament Championship and NCAA Tournament victories over 2nd-seeded Georgetown and 7th-seeded San Diego State. He then remained on staff for former head coach Joe Dooley’s first season in 2013-14, playing an integral role in FGCU’s first ASUN Regular Season Championship.

In addition to his collegiate and professional experience, Cantens also possesses a national team coaching background with the Dominican Republic. He has had three different stints as a staff member with the Dominican Republic National Team (summers in 2011, 2013 and 2014). In 2011, he served under Kentucky head coach John Calipari and helped the team to a 3rd-place finish in the FIBA America’s Championship – the highest in the country’s history. That team afforded Cantens the opportunity to work alongside former NBA players Al Horford, Charlie Villanueva and Francisco Garcia.

Cantens got his start as a graduate manager from 2009-11 at Florida State where Fly was a video coordinator on Leonard Hamilton’s staff. The Seminoles reached the Sweet Sixteen in 2011.

Cantens began his playing career at FIU for 2005-06 before transferring and graduating from Eckerd in 2009. While at the St. Petersburg-based school, he made two NCAA Tournament trips and reached the Sweet Sixteen. Cantens was named to the Sunshine State Conference Academic Honor Roll and received the Triton Award, which is presented annually to a student-athlete who reaches the highest levels of athletic achievement, scholarship and leadership. Cantens received his Master’s of Science in Sport Management from FSU in 2011.

Directory of Basketball Operations
BJ Ivey

BJ Ivey was named the director of operations for the FGCU men's basketball program in June 2019.

Since 2010, Ivey has served as the head boys basketball coach at Riverview High School in Sarasota. While there, he led the team to a 173-53 record while compiling six district championships, two Sweet 16 appearances, one regional final and one 8A state runner-up finish. He was a three-time Sarasota Herald Tribune Coach of the Year and a one-time FBCA 8A Coach of the Year.

As a teacher, he was named the Riverview High School and Sarasota County High School Teacher of the Year in 2016-17.

Ivey earned his bachelor's degree in history from the University of South Florida. He then completed a master's degree in curriculum and instruction before earning a doctorate in educational leadership from National Louis University in 2009 and 2011, respectively.