FSU has extended an offer to 2027 LB Prospect Kaden Henderson from Tampa (Fla.) Jesuit HS. It is the first FBS Henderson has received. Henderson is 6-2 and 200-pounds and has been on multiple unofficial visits to Florida State.

As a freshman in 2023, Henderson finished fifth on the team with 85 tackles including 6.5 TFLs in 13 games.

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FSU defensive tackle Joshua Farmer will return to the Seminoles in 2024, The Battle's End announced this morning. Huge news for a DT unit that is losing four contributors this offseason.

Here at my b-ball game he’s watching a kid that we are about to play from Jasper got to chat with him for about 10 mins great guy !!

A big, big night from Jamir Watkins - who pours in a career-best 27 points and matches a career-high with 11 rebounds as FSU pulls away for an 85-69 win at Syracuse on Tuesday:

Make that three FSU players who have extended relationships with The Battle's End today as starting center Maurice Smith will return in 2024.

Jackson is from Orlando Jones HS and competed in last year's Elite 11. Sources have told the Osceola that Jackson is coming to FSU as a preferred walk-on. Here is Rivals John Garcia's article on how Jackson ended up in Tallahassee.

Jackson split time at QB as a senior with sophomore Dereon Robinson and finished as the team's second leading passer with 916 on 56 of 101 passing with seven touchdowns and five interceptions. He was also second on the team in rushing with 855 yards on 104 carries.

...and...

FSU 85 Syracuse 69 The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly


The Good

FSU improves to 12-7 overall, 6-2 ACC. That is six wins in their last seven games. Coming into the game, Syracuse led the series 10-6. Make that 10-7 and is the third win in a row by the Seminoles over the 'Cuse. Coming into the game, Syracuse was 9-0 at home this season. Make that 9-1. Coming into the game, the 'Cuse were 4 point favs to win the game. DOH!!!!!

In a game that was eerily too similar to FSU's last game vs Clemson, the 'Noles turned on the switch and leveled Syracuse on its home court leading by as many as 20 points. The first half saw FSU leading the Orange 23-16. Then what was very similar to the Clemson game, the lead evaporated eventually trailing 36-35 at the half. Looking for a strong start to the final period, the 'Noles were anything but as Leonard Hamilton had to call timeout (he called it a "friendly meeting on the sideline") 1:45 into the second half. Hamilton called it a "sluggish start". But it was not looking good for FSU. The lecture on the sideline did not seem to help as the Seminoles trailed by 7 points, 44-37. Somehow FSU hung in there. Well, actually that somehow was Syracuse missing a whole bunch of FTs. Judah Mintz averages 81% from the line but missed 5 straight freebies at one point in the game. FSU led 59-58 with 8:48 to play. FSU flipped the switch at that point and simply imposed their will over the 'Cuse. By the time three minutes elapsed, the 'Noles led by ten, 72-62. And it was all from turning defense into offense as points were piled up via numerous forced turnovers and runouts. Syracuse tried the full court press on several possessions but FSU beat that tactic easily every time. With 1:31 remaining, FSU held a commanding 85-65 lead. Key in the game was the 'Noles avoiding fouling Syracuse. That allowed the Seminoles to flex their defensive muscles rather than standing around the FT lane. And boy, did they flex their defensive muscle. It was one runout fast break after another for about three minutes as the game approached its end.

A quality win on the road against a Quad 1 team by a substantial margin is a big resume builder for a NCAA tournament resume.

Player of the game: Jamir Watkins with a career high 27 points on 8-15 shooting and 9 of 12 at the line. He made it a double with 11 boards. It was all Watkins for much of the first 10 or so minutes of the game.

Primo Spears with a season high in assists (6) and added 11 points as well from off the bench.

Darin Green now with 49 of his 51 games at FSU scoring at least one three pointer. It wasn't a great shooting night for Darin, but he did have a team high 4 of FSU's 10 steals.

Baba Miller and Cam Corhen each added 12 points.

