The FGCU men’s basketball team takes on the Ohio Bobcats at 2 p.m. Saturday, in Athens, Ohio.
This year, some of the emerging leaders on the team are captains Julian DeBose and Marc-Eddy Norelia.
DeBose is a 6-foot-4 senior guard and Norelia is a 6-foot-7-inch redshirt junior forward.
The schedule has caught the eyes of the student fan base. Big name teams such as Texas A&M, Florida, and UMass are upcoming games for FGCU’s men’s program.
“We have tough guys coming up, but they got to play us to,” said DeBose.
Team captain, Marc- Eddy Norelia, wants to have his guys to keep their cool.
“Were human and there’s going to be mistakes, just bounce back from them,” said Norelia.
Marc-Eddy, a 6-7, redshirt junior from Tulane, finished fourth in total team points, shot 51 percent from the field, and finished 12th in rebounds for the A-Sun conference. He felt honored to be selected as a team captain.
Norelia says he loves the atmosphere and positive energy around the team. He feels that he
brings “positive energy and enthusiasm” to the organization.
Julian DeBose was selected by his teammates to be Norelia’s co-captian.
“(It) shows that the guys put their trust in me…  they catch my vibe and my positive energy,” said DeBose.
DeBose is a senior who redshirted from Rice as a junior. As a redshirt junior, he was named A-Sun conference newcomer of the week. He was the team’s third leading scorer to rank 15th in scoring in the A-Sun conference. Julian also participated this summer as a member of Team USA in the World University Games in South Korea. He was one of two players who weren’t Jayhawks on the roster. He scored 18 points in the final group round against Switzerland. They defeated Germany in double overtime and brought home the gold.
“I think it says a lot about who they are not only as players, but also leaders in the locker room and on this team that they were voted by their teammates this year’s captains,” head coach Joe Dooley said. “I’m expecting both to play important roles on the court and be leaders for us.”
The goals for this season were similar for both captains. They both want to dominate the A-Sun Conference and make another Cinderella run for the NCAA tournament. FGCU is making power moves with the recruitment of freshman Rayjon Tucker. FGCU students anxiously wait for the Eagles to take a stand in the conference with a newly embellished roster and coaching staff.