Florida Gulf Coast University has seen plenty of impactful basketball players suit up during the past few years. Players such as Brett Comer and Bernard Thompson have put FGCU on the map. One player people around FGCU may not know about now but will very soon is Christian Terrell.

Terrell is a freshman from Jacksonville who played at Jacksonville Providence High School before coming to FGCU. As a senior in high school, he averaged 11.2 points, six rebounds and four assists per game. He also won the 3-point contest at the 2013 City of Palms Classic at Bishop Verot High School.

Christian has long had a passion for basketball. He remembers shooting in the front yard when he was only 8 years old. He also remembers watching games early in his life.

“I have been watching basketball ever since I could watch TV,” Terrell said.

He first became aware of FGCU when the Eagles were making their magical run all the way to the Sweet Sixteen of the 2013 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament. This is also when FGCU became known as Dunk City.

When he was visiting FGCU, Terrell was very excited. He said that he didn’t have a beach at his high school in Jacksonville. He also said that he could see himself spending the next four years of college at FGCU.

Terrell was persuaded to come to FGCU by Assistant Coach Michael Fly. He was the one who recruited him to come and join the Eagles.

Growing up, Terrell had a few role models he looked up to in his life. His mom and dad both played basketball. He also looks up to current NBA stars such as Kobe Bryant and LeBron James.

Nov. 15, 2014, was a very important date in the life of Christian Terrell. That was the first time he suited up for a game in front of the home fans at Alico Arena. He said that he was very nervous going into his first home game for FGCU against Nova Southeastern University.

“It was probably the most amount of people I’ve ever played in front of before in my life playing basketball,” Terrell said.

Terrell’s biggest scoring game at FGCU came on Dec. 3. He scored 22 points while going 8-13 from the field for the Eagles.

Jan. 2 was another big game for Terrell. That night, he started his first career game for the Eagles against Ave Maria. He finished the game with 11 points and seven rebounds for FGCU.

“It was really cool to start,” Terrell said.

Even as a freshman, Terrell feels appreciated by Coach Joe Dooley and the rest of the staff. He likes how supportive the team is on and off the court.

Terrell also has great math skills. He said that he plans to use those math skills and become a business major at FGCU.

Terrell has a goal that he wants to achieve during his time at FGCU. He wants to leave the athletic program in a better position than it was before he came to FGCU.

Overall, Terrell is averaging four points, almost two rebounds and has made more than 48 percent of his shots from the field. If FGCU is to continue its run in the A-Sun conference, Terrell will be a significant piece for the Eagles now and for several years to come.