2011 Florida State Basketball Predictions

2010-11 Results:

Overall: 23-11 (12-3 H, 8-5 A, 3-3 N)
ACC: 11-5 (7-1 H, 4-4 A)
Conference Tournament: 0-1, lost in quarterfinals
Postseason: 2-1, lost in Sweet 16 of NCAA Tournament

A dynamic run in the NCAA Tournament was lost in the final seconds of overtime against VCU in the Sweet 16, but the Seminoles showed during the season that it can and does compete on a national level. Those eight seconds separated FSU from being the Cinderella team in the Elite Eight (instead of VCU, which wound up in the Final Four), but they have set the stage for a season where FSU can be looked upon as a contender in the ACC. The Seminoles finished third in the conference last year by winning 11 league games, the most for the Seminoles since 1993.

Leonard Hamilton led FSU to its best season in 18 years and instilled a tenacious defensive system, one that led the country in field-goal percentage defense (.363). The team finished the year ranked 19th in the nation after beating 20th-ranked Texas A&M and No. 5 Notre Dame in the NCAA tournament.

Roster
Returning Starters
Bernard James
Michael Snaer
Okaro White

Returning Lettermen
Deividas Dulkys
Luke Loucks
Xavier Gibson
Terrence Shanon

Other Returning Players
None

Newcomers
Antwan Space
Kiel Turpin
Terry Whisnant

Head Coach
Leonard Hamilton, 10th year

Key Losses
Florida State will have to overcome two significant losses in the starting rotation. The first is Chris Singleton, who was the leading scorer and rebounder for the Seminoles last year, carding 13 points and seven rebounds per game and also picking up two steals per contest. Derwin Kitchen was the team’s No. 2 scorer and top perimeter player, averaging 10.4 points, about 3.5 assists and nearly six boards per game to list third on the team.

Schedule

Date	Opponent / Event
10/31/2011	Indiana University of Pennsylvania
11/7/2011	vs. Georgia Southwestern
11/11/2011	vs. Jacksonville
11/14/2011	vs. UCF
11/16/2011	vs. Stetson
11/20/2011	vs. South Alabama
11/24/2011	vs. Massachusetts
11/25/2011	Harvard or Utah / Battle4Atlantis
11/26/2011	Battle4Atlantis
11/30/2011	@ Michigan State
12/5/2011	vs. Charleston Southern
12/11/2011	vs. UNC Greensboro
12/18/2011	vs. Loyola Marymount
12/22/2011	@ Florida
12/30/2011	vs. Princeton
1/4/2012	vs. Auburn
1/7/2012	@ Clemson
1/10/2012	@ Virginia Tech
1/14/2012	vs. North Carolina
1/17/2012	vs. Maryland
1/21/2012	@ Duke
1/25/2012	@ Wake Forest
2/1/2012	vs. Georgia Tech
2/4/2012	vs. Virginia
2/8/2012	@ Boston College
2/11/2012	vs. Miami
2/16/2012	vs. Virginia Tech
2/18/2012	@ NC State
2/23/2012	vs. Duke
2/26/2012	@ Miami
3/1/2012	Virginia
3/4/2012	vs. Clemson
3/8/2012	ACC Tournament

2011-12 Preview

What to do for an encore? It’s hard to think Florida State can do more than finish third in the ACC and make a run to the Sweet 16, but the Seminoles will give it a run and predicate their attack on stifling, in-your-face defensive pressure that causes poor-shooting games by opponents on a regular basis.

While the team loses its top two scorers and two of its top rebounders from a year ago, the team will have 13 returning letterwinners, seven of whom were regular contributors last year. With that familiarity in the defensive philosophy of coach Hamilton, one may expect Florida State to be at the heels of Duke and North Carolina again this year – and maybe, even be part of the same sentence as national powers in the college hoops conversation.

Backcourt

The backcourt will have significant experience, as two starting guards from last year return, as well as the top two reserves.

Junior Michael Snaer finished third on the team in scoring (8.8 ppg) and tied for second in total assists (76) while shooting 37 percent from the 3-point line and hitting the second-most triples on the team (43).

Sophomore Okaro White finished fifth on the team in scoring (6.6 ppg) while playing just less than 17 minutes per game as a freshman. He shot 83 percent from the free-throw line.

Senior Deividas Dulkys from Lithuania was the top reserve at the end of the year, though he started 24 games. He finished fourth in scoring (7.3 ppg) and third in steals (42) while being the most active 3-point shooter (165 attempts, 33 percent made)

Senior Luke Loucks is the other backcourt veteran, finishing second on the team in assists (76) and being just one of two regulars with more assists than turnovers last year. He played just shy of 15 minutes per game, averaging 2.9 ppg.

Frontcourt

Bernard James is the only returning starter in the frontcourt, but played a big role. He finished fourth on the team in scoring (8.6 ppg), second in rebounding (5.9 pg) and was the team’s top shot-blocker (82). And while no one else on the roster cleared 50-percent shooting from the floor, James hit on nearly 60 percent of his shots.

Xavier Gibson started bout half of his 25 games and averaged about 14 minutes per contest, averaging 4.7 points and 3.7 rebounds.

Terrence Shannon averaged about 13 minutes in his 27 games, averaging 4.7 points and 2.7 rebounds per contest.

Kiel Turpin is a junior transfer from Lincoln College. The 7-footer was named MVP of the national tournament in both his freshman and sophomore years at Lincoln, so it’s expected that he will play a significant role in the rotation.

Other Resources on Seminole Basketball:

More ACC Basketball Predictions

North Carolina Tar Heels	Duke Blue Devils	Florida State Seminoles
Virginia Cavaliers	NC State Wolfpack	Miami Hurricanes
Clemson Tigers	Maryland Terrapins	Virginia Tech Hokies
Wake Forest Demon Deacons	Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets	Boston College Eagles

Comments

Got something to say?