Florida State basketball has put together an impressive tournament resume. The Seminoles are 18-2 and at the top of the ACC (tied with Notre Dame and North Carolina). The last time they made an appearance in the tournament was in 2012. If you recall, Jeremy Lin made his debut with the Knicks and #Linsanity was trending. Essentially, it was a long time ago.
With all the success the Seminoles are having, let’s delve into why Florida State isn’t being talked about.
The seniors have never made it to the dance
This senior class has consistently “missed it by that much” and they have yet to partake in the tournament. In 2012, the Seminoles lost to Cincinnati in the third round. After that class graduated, there hasn’t been much excitement.
This senior class made it to the NIT their freshman and junior years. I probably should not mention their sophomore year when they neglected to go further than the regular season.
However, that has been part of their success. They have a younger team and there are only two seniors on the team: Michael Ojo and Jarquez Smith. The older two are playing an average of 13 minutes a game. The young guys are the ones putting up big numbers to lead the charge against respectable ball clubs like Duke and Louisville.
Seminoles have Young personnel
Let’s start with Dwayne Bacon. Yes, his last name is Bacon, which automatically makes him special. The sophomore is averaging 17.4 points per game for the Seminoles and a few rebounds.
If young guns are going to be mentioned, then freshman Jonathan Isaac needs to get some credit. His specialty is shooting without question. The kid is shooting 54 percent from the field, 38.5 percent from three-point land, and 82.4 percent from the free throw line. Let’s not forget he is averaging 7.8 rebounds per game and 13.3 points per game. Those are a lot of stats, and good ones for a freshman.
Junior Xavier Rathan-Mayes leads the team with 4.7 assists per game and provides some leadership on the court. Michael Ojo also adds experience on the court and contributed 10 points in the win over Louisville this past weekend.
In addition, Terrance Mann is a crafty guard who really does it all. He is shooting 60 percent from the field and grabbing 4.6 rebounds per game (second on the team). He also uses his great ball-handling skills to take players to the rim.
Deep bench
Head coach Leonard Hamilton does it differently than most Division I college basketball teams. He rotates 12 players throughout the game and utilizes his bench well.
He has four players averaging over 20 minutes a game, but pulls other players into rotation. Jarquez Smith is averaging less minutes and points per game than in past years, but contributes more than just stats. He is a senior that provides composure on the court when Coach Hamilton needs it. Braian Angola-Rodas is also coming off the bench and adding decent minutes.
Earlier this year in their win over Notre Dame, the bench came up big to beat Notre Dame by three in the final minute.
Two of the Seminoles’ starters struggled throughout the game. Terrance Mann was held scoreless and Michael Ojo added just two points (the opening dunk). Sophomore PJ Savoy scored 12 points. Overall, the bench scored 39 points (just under half of their points) in the victory.
tournament hopes and what is to come
The tournament is within reach for the Seminoles for the first time in awhile. The upperclassmen have ownership on their lack of performance in the past. The young guys are adapting well to the pace of college basketball and knocking off good teams in the process.
Florida State has notable wins, but they still have a tough schedule ahead. They are 6-1 in conference play right now, but the second time around is always tougher. Notre Dame will be looking for revenge after a close loss. Duke will also be hungry for a win after losing to the Seminoles by a margin of 16 points when Rathan-Mayes scored 21 points.
Georgia Tech, Syracuse, and Miami will not be easy games either. Regardless, Florida State has set themselves up well to make a tournament appearance this year and possibly make a run. They have the young guys to make it happen if they can keep getting quality wins until March (which is still asking a lot, but manageable).
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