Plays of the game: Darin Green with the three from 30 feet. Taylor Bol Bowen getting out on the shooter to block the three point attempt. FSU's full press that forces a ten second violation by the 'Cuse, 26-26. Watkins with the slam off an assist from Warley to pull FSU to within one, 54-53. Corhen with the layup off an assist from Spears, 55-54. Immediately after, Watkins' slam off the lob by Spears, 57-54. Warley's 25 foot outlet pass ignited the break. Watkins with the slam driving the left baseline all alone when the defender tried to make the steal and whiffed. Darin Green's steal and coast to coast slam dunk. Darin breaking the zone defense Syracuse slapped on with the three from the left corner, 70-62. Warley steals the ball and gets it to Miller for the coast to coast layup, 72-62. The 'Cuse throws ona full court press only to have it solved with Warley finding Corhen all alone under the basket for the dunk, 74-62. Spears, with the shot clock running out, drives the lane. Confronted by a defender and hanging in the air, he moves the ball from his right hand to his left and flips the ball in, 78-63.

From the 6:57 mark of the second period, Syracuse scored exactly one FG. And that was with 1:03 left and the outcome long since decided.


The Bad

Remember that steal and fast break slam by Darin Green? Syracuse answered right away as Mintz took it from end to end for the drive down the lane and finished with the slam. The FSU defense was totally on its heels on that play. The basket closed the gap to 63-60.

With a 3 on 2 break, Spears apparently thought launching a long three point attempt was the better option. We say attempt because he was off the mark and instead Corhen picked up a foul. The two charity shots put Syracuse back in the lead 54-53.

I have no idea what the refs saw when they reviewed Miller's goal tending call. But it sure looked like the ball was still on the way up when he blocked the shot. But we know refs never make a mistake. Right?


The Ugly

2-15 as in Bol Bowen's three point stat recording yet another attempt tonight that missed its mark badly.

FT disparity and man was it disparate. At the half FSU had attempted eight FTs. The 'Cuse had 19. That is apparently something they do well against ACC teams when playing them at home. Must be something in the water.

Even worse than Mintz slicing through the defense was Malik Brown's fast break lay up. Not one Seminole made an attempt to get back and defend.

A 3 on 1 break that blew up when Miller lost control of the ball that sailed OB.


Up Next

The Seminoles will look for payback when they host UNC on Saturday at 2 PM. In the game back on Dec 2nd, FSU led by 14 a quarter of the way through the second half. FSU ended up losing that game 78-70. The #3 ranked Tar Heels (16-3, 8-0) have won 9 consecutive games. All have been by double digits with the latest victory an 85-64 win over Wake Forest.

Florida State doesn’t play a true center yet has had some good games on the boards this season. But the Seminoles’ loss against Clemson was their worst effort, as the Tigers had a 17-rebound advantage in a 78-67 victory.

FSU’s top rebounders were guard Darin Green Jr. (five) and Jamir Watkins (four). That’s not surprising given Watkins is FSU’s leading rebounder, but Baba Miller, Cam Corhen and Jaylan Gainey combined for just three rebounds in the game. Clemson had four players with six or more rebounds.

“One of the players said that they were physical,” FSU coach Leonard Hamilton said. “But I can’t see that when we normally have been flying from the corners to the top of the key, getting tip-ins. We were not as focused on offensive rebounding as we have been. I thought that there were some times that I don’t know who would have got them but we didn’t go. We stood and looked over someone’s shoulder. They do a very good job of blocking out. …

“You just can’t accept it. And I thought there were times when we just accepted the block out and weren’t nearly as aggressive as I thought we could be.”

Hollis Davidson. FSU will hang around in this race, imo

I'm interested in going to the SMU game this season. So I don’t know if this was a good idea, but I checked out ticket prices at SMU. It is $125 for season tickets in certain sections! So with this being their first season in the ACC, and a 32,000 seat stadium, and FSU playing there, I said what the heck and bought 4 season tickets.

Home games are:
Boston College, Cal, Florida State, Pitt, BYU, TCU and a scrub Houston Christian.

I've got to believe after a successful last season, and this inaugural ACC season that It’d be very tough to lose money with this home schedule.

It's been on my bucket list for a while and I was in steamboat springs over MLK. Book the trip on the snow cats to go into the backcountry.. Epic. Pictures are here. I'm on skis wearing the blue jacket without the orange around the neck.

I've spoken with Addison and he told me that he will be visiting FSU again, if not in the next few weeks, then during spring practices. He was visited by Norvell today and is a priority for this staff.

