A reason for Celtics fans to root for Florida Gulf Coast


After knocking off #2 seed Georgetown 78-68 on Friday, the Eagles of Florida Gulf Coast University just beat seventh seeded San Diego State (81-71) to become the first #15 seed in the history of the NCAA Tournament to reach the Sweet Sixteen.  FGCU has only been in existence for 16 years, and moved up to Division 1 just two seasons ago.  When they take on the Florida Gators in Dallas next weekend, Celtics coach Doc Rivers will have a personal interest.  FGCU guard Brett Comer (who's got a tournament high 24 assists through two games) is a close friend of both Doc and his son, Austin.  Comer and Austin were teammates at Winter Park High School in Florida.  Comer's father died of cancer three years ago, and the Rivers family was very supportive of the Comers in their time of need.

The Boston Globe's Gary Washburn shared some quotes from Doc on Comer the other day:
“I have known him literally since him and Austin won the AAU national title at 10 years old. You know, Brett’s gone through a lot in his life. Through high school, they basically had to nurse his dad, him and his mom, and it’s just those two and his grandmother. So, it’s really nice, just a huge place in my heart."

And from the same article, Comer talks about Doc and Austin:
“The Riverses were always good to me and my mom. They had us over for holidays. We were all really close and grew up together. They would have us over for Thanksgiving and stuff. It was just me and her. [Doc’s] a normal guy. Obviously, he’s the big name and coach of the Boston Celtics. But he’s just a normal guy. He talks about basketball. He’s a cool guy and really down to earth and from a nice family.”

Austin also sent out this tweet earlier this evening:

 Follow Mark on twitter @LucidSportsFan 
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