Full Q&A With ESPN Basketball Insider Jeff Goodman

photo courtesy of Linwood Ferguson

Liam Jones: So a couple years ago we saw Lehigh, Norfolk State, but FGCU took it to the next level, what was different about them that enabled them to get all the way to the Sweet Sixteen?

Jeff Goodman: I think their style of play was important, taking momentum. They had more than one guy. I think that was almost as important as anything. Lehigh was based off C.J McCollum. Norfolk State was based on their big guy. Florida Gulf Coast had multiple weapons and played fast so it was really hard to prepare for them.

LJ: From a media standpoint, how far up there was FGCU in terms of hype and coverage after beating Georgetown? Do you believe it was THE story in sports?

JG: It was. Certainly the story. College basketball and the NCAA Tournament was sports then and everyone was talking about Florida Gulf Coast for at least a week there when they got to the Sweet Sixteen. They were the major headline in the sports world for the better part of the week.

LJ: Andy Enfield left but they obviously brought in a great replacement with Joe Dooley. He has already brought in two transfers and a 2014 commit in Christian Terrell. How hard is it for a school like this to recruit when they're going against some of the best schools in Florida?

JG: I don't think, if you're Joe Dooley, you're not worried about competing against Bill Donovan, Leonard Hamilton and those guys. You're worried about getting THE BEST in your league, every year. That's what, if I'm Joe Dooley, I'm trying to do. Take advantage of the momentum that school and that program gained over the past months. I think Dooley is a guy who, if you look at his track record at Kansas, they have been terrific over the past decade. Here is a guy who is under his second term as a head coach. He got a chance at East Carolina when he was really young and probably admittedly. I’ve talked to him recently, made a few mistakes and learned from them.

LJ: Going back to Lehigh and Norfolk, neither of them made it back the next year, what is so hard about repeating what FGCU did?

JG: Luck. At that level you got to have some luck too. Whether it is match-ups, help, or returning the core of your team. I think that is the one thing for Joe Dooley, he is gonna have most of those guys back and a couple transfers and recruits. That is a big reason why he took this job because he knew they were set up to be able to sustain this. They weren't just set up to be a one year wonder.

LJ: Players and coaching staff have focused on not being content, it's early but how much potential do they still have? Do you think they can make it as far?

JG: For me, if you make the NCAA Tournament again, it's a successful year. The expectations are going to be high. You lost a couple pieces. It's hard to predict. No matter what you do in the regular season, you're going to have to win the conference tournament to get to the NCAA Tournament right now when you're a program like this. Get in the NCAA tournament and then anything can happen as proven by last year. Getting in and then roll the dice. You're not gonna get a great see any year you're just going to have pull one off again. Last year the match-ups were good against Georgetown. I thought that was a terrific match-up and they just got rolling.

LJ: That was my next question. At this point for FGCU, do you see them having a chance at an at large bid?

JG: For a program like that to get an at large bid, the chances are very low. Nebraska and NC State are both programs right now that are not NCAA tournament teams. NC State has a chance and Nebraska is in rebuilding mode. It's a pipe dream, to me, to start thinking about an at large bid. You have to dominate your league and then win the conference tournament. They didn't win the regular season last year but ended up  getting into the tournament.