The 'Noles have not returned to the tournament since. Hamilton's teams have gotten comfortable with NIT appearances and last season they were not even invited to the tournament - the first time the 'Noles did not make either the NCAA Tournament or NIT since 2005. Despite the hype around the team since its ACC Championship, the Seminoles have not been able to put it together on the court.
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| Xavier Rathan-Mayes (via NoledOut.com) |
So what's the point? Why do we care that our basketball program is the definition of average? Because this year is different.
Sean and I have talked at length about this year's team through Renegade Sports. You may think that we just love basketball and are overselling the team. Nope. This year coach Hamilton and his coaching staff have put together something special. Very special.
Last season the 'Noles failed to produce offensively. They relied on first-year player Xavier Rathan-Mayes to create basically the entire offense. As indicated by the team's final record (17-16), this did not work out too well. XRM had a great season, setting a single-season ACC record for 30-point games by a freshman with three, but he did not have the help around him to make a difference. The defense wasn't too hot either to be honest. This season is a completely different story. The Seminole team has a completely new look, one that includes scoring, athleticism, and energy.
Coach Hamilton and his staff have brought in 5 new players that have already given the program's identity a full 180ยบ turnaround. A McDonald's All-American, a junior college transfer and three four-star talents have Vegas giving Hamilton's crew the 14th-best chance of any team to win the championship this year. You read that right - the National Championship.
"Preseason accolades are great and all but why should I fall victim to the hype?" I'll tell you why.
In the team's first three games of live action, they have eclipsed 100 points. Sunday afternoon they cracked 80 points with over 14 minutes still left in the 2nd half against a Division 1 team. The 'Noles reached 80 points in regulation just four times all of last season. The reason you should give in to the hype isn't just because of the points, however, it's because of the way they are scoring them. This team is just that - a team. They play together like they are seniors that have been doing it for multiple years and they have a ton of fun doing it.
“We hoped the fact that we were a little older and they were younger would be a factor in the game, but I couldn’t tell you who the freshmen were and who they weren’t. They all looked like veteran players to me…"
- Nicholls State head coach JP Piper (via Seminoles.com)
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| Mann, Beasley, XRM, Jarquez, and Bacon (via Scout.com) |
Last spring when I learned of the recruiting class that included Dwayne Bacon and Malik Beasley, both top 30 players according to ESPN, I was still skeptical because of what I had seen from my Seminoles in the past and their inability to score the basketball. Just three games of live action have made me a believer. And it's not just these two that have impressed me so far, in fact, Terance Mann has been the most exciting to me. He seems to know the game as well as any player we've ever had here, a kid that turned 19 just last month. The other newcomers are impressive too and seem like they will live up to their billing.
The flexibility that these three alone have to create offensively allow the players of last year's team that struggled producing, to step into a roll that they can excel at. Senior Devon Bookert, a sharpshooter who was asked to do too much last season, doesn't have to force his offense. He has already looked like a new player, playing comfortable and having fun. Montay Brandon, a strong, explosive, and athletic small forward whom we have not yet seen play this season, will not have to be relied on to do more than what he is capable of on offense. These are just two players that will be benefiting from the 5 players with combo guard abilities (Bacon, Beasley, XRM, Mann and JUCO transfer Benji Bell) that the Seminoles now have.
While Mann looks like he will be a "steal" after flying under the radar behind Bacon and Beasley, another newcomer that has flashed is Christ Koumadje. Koumadje, who was an AAU teammate of Bacon's, showed two things in his Seminole debut Sunday - the ability to run the floor and a little bit of nastiness. These are two things that the man starting ahead of him - Boris Bojanovsky - has struggled to find. If the wiry Koumadje can step in and take some of the reps from the more skilled Bojo, he can overshadow the fact that our two power forwards (Jarquez Smith and Phil Cofer) are both undersized.
That brings me to Smith and Cofer. We all know what Cofer did to Jahlil Okafor last season. Phil is a grown-ass man who showed us as a freshman that he brings energy, defense and highlight dunks to the court. He has not jumped off the page with improvement so far yet this season but it's only been one regular season game and two exhibitions, I fully expect him to have a huge season for the 'Noles. Smith, however, has certainly flashed. You can tell that the could-be-Madagascar-character has put in some serious work during this past off-season on his offensive game. Down low and even from behind the arc, Jarquez has been very impressive. He and Cofer will need to continue being impressive for this team because down low, right now, is one "weakness" this team does have. These two are talented but undersized and the three centers that we have (Ojo, Bojo and Koumadje) are all long but are, so far, not consistent forces in the paint on either side of the ball. Look for Montay Brandon to step in down low this season so that the 'Noles can go small and create matchup problems for opponents.
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| There are rumors that Jarquez Smith will make an appearance on Madagascar 4. |
XRM, Bacon, Beasley, Mann, Bookert, Brandon, Cofer, Smith, Koumadje and Bojo give us 10 players that can come in without any drop-off and we haven't even talked about JUCO transfer Benji Bell. The 6'4" guard was recently named the Panhandle Player of the year in the state of Florida after leading his team to the NJCAA Championship. So, there's that as well.
The program's most highly-touted recruiting class has already convinced me to buy in. The talent level and depth are certainly eye-opening, but they have been magnified by the togetherness and camaraderie this team has shown in just the three times I've seen them hit the floor for live action. This Florida State team is destined for a big season and another championship in the nation's toughest conference would certainly validate it as a big season. With that said, the talent and swagger of the newcomers coupled with the experience of the veterans gives them the potential to go farther than any Hamilton-coached team has ever gone.
Tonight they take on Jacksonville at 9 and Montay Brandon and Benji Bell are expected to play. The game is on ESPN3 if you can't make it. Stop making excuses. Watch this team and join Sean and I on the bandwagon, there is plenty of room but we expect it to fill up fast.*
*We will not save spots.
Pictures are not our own.
Stats and schedule via ESPN.com and Seminoles.com
Twitter: @RenegadeSports_
Facebook: Renegade Sports
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