With Basketball in full swing, I thought I’d switch gears for this edition of FSU Rewind. These won’t be as detailed as the Football rewinds most the info straight from Wiki. Just thought I’d share these quick hits on FSU players currently playing in the NBA: Okaro White, Malik Beasley, Johnathan Issac, Dwayne Bacon (and recently, XRM). Hit the like button, comment below about these players, memories, additional, info, etc. If enough people are interested, I’ll dig deeper into former FSU basketball players.
First up is Okaro White because he just got some good news – he was signed by the Cavs last week (at least for the next few days)!
Background: Born Brooklyn New York in 1992. 6’8, 215LBs. Moved to clearwater as a teen and played basketball at clearwater high. White was named Pinellas County's Basketball Player of the Year as a senior at Clearwater High School.
FSU: White chose to play college basketball at Florida State after receiving scholarship offers from Florida, Georgia Tech, Indiana, Clemson, and Miami (Fl.). At Florida State, he started on two NCAA Tournament teams. He averaged 13.6 points and 6.8 rebounds per game in his senior season with Florida State, both career highs. In addition, White connected on 37.5 percent of his 3-point shots. He defended both guards and forwards and alternated between the small and power forward positions. White was one of 64 seniors selected to play in the Portsmouth Invitational Tournament.
Professional career
Italy (2014–2015) - After going undrafted in the 2014 NBA draft, White joined the Memphis Grizzlies for the 2014 NBA Summer League. He signed with Virtus Bologna of Italy for the 2014–15 season. In 33 games for the club, he averaged 12.1 points, 6.8 rebounds, 1.1 assists and 1.0 blocks per game in the top-tier Italian League.
Greece (2015–2016) - In July 2015, White joined the Memphis Grizzlies for the Orlando Summer League and the Dallas Mavericks for the Las Vegas Summer League. On August 7, 2015, he signed a one-year deal with Aris Thessaloniki of the Greek Basket League and the EuroCup. In 26 Greek League regular season games, he averaged 13.5 points, 7.0 rebounds per game. He led the Greek League's regular season phase with a total accumulated Performance Index Rating (PIR) of 474, thus being the league's regular season PIR leader.He was named the 2015–16 Greek League Most Spectacular Player.
Miami Heat and Sioux Falls Skyforce (2016–2018)- Between 2016-2017, White bounced back and forth between the Miami Heat and their affiliate team the Skyforce. He broke his foot during layup drills. In all, white appeared in 41 games over the past two seasons with the Miami Heat, averaging 2.9 points and 2.3 rebounds. He also played in the NBA Development League All-Star game. On February 8, 2018, the Heat traded White to the Atlanta Hawks in exchange for Luke Babbitt and White was later waived.
Cleveland Cavaliers (2018–present) - On March 18, 2018, the Cleveland Cavaliers signed White to a 10-day contract. The Cavs, who have been carrying only 13 players on their roster for the past two weeks, had to sign a player by Sunday, according to a league rule. The White signing will cost the Cavs approximately $400,000 in salary and luxury tax fees.
Some NBA Highlights:
Background: Dwayne Bacon attended the McKeel Academy in his native Lakeland, Florida until transferring to the IMG Academy in Bradenton, Florida for his junior season. In his junior season of 2013-2014 at IMG Academy Bacon was IMG’s leading scorer. In his only season at IMG he averaged 19.3 ppg. Bacon transferred to the Oak Hill Academy for his senior season where he led Oak Hill to an undefeated regular season with a record of 45-0 and averaged 24.4 points per game, 4.4 rebounds per game, 3.4 assists per game, and 2.2 steals per game. He was ranked 14th on ESPN 100.
