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2008 Florida State Basketball Preview & Predictions

Written by Steve Janus

Overview
The Seminoles were able to reach the postseason for the third straight season for the first time in their last fifteen years, but three straight NIT bids simply isn’t any team’s goal heading into their season. Unfortunately for Florida State they’ve lost more key players than any other team in the ACC when you consider the points and rebounds they won’t be getting from Jason Rich, Isaiah Swann, and Ralph Mims this year. What the Seminoles and head coach Leonard Hamilton are hoping, however, is that some of their key players that were injured during last year’s campaign will be back to fill the void left by their graduating seniors. Hamilton has made it his team’s mission to use the hardships they’ve been through in the past as motivation for 2008-2009. BetUs.com has Florida State at just +3000 odds to win the ACC, however, making it even harder to imagine this team as one that can compete with the elite teams in the conference.

Frontcourt
FSU’s frontcourt was decimated by an early season injury to center Solomon Alabi last year and they desperately need him healthy and productive if they want to have a successful season. The Seminoles do return their leading rebounder from a year ago in Uche Echefu, but where they really need him to improve is on the offensive side of the ball, where he was nearly a non-factor a year ago. Forward Ryan Reid will be back this year and while he was an excellent one-on-one shutdown defender last season, the Noles will be looking for him to improve on last year’s scoring (5 points per game) and rebounding (5 rebounds per game). Florida State fans have a young player in their frontcourt to get excited about and that player is McDonald’s All-American, Chris Singleton, who is considered to be in an elite class of small forwards coming into the college game this year. The Seminoles also recruited Xavier Gibson, a 6’11” center, who may actually play some power forward, but if he continues to improve on his strength, he may be a viable option to give Alabi a breather when necessary.

Backcourt
As with so many teams in the ACC, Florida State’s strength comes from its backcourt. The guards are lead by Toney Douglas, who lead the ACC in steals last year and is among the top eight scorers returning to the conference. Douglas will be joined by Jordan Demarcy, a 6’7’’ shooting guard with great defensive skills who, reports say, has prepared very well in the offseason and could be an immediate impact player this year. Point guard duties will be split by Luke Loucks and Pierre Jordan this season, with Loucks likely getting the majority of the playing time. Loucks is a pass-first point guard who runs the offense well and knows how to find open shooters where Jordan is much more of an offensive threat. The Seminoles backcourt will also include Junior College transfer Derwin Kitchen and Lithuanian shooting guard Deividas Dulkys, both of which will be asked to play supporting roles, at least at the beginning of the season.

Final Thoughts
The Seminoles have plenty to replace, but also plenty to build off of for their 2008-2009 campaign.It will be key for them to establish Alabi and the rest of their frontcourt, which has been a source of weakness for them in the past. All indications are that this will be a very good defensive team, but that simply isn’t enough in the ACC. They should do well outside of the conference, but will likely struggle with the majority of their Atlantic Coast opponents. It’s hard to see Florida State having any impact on the national scene, and BetUs.com agrees, setting the odds at +10000 for the Seminoles to win the NCAA Championship, but a fourth straight NIT bid isn’t out of the question.

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