FGCU head men’s basketball coach Michael Fly completed his staff this week with the return of Joey Cantens as the team’s assistant coach. Cantens spent 2011-14 with the Eagles as the program’s Director of Operations.
Cantens will officially start on Wednesday, the 18th, right before the second week of the important July recruiting period. In 12 total years of college and professional basketball coaching and playing experience, Cantens has served a valuable role in three Sweet Sixteen appearances, a No. 3 finish in the FIBA America’s Championship and a No. 20 FIBA World Ranking with the Dominican Republic National Team.
He has spent the previous few weeks as an assistant coach with the San Antonio Spurs – one of the most respected and well-run organizations in the NBA – for their training camp in Texas and Summer League games in Utah and Las Vegas.
A three-year letterwinner at Eckerd College, Cantens will be reunited with Fly as the only two members on staff who helped lead FGCU to its historic Sweet Sixteen in 2013 – still the only 15 seed to reach that round in NCAA Tournament history.
“Coach Cantens brings a wealth of experience in his return to FGCU, including stops at Florida State, USC, the Dominican Republic National Team, the top pro league in Germany and one of the most elite organizations in professional sports – the San Antonio Spurs,” said Fly. “He is very familiar with the culture and tradition here at FGCU as he was an instrumental part of our Sweet Sixteen run in 2013 and ASUN title in 2014.
“He was credited with developing multiple high-level professional players in Germany, and Coach Cantens will bring that experience to the floor with our guys,” added Fly. “In addition, he’ll also bring his infectious personality that will serve our program well on the recruiting trail.”
Cantens has spent the past two years in Germany as an assistant coach with a pair of professional clubs. He was on staff with Hebeisen White Wings in 2016-17 before moving to MHP Riesen Ludwigsburg in 2017-18, helping lead the team to the Champions League Final Four and a top-10 ranking in Europe.
Prior to that, Cantens was an assistant coach at Division-II Indiana University of Pennsylvania for 2015-16, aiding in the Crimson Hawks’ 21-8 record and Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference West Championship. Cantens went to IUP from USC where he was the Director of Scouting and Video Operations for the Trojans in 2014-15 under former FGCU head coach Andy Enfield.
Cantens worked with Enfield in his two seasons with the Green and Blue, culminating in 2012-13 with the program’s first ASUN Tournament Championship and NCAA Tournament victories over 2nd-seeded Georgetown and 7th-seeded San Diego State. He then remained on staff for former head coach Joe Dooley’s first season in 2013-14, playing an integral role in FGCU’s first ASUN Regular Season Championship.
“I’d first like to thank Coach Fly for this opportunity; I’m really looking forward to it,” commented Cantens. “I believe in the Dunk City brand and in Coach Fly’s approach in terms of how he treats people, his priorities and expectations. I’m excited to be back at The Nest, and I really do feel like I’m coming home.”
In addition to his collegiate and professional experience, Cantens also possesses a national team coaching background with the Dominican Republic. He has had three different stints as a staff member with the Dominican Republic National Team (summers in 2011, 2013 and 2014). In 2011, he served under Kentucky head coach John Calipari and helped the team to a 3rd-place finish in the FIBA America’s Championship – the highest in the country’s history. That team afforded Cantens the opportunity to work alongside former NBA players Al Horford, Charlie Villanueva and Francisco Garcia.
Cantens got his start as a graduate manager from 2009-11 at Florida State where Fly was a video coordinator on Leonard Hamilton’s staff. The Seminoles reached the Sweet Sixteen in 2011.
Cantens began his playing career at FIU for 2005-06 before transferring and graduating from Eckerd in 2009. While at the St. Petersburg-based school, he made two NCAA Tournament trips and reached the Sweet Sixteen. Cantens was named to the Sunshine State Conference Academic Honor Roll and received the Triton Award, which is presented annually to a student-athlete who reaches the highest levels of athletic achievement, scholarship and leadership. Cantens received his Master’s of Science in Sport Management from FSU in 2011.