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FSU sports information:

Florida State women’s basketball sophomore guard Ta’Niya Latson continues to cement herself as one of the nation’s top shooting guards. Latson has been named an Ann Meyers-Drysdale Shooting Guard of the Year Top 10 finalist on Tuesday as selected by the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame.

The Miami native repeats as a Top 10 finalist after being on the list as a freshman in the 2022-23 season. She was named a finalist last year, and was once again on the Preseason Ann-Meyers Drysdale Shooting Guard of the Year Watch List in Oct. 2023.

Named after the first player, male or female, selected to an All-America Team in four straight college seasons, the annual award, now in its seventh year, recognizes the top shooting guard in women’s NCAA Division I college basketball. To be considered for this prestigious award, candidates must exhibit the tenacity and scoring prowess of Class of 1993 Hall of Famer Ann Meyers.

Fans can support their favorite players in the remaining rounds by participating in Fan Voting starting Friday on hoophallawards.com. The fan vote will count as one committee vote during the finalist selection process.

In March, five finalists will be presented to Meyers Drysdale and the Hall of Fame’s selection committee. The Selection Committee for the Ann Meyers Drysdale Award is composed of top women’s college basketball personnel, including media members, head coaches, sports information directors, and Hall of Famers.

The winner of the 2024 Meyers Drysdale Award will be presented on a to be determined date, along with the four other members of the Women’s Starting Five. Additional awards being presented include the Nancy Lieberman Award (Point Guard), Cheryl Miller Award (Small Forward), the Katrina McClain Award (Power Forward), and the Lisa Leslie Award (Center), in addition to the Men’s Starting Five.

In ACC play, Latson continues to elevate her game by averaging 22.1 points, shooting 43.1 percent from the floor and averaging 5.4 assists per game. Latson became the second Seminole ever to record three consecutive 30-point games when she started conference play with 30 points each against Georgia Tech, Wake Forest and NC State.

Over Latson’s last five games, she is averaging 7.2 assists. She recently tied as the fastest Seminole ever to eclipse 1,000 career points, joining FSU legend Sue Galkantas (1980-84) in achieving the feat in just 48 games played. Latson is already tied with Galkantas for the most 30-point games in school history with 11.

2024 Ann Meyers Drysdale Shooting Guard of the Year Award Candidates*

Abbey Hsu | Columbia

Charisma Osborne | UCLA

Ta’Niya Latson | Florida State

Paige Bueckers | UConn

Sara Scalia | Indiana

JuJu Watkins | USC

Mikaylah Williams | LSU

Charlisse Leger-Walker | Washington State

Saniya Rivers | NC State

JJ Quinerly | West Virginia

Son of Dexter Carter, is no longer committed to FSU.

What happened?

Yesterday Florida State lost one of its most loyal Seminoles ever. Judge Jim Joanos passed away peacefully in Tallahassee, 89 years young. . He and his wife Betty Lou were Moore-Stone Award winners as FSU Hall of Famers, inducted as a couple.

Judge Joanos attended FSU’s first football game as a teen ager in 1947. The only home football games he ever missed in 76 years were while in service to the Air Force and at family weddings. He and Betty Lou were constant fans at all FSU men’s and women’s events. Almost surely, he attended more athletic contests than anyone in our history.

He was a most respected attorney, trial judge and First District Court of Appeals Judge. He helped document FSU Athletics history through his Garnet and Old articles and helped Bob Perrone with our complete chronicle of Athletics statistics and records in nolefsn.org, used today as the source of all FSU Athletics history.

At FSU events he was often seen wearing his authentic Seminole tribal jacket.

Jim Joanos was kind, wise, considerate, loyal, humble and a friend to thousands . He will be sorely missed and long remembered.

I’m dealing with a bout of diverticulitis and it’s making me grouchier than usual. Anyone else have this lovely condition?

So do they just wait til spring?

FSU brought in six offensive transfers this offseason, a group loaded with immediate and future contributors. I took a look inside the numbers to see where these players succeeded at their previous schools and how FSU could use each of them.

Who is he?

In addition to Kaliq Lockett earlier, Florida State also offered:

Newberry (Fla.) Three-star DT Jarquez Carter

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New Iberia (LA.) Westgate Four-star Safety Jaboree Antione

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Folsom (CA.) High Quarterback Ryder Lyons

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Lyons has no ranking for Rivals yet but is projecting to be one of the more sought after quarterbacks in the 2026 class.