Florida Gulf Coast hoops coach Pat Chambers’ first recruit with Philly ties is PCL championship hero Blaise Vespe

One of the first people Matt Griffin called after being named Pat Chambers’ assistant coach at Florida Gulf Coast was a former Philadelphia Catholic League rival.

He reminded Blaise Vespe, who committed to FGCU on March 31, of the last time the two shared the same room.

“Congratulations on your commitment, that’s big-time,” Griffin said to Vespe. “I remember when you hit that three against us and took the charge that put the nail in the coffin. But I’ve got to love you now since you’re committed to FGCU.”

It was February 2020 in front of a sold-out Palestra crowd for the Catholic League championship.

Griffin was coaching Roman Catholic, and Vespe was a Neumann Goretti junior forward who, at the time, didn’t have a single Division I offer.

The Saints trailed, 47-45, early in the fourth quarter. It was a slugfest. Current Temple guard Hysier Miller pushed the ball up the floor and found Vespe for a go-ahead transition three with a hand in his face.

Roman drove to the basket on the ensuing possession but Vespe drew a charge. The Saints didn’t look back, and closed out a 66-58 win.

“You’re always telling guys, it could be you at any time. You could be the guy that’s going to make the big play to change a game for us,” Neumann Goretti assistant John Brennan said. “To see it come to fruition and see the huge smile on his face just shows guys can stick to the plan, take their ego out of it, and just be part of a winning team where winning is enough.”

Vespe’s unselfish nature and blossoming confidence have carried him from St. Augustine Prep to Neumann Goretti to IMG Academy and now FGCU.

His freshman season in South Jersey wasn’t the best fit. The Hermits ran predominantly halfcourt sets, slowing down the pace of the game — not what Vespe was looking for despite winning 20 games.

Paul Blocker, Vespe’s trainer and at the time an assistant for the Saints’ girls’ team, introduced him to the South Philly school. He was quickly convinced to transfer after seeing Neumann Goretti practice and meeting the staff.

That PCL championship team in his junior year featured NBA draft prospect Jordan Hall along with Division I guards Miller, Hakim Byrd (Maryland-Baltimore County), and Cam Young (Bowling Green) — each of whom was regularly scoring in double figures.

“I stood out the best I possibly could have,” Vespe said. “My role wasn’t to be like the scorer at the time because we had so many great guards. I didn’t get to showcase what I could really do, but I was asked to do certain things in a certain role and I bought into that.”

In 28 games, he averaged 7.6 points, 4.6 rebounds, and 1.7 charges taken as a multidimensional forward. He shot 34% from three, a staggering jump from 14% his sophomore season.

What would have been Vespe’s senior year and his best chance at blowing up his recruitment was shut down because of the pandemic. In an effort to showcase his talent, he opted to take a postgraduate year at IMG Academy in Bradenton, Fla.

Julian Dunkley, the founder of the basketball training program Difference Makers, and Blocker got Vespe in the gym with NBA players such as Pacers guard Chris Duarte; Knicks forward Obi Toppin and his younger brother Jacob, a junior at Kentucky; along with Sixers two-way player Myles Powell.

“I’m a whole different player. It’s just a different level of confidence I’ve developed,” Vespe said. “I feel like I could score no matter who’s guarding me.”

Vespe went from a pseudo stretch forward limited to the restricted area and catch-and-shoot threes to a 6-foot-8, three-level scorer averaging 16 points and 8 rebounds and shooting a 46/41/84% split. He made that jump while playing alongside 2022 Rivals.com four-star guards Quadir Copeland (Syracuse) and AJ Storr (St. John’s).

Chambers, a Newtown Square native, had been eyeing Vespe dating back through his time at Neumann Goretti because he was recruiting the area as the head coach at Penn State, then this past year as an assistant at La Salle.

The first-year FGCU coach lauded Vespe’s versatility at his size.

“We’re going to look to push the ball and play fast to put us in a position where we can showcase his abilities along with all the other guys we have,” Chambers said. “He’s got that toughness. He’s got that competitive edge that you sorely need in a one-bid league [the ASUN Conference].”

In Fort Myers, he won’t be the only signee with local ties. Chambers is bringing in Sam Onu, who played at the Phelps School before one season at Memphis, and Dahmir Bishop from Imhotep and St. Joseph’s. Walk-on Brandon Dwyer is a Delaware native who had played for Chambers at La Salle.

» READ MORE: Pat Chambers back as a head coach for Florida Gulf Coast, and he won’t forget the chance he got at La Salle

Having a Philly-centric staff, all with previous experience coaching alongside Chambers, has eased the transition more than a thousand miles south. Since getting to FGCU, Chambers has affirmed his commitment to establishing relationships in Florida. But this year, recruiting familiar faces helped fit the needs of the current roster.

“A story that’s been told to me many, many times is when Blaise hit that big three and took a huge charge,” Chambers said. “Any time you’re going to do that to Roman … it was a no-brainer. He can handle himself in that type of environment on that stage in that game.”