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Marc-Eddy Norelia withdraws name from NBA Draft to return for the 2016-17 season

Photo+courtesy+of+Linwood+Ferguson
Photo courtesy of Linwood Ferguson

Joining many players around the nation withdrawing from the NBA draft on the May 25 deadline, FGCU basketball forward Marc-Eddy Norelia announced his withdrawal to return to Dunk City for his redshirt senior season.
After a campaign where the double-double machine led the Eagles to their second Atlantic Sun Men’s Basketball Championship and NCAA Tournament appearance in four years, breaking program records along the way. The Orlando native was one of many players who decided to take advantage of the NCAA’s newest proposal, participating in workouts held by NBA teams to find out what he needs to do to elevate his game to reach the professional level.
In January, the NCAA changed the date when a student athlete must withdraw his name from the NBA draft without forfeiting his amateurism to May 25, just 10 days before the draft, allowing players to go through the draft process to find out if they have what it takes to reach the next level or return home to build upon another season on the collegiate level to better themselves for next year’s draft.
“Going through the process the last month was extremely valuable for me,” Norelia told FGCU Athletics. “As I’ve said previously, playing in the NBA has always been my dream. Thankfully, I was able to take advantage of this new system in place, which allowed me to see just where I stood relative to my peers and learn what exactly I need to work on to help me get to the professional level. I’m excited and looking forward to returning to FGCU for my senior year and hopefully bringing another Atlantic Sun Championship back to The Nest.”
As many of the Dirty Birds chant at home games, “Super Marc” set single-season program records for double-doubles in a season, racking up 16 and breaking the previous record by 7 points with 597 on the year and field goals made with 234. Tabbed the A-Sun tournament MVP, Norelia led the team in scoring and rebounding with 17.1 points and 9.3 rebounds per game, earning him a selection on the A-Sun First Team and the A-Sun All-Tournament Team.
“We’re looking forward to having Marc-Eddy back with us for his senior season,” head coach Joe Dooley told FGCU Athletics. “The feedback he received on what he needed to improve in his game without losing his amateurism is exactly why this system was put in place. Marc-Eddy is an extremely talented player, and with a few adjustments, he really has the potential to take his game to an even higher level next year.”
Norelia returns to an FGCU team with plenty of NCAA Tournament experience, after the program only lost two seniors after going dancing in march and defeating Farleigh Dickinson 96-65 in their First Four matchup before falling to tournament finalists UNC 83-67 in the following round.

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