FGCU Coach Pat Chambers Analyzes Overtime Loss to UCF: Key Takeaways From Season Opener

I'm proud of, proud of our team, we competed, we competed for the last month or so, we had three scrimmages, and tonight, really missed Elijah Brooks, our starting point guard, but I thought, man, for a freshman Turk, it was incredible, being put on the stage. Playing the minutes that he did and have to lead us down in end game situations. That's really going to get us better for January, really, for him as well. I'm proud of, we did a lot of good things, right? We did a lot of good things. We took a great team to overtime. But like Bryson and I just talked about, there's no moral victories. We felt like we had the right team to compete on this stage, on this level. And we came up a little bit short. And there's things that we've got to work on to get a little bit better. And we will. And we'll do that in practice. And we'll keep focusing on the details. Coach, just talk about that overtime period they got off to score the first seven. You guys battled back and were in position. That shot at the end looked like it was going in. Yeah, he's a quarterback in high school. So that's why he's our inbounder, he makes the decisions. Look, we let Dior just crush us. We knew what he likes to do. We've watched him very closely for years. He knows how to get the ref's calls, right? He got there 15 times. He's a great player. When they needed a big shot, he made big shots. 41 points. You know, I got to look at our defense. You know, we're letting one guy get 41. So now we got to come up with something to take that away. But he's a special talent. And Johnny, of course, Johnny, they made all the plays down the stretch, Coach. Let's talk about this. They got off to that little seven-point run, and that put us on our heels a little bit. So we're always climbing back. Coach, you guys went back and forth all game. It wasn't like one side took advantage until actually late in overtime. But you guys fought right back in. And what do you see about your team's response to adversity? Yeah, resilience. We had adversity first scrimmage, I think, down nine, came all the way back. Last week we were winning. They closed the gap to five, and we kind of finished. That's why I was pretty confident we finished the half, right? There's so many great learning lessons from what just happened tonight. So many. We've got to execute a little bit better. Sometimes our offense hurts our defense. And then we've got to be more detailed on the defensive end, knowing the personnel and what we need to do. Coach, some missed free throws from the Knights late gave you the opportunity to tie it up. You guys, 92.6% from the free throw line. Just talk about some of the little things that kind of went your way to give you guys a chance on this one. Yeah, I don't know if it went our way. I think we earned it. I think we competed. We fought. We put ourselves in the right position. And when you're missing free throws, the way Nate did, I mean, we are 11-15, rarely misses. I felt like we were getting them nice and tired. So when they were going to the line, they missed because they were tired. So I want to give my guys credit. I don't think that was lost by any stretch. I think we did what we needed to do to win the game. I mean, it works off the crash every time the shot goes up, so I'm trying to do my job and the ball bounced off the rim, came my way, and I didn't get high enough to put the ball in the rim, so that's normal, too. The full-court shot, I mean, I thought it was going in, too, but it should have never got to that point. Yeah, what a win for him, right? Two years, almost, heart surgery. It's a miracle, right? Some people might hang it up, and he wanted to come back. It's a special young man, and his brother, and his family. For him to come out there, as soon as he stepped on that floor, as soon as his name was called, huge victory for him, mentally, physically, to be able to fight back through so much adversity and obstacle. Physically, can you imagine mentally what you have to go through? You have heart surgery. It's just incredible what that young man... And, man, this was a great step for him, I thought. Really, really good step in the right direction. He made critical free throws, him and his brother. It was great to see. Coach, you have four players with over 15 points on your lineup. How important is it to have these types of performances from your players against an opponent like UCF who kind of sets the tone for the rest of your season? Yeah, you know, I think we fight invisible wars, right? All the noise and the distractions on the outside is such a battle for everybody, not just coaches, but for these guys as well. If we can get consistent. And we can just meet the standard every single day. And we can block out the noise and focus on the next 20 weeks. We have a chance to be a very good team come January conference play. Justin, how do you feel about your first seven-footer in the program this week? Beyond just in size, what do you feel like he brings to your group and his ability to stretch the floor? Yeah, I mean, to have a five-man that can make threes, opens up the floor for guys like Bryson and Turk and Elijah Brooks when he comes back. Um, there's a lot of space out there, and there was times where I thought UCF's defense was suffocating. It really forced us to do some tough shots, but then you got a five man who was able to shoot threes, and, you know, Bowles, you know, kind of, you know, what's a five man's natural, I'm going to the basket, I'm protecting the rim. So that just gives us an element we've never had. What was it like going against one of your former players, Isaiah Malone, in the season opener, no less? And what was it like coaching him last year, and what do you think he'll provide you this season? He's going to be fantastic. Coach Dawkins knows exactly what he needs to do with Isaiah. Him and I had a big embrace. I almost welled up. I feel like we're a big part of his journey, and he always has a home back at FGCU, but he seems like he's found a great home here with Coach Dawkins. My former assistant, Dwayne Anderson, is on staff. I coached Dwayne at Villanova as an assistant, and he was my assistant at Penn State. So he's in great hands. Coach, you feel like this, even though it wasn't the win, you don't believe in moral victories, this was a good stepping stone to set the tone for the season. I think what we're going to learn here is we've got to take care of the details. We're going to watch film, see where we can get better, get back to practice, we're just going to keep chasing greatness. And I think that's what we've got to do. I'm not into moral victories. I've been here five years now, and getting close enough is not good enough. And we've just got to get a little bit better, and I think we'll do that. We've got great leadership. Bryson, Coach Dawkins rotated in several different players for several pretty long periods of time in this game. You've got your starting lineup stayed in for, I would say majority of this one. Just talk about the bond between the five of you. What was really working between you guys out there consistently, connection-wise, that sort of thing? I mean, everybody on our team can play. Everybody's comfortable playing with everybody. Practice with each other all the time. So, I mean, whoever's on the court, we're going to work 110% every single play. No matter who's the father or the father. Coach, what was it about this starting lineup that made it work for you? I don't know. I think these guys, you know, we get the news that Elijah's sick, and he says, hey, man, I'm going to try, you know, before pregame meal, and then he goes upstairs. And, you know, I would have been doing him a disservice by trying to play him. So, you know, we're next man up mentality. Our practices are super physical, and we knew Turk was ready, and we knew the bench would be ready because of the way we've been practicing. So it was just great to see these guys getting a little bit more connected. This first opportunity Yeah, and he would say this too. It's been a slow, steady process, right? He's been trying to figure us out, right? And where he can find his opportunities. He's incredible on defense. I think we all saw that tonight. He's got great athleticism. And now we're adding the next layer with his ability to score the ball and make decisions. I said it earlier, the great Chase Feeler from the Sweet 16 team always said, I love a four-man that can shoot and create, and I think that's what we have. All right, guys. Have a great season. Thank you.