FSU: On September 5, 2014. Dwayne Bacon committed to Florida State over offers from Oklahoma State, Georgia Tech, and Auburn. As a freshman at Florida State Bacon received the National Freshman of the week honors from CBS Sports on November 21. He was a three time ACC rookie of the week (Nov 16, Dec 21 and Dec 28). In his first career game Bacon had 23 points, 8 rebounds, 2 steals and 1 assist. Bacon achieved his first career win over Charleston Southern with 20 points and 10 rebounds. He appeared in every game during the 2015-16 season for the Seminoles and averaged 15.8 points and 5.8 rebounds over 28.8 minutes per game. On March 23, Bacon announced via Twitter that he would test his draft status for the 2016 NBA Draft. He did not hire an agent and retained his amateur status and the ability to return to Florida State for the 2016-17 season. However, on March 28 he announced he will return to college.
During his sophomore season, Bacon was named a member of the All-ACC second team for his work with Florida State that season. After his team was eliminated from the 2017 NCAA Tournament, Bacon declared for the 2017 NBA Draft (with a commitment that he'd sign with an agent soon afterward) on March 22, 2017.
FSU Highlights:
Professional:
On June 22, 2017, Bacon was selected by the New Orleans Pelicans with the 40th overall pick in the 2017 NBA draft. He was later traded to the Charlotte Hornets on draft night. He did a brief stint in the D league where he put up 45 points in one game. In Charlotte, he immediately became immersed in a active role when guard Nic Batum sprained his left elbow at the start of the season. He is the sixth player taken in the second round to start the first game of the season since 2009. He has played in 49 games this season, but only getting 12 min a game. He is averaging 3PPG, and 2 Rebounds a game this season. However, now that Charlotte is out of the playoff hunt, he is getting much more PT. Bacon registered 15 points (6-14 FG, 0-1 3Pt, 3-3 FT), five assists, three rebounds and two steals across 31 minutes in yesterday’s win 140-79 win over the Grizzlies. Bacon has now gotten 20-plus minutes in each of the last three games, and is becoming a go-to option for the Hornets off their bench.
Per his head coach: “You guys know I was high on him. He has a chance to be a starter. I’m talking about a starter that you can win with. He can play at both ends of the floor, but he has worked. He shot 33 percent in college from three. His skill level from September has improved dramatically, but he has locked in, and taken advantage of this opportunity.” On March 22, 2018, Bacon said: “I’m feeling comfortable. I’m very comfortable. I’m just able to go out there and play. I feel like I still make minor mistakes, but I’m just getting better as I go.”
NBA highlights:
Background: Beasley attended Saint Francis School. As a senior, he averaged 22.2 points, 6.9 rebounds, 2.9 assists, 1.9 steals and 0.6 blocks, earning the Class 1A Player of the Year of the state of Georgia and an All-State Class A First Team. Before pledging to Florida State University, Malik Beasley was ranked the 28th best player in the 2015 class by ESPN. Despite being ranked so high, no big programs — UNC, Duke, Kentucky, Kansas — had offered the bouncy, 6-5 guard.
FSU: Malik Beasley is a prototypical two-guard: good size for the position, elite athleticism, consistent shooting, and scoring efficiency.As a freshman at Florida State in 2015–16, Beasley averaged 15.6 points, 5.3 rebounds and 1.5 assists in 29.8 minutes per game over 34 games. He was subsequently named to the Atlantic Coast Conference's all-freshman team, and ranked eighth in the conference in free throw percentage (.813) and 10th in field-goal percentage (.471). On March 21, 2016, Beasley declared for the NBA draft, forgoing his final three years of college eligibility.
Professional:
Denver Nuggets (2016–present): Following the conclusion of the 2015–16 season, Beasley had surgery to repair a stress fracture in his right leg. Because of this, he did not participate in pre-draft workouts. Despite having medical concerns entering the 2016 NBA draft, Beasley was selected with the 19th overall pick by the Denver Nuggets. On August 9, 2016, he signed his rookie scale contract with the Nuggets. Beasley had a breakthrough game on November 10, scoring 12 points in 15 minutes off the bench. Overall, he is averaging 10 min and 3PPG. During his rookie season, Beasley has had multiple assignments with the Sioux Falls Skyforce of the NBA Development League.
