Potential Breakout 'Noles for 2016

With FSU spring practice in full swing, the thoughts of what 2016 could be are fresh in Seminole fans' minds. Pictures and videos are constantly being tweeted out from the scarce amount of time media is allowed to peak into practice and it gets fans giddy about the future. I'm one of those fans. This team has real talent, real depth, and some scary-real potential. We already know about key pieces returning to the team from 2015 that will keep the team towards the top of the ACC, but what players will emerge to take the Seminoles to that next step? Here are 8(ish) players currently participating in spring practice that haven't seen much playing time but could be big names by the end of the season.

Sophomore DT, Walvenski Aimé
Meet JUCO transfer Walvenski Aimé. Walvenski Aime is a bad dude. As a 6'4", 289 early enrollee, Aimé could find his way onto a loaded defensive line for the Seminoles come fall. Out of JUCO he was rated as the 3rd best defensive tackle prospect and the 30th best prospect overall. With other players Derrick Nnadi and DeMarcus Christmas already on the depth chart - with experience - it may be another year until Aimé sees considerable playing time, but if he is able to break into the starting lineup it will be because he has earned it and is the real deal. If not, that's okay too, Aimé comes into FSU with three years of eligibility.

Sweet 16 Preview

By now there is a solid chance that your bracket resembles a dumpster fire with the crazy amount of upsets that took place in the first two rounds. The madness will continue tonight through Sunday as we find out who will get a trip to the Final Four.

South

The South Bracket will be in action tonight starting with (3)Miami and (2)Villanova before (1)Kansas vs (5)Maryland. 

Miami is led by point guard Angel Rodriguez who is averaging 26 points in the tournament including a huge 3-point dagger to hold off Wichita State. Villanova has coasted to the Sweet 16 with two 20+ point wins. Miami will have their hands full tonight with the Wildcats.

Another Tournament Pool...

Think again. This isn't just another tournament pool. Sean and I drafted 8 teams each, one by one, whom we think will have the best tournament showings. We will be keeping track of each group of teams by points and whoever ends with the most points will be buying the other a 12-pack of Barq's Root Beer, same as our college football pick 'em wager. The points system is simple (because we have to keep track ourselves), each team that advances will get points for each round they advance. We will multiply each rounds' point-worth by two so 1st round will be 1 point, 2nd round will be 2, 3rd round will be 4 points and so forth.

Here are our picks. I let Sean go first since I may or may not have ever gotten him the root beer I owed him from the college football picks, and why we picked the teams we did. Oh, and just for fun, our last pick had to be a 10+ seed.

1st - 2 Michigan State
Sean: It's Tom Izzo's time of the year and his team has a good draw to get to the Final Four. Denzel Valentine might be the nation's best player and I look for Bryn Forbes to hit some big threes along the way.

2nd - 1 Kansas
JK: Kansas is probably the best team in the nation right now and they're on a roll. I passed on North Carolina because I think their region is the toughest of the 4 - Xavier, West Virginia, Kentucky, Indiana, and Notre Dame are all lethal contenders.

Kansas' 12th-year senior Perry Ellis Jr./Joakim Noah's older brother

The Alaskan Assassin Bids Farewell

On Saturday the Noles will honor five seniors before they take on the Syracuse Orange. Boris Bojanovsky, Devon Bookert, Montay Brandon, Michael Ojo (Ojo could be granted a medical redshirt) and Michael Saxton will play their last game in the Civic Center but this article is not about these five seniors, it is about the one who has made Seminole fans everywhere proud. Devon Bookert, the Alaskan Assassin, has had an amazing senior year. I will not give my opinion on the other seniors that play as I am glad they are moving on but we will miss Devon Bookert next year. Bookert is the closest thing that the 'Noles have had to a leader this year and you could see his frustration and disappointment during Florida State's recent 5 game losing streak. The senior from Alaska, would be awesome to have next year if Bacon and Beasley were to come back and accompany Jonathan Isaac but that won't happen. This article is about appreciating Devon Bookert for the player he is and understanding that he was asked to do too much in his previous three years.