Florida State was an interesting case all season, to say the least. The Seminoles had one of the most experienced teams (six seniors) and one of the most talented, especially defensively, teams in the country. All that wound up in a number three seed in the ACC tournament, a 12-4 record in conference, a school-first ACC tournament title, and a number three seed in the NCAA tournament. Coach Leonard Hamilton was named ACC coach of the year and both Bernard James and Michael Snaer were named to the All-ACC defensive team. All in all it was more than a successful season for the ‘Noles, but it was not necessarily smooth sailing the whole way.
November: Grade B-. The result in November that sticks out most when looking at Florida State’s results is the five-point loss to Harvard. The Seminoles caught a lot of flack for the loss and the question later in the year that was constantly brought up is how this team could have lost a game like that to an Ivy League school. You have to take into account, however, that Harvard was not their worst loss. They would go on to have two worse losses against ACC foes. Either way, November was unstable for the Seminoles. They were not ranked in the preseason polls but gathered some votes for honorable mention and were picked to finish third in the conference. After a win over Jacksonville they slid into the rankings and continued by winning four straight after that. They ventured to the Battle 4 Atlantis tournament in the Bahamas as the 20th best team in the country and dismantled Massachusetts. Flying high, the Seminoles were beat at their own game by the Crimson, 46-41. Then they lost an overtime thriller to then-number-four Connecticut to finish the tournament. A trip to Michigan State was not what they needed to ease the pain and suddenly they were on a three game losing streak. Record after November: 5-3, Unranked.
December: C. Much like other teams, Florida State only played five games in the month of December but it was not pretty. Coming into the month reeling and tired after playing four games in seven days, the Seminoles were able to get rid of some anger against a decent-at-best Charleston Southern team and then were really quite unimpressive in a win over UNC-Greensboro, who was in the midst of a nine game losing streak. At this point it looked as though FSU had the athletic ability and defensive prowess to play with anyone but they just kept coming out sluggish. The month ended with a loss at rival Florida and then a triple overtime loss to another Ivy, Princeton. Suddenly, something was very wrong with this team. They only put up ten points, at home, to Princeton. Princeton? At home? Record after December: 8-5, Unranked.
January: A-. The game against Princeton seemed to strike the ‘Noles the wrong way. Or did it? The New Year started with a romp over Auburn, a team from a power-six conference. But then, a twenty point loss to Clemson. Michael Snaer, their leader, was not scoring. Bernard James was grabbing rebounds but not doing anything offensively. They had no role players besides Ian Miller who could not do much more than score. Then Hamilton earned his stripes. Something he said pumped his team up. This same team that had lost to two Ivys and Clemson came back a week later and gave third ranked North Carolina the whooping of a lifetime. UNC coach Roy Williams’ worst defeat came on January 14th in Tallahassee, when the ‘Noles won by 33. Devydas Dulkys was finally another role player (although he would remain somewhat quiet the rest of the year). James and Snaer were looking like all-conference performers, the bench went six deep, led by Miller and Okaro White, both good choices for the best sixth man in the conference. If that was not enough, the team rolled into Durham, Snaer hit a buzzer beater, and they put an end to Duke’s 45-game home winning streak. Talk about a hot team, the Noles ended the month at 14-6 but were the best team in the conference. Record after January: 14-6, 4-1 ACC. Ranked 24 ESPN/21 AP.
February: B. Going into February it was a safe pick to say that Florida State was one of the most dangerous teams in the country. They furthered that by beating Virginia at home in what I consider to be the best defensive game all season. But then came their actual worst loss of the season. Yes, Boston College, a lower ranked team in the RPI than Harvard or Princeton, got their best win of the season. An impressive win against a soaring Miami team after that seemed to get them back on track, but they looked very shaky in a win over Virginia Tech. At home, the ‘Noles were down by 8 with a minute and a half left. The Hokies missed their free throws and Florida State, which was having its worst shooting night of the conference season, started hitting everything. “The basketball gods just smiled on us in this one,” Hamilton said afterwards. Snaer hit a three with 2.6 seconds left and the Seminoles escaped with a one point win. A dismantling of NC State was followed by a rematch with Duke in Tallahassee. The crowd, which appeared to be more excited than ever before, was disappointed as the Devils righted the ship. A second straight loss was handed down in Miami, and suddenly Florida State looked shaky again. Record after February: 19-9, 10-4 ACC. Ranked 21 ESPN/21 AP.
March: A-. March for the Seminoles started off incredibly strong. A win at Virginia disappointed the Cavalier seniors but James getting thrown out for kicking Virginia guard Joe Harris tainted the victory. James had been applauded for his maturity all year after spending time serving in the Air Force. “Bernard James- you are better than that,” ESPN analyst Jay Williams would go on to say. But the ‘Noles continued and after finishing the ACC season in third place got rematches with Miami and then Duke in the ACC tournament. They won both and took the season series from both clubs. Now they had North Carolina in the final. The Tar Heels had looked sharp since getting destroyed in Tallahassee and wanted revenge. Not to be had, the ‘Noles beat the fourth ranked Heels and secured their first ever ACC championship. Snaer was named the tournament’s Most Outstanding Player and was turning into a household name. The Seminoles received a three seed for the Big Dance and were paired up with St. Bonaventure’s, who was coming in hot off of a win in the Atlantic Ten tournament. Florida State was down most of the game but went on a 16-2 run to beat the Bonnies and move on. A popular pick for a lot of people to make a run to the final four, the Seminoles lost their second round matchup to a surging Cincinnati team. The game was close throughout but Cincinnati pulled away at the end and a senior-laden group watched their dreams fade away.
Next year: Michael Snaer (Jr., Florida State’s leader and a second team all-conference, Snaer will return as one of the favorites to be player of the year in the conference), Ian Miller (So., a true scorer, NBA scouts like Miller’s ability to shoot and put the ball on the floor as a point guard or shooting guard)*, Okaro White (So., long and athletic big man will carry a big burden of replace James and Xavier Gibson), Terrance Shannon (Jr., out for a season ending injury in December, averaged 8 points and 4 rebounds in only seven games. Big man may try for a redshirt), Terry Whisnant (Fr., streaky freshman showed he can score at times, should get more playing time after being behind Miller and Snaer, along with Dulkys and Loucks).
*Pending NBA draft early entry
Incoming Class:
Montay Brandon: 6-4, 180 pound shooting guard. ESPN grade: 95, Scout.com 4 stars- “Brandon, a 6-foot-5 guard that can play anywhere from the wing to the lead guard spot, is an interesting prospect. He spent a lot of time playing on the ball during his final season of summer ball and as a bigger guard he can be effective as a passer and scorer. He's also a high level athlete with a tremendous upside because of his versatility and length. Brandon excels in an up-tempo environment where he can get out on the break.”
Aaron Thomas: 6-5, 195 pound shooting guard. ESPN grade: UR, 4 stars, Scout.com 4 stars- “Thomas is on the right track. Considered mostly a good mid-major prospect as a junior, Thomas simply blew up over the spring and summer. He is one of the best scorers in the class and has big time athleticism. When he is hot, his size and high release allow him to get shots off and put up big numbers. Though it has come a long way his ball handling needs some work. Also defensively he shows very little interest at times.”
Devon Bookert: 6-2, 180 pound point guard. ESPN grade: UR, 3 stars, Scout.com NR.
Robert Gilchrist: 6-9, 210 pound power forward. ESPN grade: UR, Scout.com JC. Junior College transfer.
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