PULSE / Sports
Comfortable. Confident. A
Relaxed. Calm. written by: Larry Carsi
ndy Enfield, the new head coach of the FGCU Men’s Basketball Eagles, invited Pulse Magazine SWFL into
his office on the third floor at Alico Arena to discuss his team and the upcoming sea- son. After months of recruiting, preparation, and a lot of practices, it’s time… game on! He is steering the vessel of the Eagles maiden voyage at the Division I Level. “I am ready, prepared, and very excited about the opportu- nity here at FGCU,” says Enfield. He adds that his transition from Tallahassee to Estero has been easier because “the people associated with the program, co-workers, administrators, and all the fans in the area, have been terrific.” Coach Enfield comes to the Estero Campus with a tremendous resume; his experience and background would make any athletic di- rector in America ecstatic, including Ken Ka- vanagh, the man who hired him at FGCU this past spring. Enfield was raised in Shippensburg, Penn-
sylvania, and was his high school’s Valedictori- an. He played college basketball at Johns Hop- kins University in Baltimore where he became the school’s leading scorer of all time, and an Academic All-American with a 3.5 grade point average. Graduating with a degree in econom- ics in 1991, he left as the NCAA’s All-Time Free Throw Leader with a .925 shooting average. Enfield would continue his education and re- ceived a Masters of Business Administration from the University of Maryland in 1994. I asked Enfield if his athletic and aca-
demic successes gave him an advantage when recruiting. “I certainly hope so,” he re- plied, “my strength as a recruiter has always been an ability to sell the program and the op- portunities available to the student athletes.” The program Enfield refers to is Florida State University in Tallahassee, where he was an assistant coach and top nationwide recruiter under Head Coach Leonard Hamilton for the past five seasons. He speaks with reverence about the recent growth and success of that program, where he helped to recruit and de- velop future NBA players Chris Singleton, Toney Douglas and Al Thornton. “We became a Top 25 program nationally, year in and year out, not only on the court, but in recruiting new players as well.” The Seminoles reached the Sweet 16 last season. During his tenure at Florida State, Enfield was named by Basket- ball Times as “The Nation’s Most Visible As- sistant Coach,” and by ESPN the Magazine as one of the top five assistant coaches in Amer- ica. However, it may have been his knowledge
of basketball here in Florida, and his relation- ship with the high school coaches throughout the state, that placed Enfield ahead of the other candidates vying for the job at FGCU. After completing graduate school, Enfield took a job at a large consulting firm, but the coaching bug would soon bite. His father, also a basketball coach, and his mother, “a huge sports fan,” were not surprised at all when Andy put down the corporate pencil and picked up a clipboard. He began his coaching career in the NBA as shooting coach for the Milwaukee Bucks from 1994 to 1996 and would later join Rick Pitino’s staff with the Boston Celtics from 1998-2000. Enfield’s next endeavor was as a very suc-
cessful businessman and entrepreneur, help- ing to start and develop a document imaging company, working with the healthcare and real estate industries. Soon, however, basket- ball was front and center again. Enfield be- came the founder and president of “All-Net Basketball,” a large instructional and clinical teaching organization, tutoring well over 100 NBA players on becoming better, offensive players. Now recognized as the best shooting teacher in the country, he has served as a con- sultant for the Chicago Bulls and the Washing- ton Wizards. Since his arrival in SW Florida, the new
coach has been extremely busy. In addition to meet-and-greets from Fort Myers to Naples, he’s organized a shooting camp on campus for young players, and spoken at Rotary Clubs and other community organizations. And, of course, he has put together a coaching staff and recruited a team in a very short period of time. Enfield couldn’t contain his enthusi- asm when discussing the Eagles and assistant coaches. “We had over 900 applications for three assistant coaching positions,” he says, and beams when introducing Kevin Norris, Marty Richter and Michael Fly. His enthusiasm continues as we discuss
team recruits such as Brett Comer, “a tough, winning, leader point guard,” Bernard Thomp- son, “one of the best players to come out of Georgia,” Dante Holmes, “a tough city kid from Baltimore with a lot of talent,” and Eric McKnight, “a transfer from Iowa State with big, strong, long arms.” The full roster and the Eagles upcoming game schedule can be viewed online at
www.fgcuathletics.com/ mbasketball. The Eagles have an opportunity to become the dominant sports team here in SWFL... so get your tickets early!
Andy Enfield’s first career game at TCU
Press conference introducing New Head Coach Enfield Pulse Magazine SWFL | 29
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