Courtesy of FGCUAthletics.com
DUNK CITY, Fla. – FGCU men’s basketball redshirt junior Marc-Eddy Norelia has announced his intention to declare for the 2016 NBA Draft, but not hire an agent, allowing him to maintain his amateurism as he goes through the upcoming evaluation process.
By making himself eligible for the NBA Draft, Norelia (Orlando, Fla./Tulane/Olympia HS)is able to start attending workouts scheduled by NBA teams and is eligible to compete – if he is invited – in the NBA Draft Combine May 10-15. After that time, Norelia can mull over his options as the deadline to withdraw from the NBA Draft is May 25, which would allow him to return to FGCU for his senior season without any penalty.
“Marc-Eddy had a great season for us, and after speaking with him, we both decided this would be the best option for him to see what areas of his game still need improving before the NBA Draft,” commented FGCU head coach Joe Dooley. “With the new NCAA rules in place this year, it’s a great way for him to see just where he stands relative to his peers.”
In January, NCAA officials adopted a proposal that, among other provisions, changed the date by which a student-athlete must remove his name from the NBA Draft without forfeiting his amateurism. The intention of the change was to provide student-athletes the chance to make more fully-informed decisions of returning to school or preparing themselves for a potential basketball career.
“It’s been my dream to play in the NBA, and this is a great opportunity for me to find out just where I stand,” added Norelia. “Going through this evaluation process over the next month will hopefully provide me with a better understanding of that.”
Norelia is coming off a 2015-16 campaign in which he was an Atlantic Sun Conference First Team selection, District 3 First Team member, A-Sun Tournament MVP and A-Sun All-Tournament Team pick. The 6-8 forward shattered the program’s single-season double-double record with 16 – seven more than the previous mark of nine by Robinson Tisme in the inaugural 2002-03 campaign. Furthermore, the southpaw missed six more double-doubles by just a single rebound each time.
Additionally, he established program single-season records in points (597), rebounds (325) and field goals made (234). Norelia led FGCU in scoring (17.1) and rebounding (9.3), ranking 6th in the A-Sun in points per game, 2nd in rebounds per game and 4th in field goal percentage (.545).
Norelia became the first player in FGCU history to secure more than 275 rebounds in a season, his point total was 17 more than anyone else and he made 24 more shots than the previous record. His 17.1 scoring average was the best in D-I program single-season history, and his 9.3 rebound average was a full rebound better than the previous record of 8.3 by Adam Liddell in 2006-07.
A three-time A-Sun Player of the Week, Norelia scored a Division-I program record-tying 34 points and finished one rebound shy of matching the D-I program single-game rebounding record with 18 against Youngstown State on Nov. 21.
Norelia led FGCU in scoring 18 times this past year and posted double-doubles in four of the Eagles’ five postseason games (three A-Sun Championship contests and two NCAA Tournament games). The only time he didn’t record a double-double during that stretch was in the A-Sun Final versus Stetson when he totaled 16 points and grabbed nine rebounds. In the final 11 games of the year, Norelia secured double-doubles in eight of them and missed two more by a single rebound.
The Orlando native led FGCU to a second A-Sun Championship title and NCAA Tournament appearance in four years. The Eagles finished 21-14 overall and tied for 2nd in the league with an 8-6 mark before embarking on three-straight victories as the 4th seed to claim the title, including a 33-point rout at North Florida in the semifinals – the largest loss a No. 1 seed has ever suffered in the A-Sun Tournament.
In the NCAA Tournament, Norelia posted a 20-point, 10-rebound performance in the NCAA Tournament First Four against fellow 16 seed Fairleigh Dickinson en route to a dominant 96-65 victory over the Knights – the largest margin of victory in First Four history. Against top-seeded North Carolina in the First Round, the Eagles trailed by just one at the half, 41-40, before falling to the Tar Heels in Raleigh, 83-67, as Norelia scored 10 points and secured 11 rebounds.
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