NBA highlight (from yesterday):
Background: Issac first attended Barron Collier High School in Naples, Florida during his freshman and sophomore years. In his junior and senior years, he also attended the International School Of Broward in Hollywood, Florida. However, as a result of wanting to be reclassified as someone from the high school class of 2016, Isaac also attended IMG Academy for what was considered to be a postgraduate year in 2016. As a senior, he averaged 17.6 points per game and 10.0 rebounds per game while leading IMG Academy to a 21-10 record. Throughout his high school career, he grew six inches from his freshman year to his senior year, going from a combo guard of sorts to the combo forward he is today. Isaac was rated as a five-star recruit and was ranked the #12 player in the Class of 2016 by ESPN.
FSU: Before the 2016–17 season began, Isaac would be considered a preseason watch for the Karl Malone Award. On November 15, in his second game of the season, he recorded 20 points in a 99–78 win over Iona. Throughout the season, Isaac was considered a team leader alongside fellow prospects Dwayne Bacon and Xavier Rathan-Mayes. He averaged 12 points and 8 rebounds per game. At the conclusion of his freshman season, he was named to the All-ACC Freshman Team of 2017. In addition to that, Isaac announced his intention to forgo his final three years of collegiate eligibility and enter the 2017 NBA draft where he is projected as a lottery first round selection.[5] He was the second player in Florida State's basketball history to leave as a one-and-done prospect, behind Malik Beasley in 2016.
FSU highlights:
Professional:
On June 22, 2017, Isaac was selected with the sixth overall pick in the 2017 NBA draft by the Orlando Magic. Isaac has played in only 25 of the Magic’s 72 games this season — he missed 45 games because of a right ankle injury — and his protracted absences have hampered his development. In the games he has played, Isaac has averaged 20 minutes, 5 points, 4 rebounds.
Footnote:
Rathan-Mayes digned a 10-day contract with the Grizzlies in early March. In his second game with grizzlies, he almost put up a double-double, and has played a significant role for the Grizzlies since joining the team on a 10-day contract, averaging 5.8 points, 1.0 rebound, 3.6 assists and 1.2 steals across 23.6 minutes over five games. However, the Grizzlies are opting to let his contract expire. Here’s to hoping XRM gets another shot.
_________________________________________________________________________
Thanks for reading, please “like” if you enjoyed.
Previous editions:
Rewind 1 – Marcus Ball
Rewind 2 – Lorenzo Booker
Rewind 3 – Corey Surrency
Rewind 4 - Jeff Luc
Here is a list of all former FSU NBA players. Comment below if there’s anyone in particular you are interested in following up on.
First up is Okaro White because he just got some good news – he was signed by the Cavs last week (at least for the next few days)!
Okaro White
Background: Born Brooklyn New York in 1992. 6’8, 215LBs. Moved to clearwater as a teen and played basketball at clearwater high. White was named Pinellas County's Basketball Player of the Year as a senior at Clearwater High School.
FSU: White chose to play college basketball at Florida State after receiving scholarship offers from Florida, Georgia Tech, Indiana, Clemson, and Miami (Fl.). At Florida State, he started on two NCAA Tournament teams. He averaged 13.6 points and 6.8 rebounds per game in his senior season with Florida State, both career highs. In addition, White connected on 37.5 percent of his 3-point shots. He defended both guards and forwards and alternated between the small and power forward positions. White was one of 64 seniors selected to play in the Portsmouth Invitational Tournament.
Professional career
Italy (2014–2015) - After going undrafted in the 2014 NBA draft, White joined the Memphis Grizzlies for the 2014 NBA Summer League. He signed with Virtus Bologna of Italy for the 2014–15 season. In 33 games for the club, he averaged 12.1 points, 6.8 rebounds, 1.1 assists and 1.0 blocks per game in the top-tier Italian League.
Greece (2015–2016) - In July 2015, White joined the Memphis Grizzlies for the Orlando Summer League and the Dallas Mavericks for the Las Vegas Summer League. On August 7, 2015, he signed a one-year deal with Aris Thessaloniki of the Greek Basket League and the EuroCup. In 26 Greek League regular season games, he averaged 13.5 points, 7.0 rebounds per game. He led the Greek League's regular season phase with a total accumulated Performance Index Rating (PIR) of 474, thus being the league's regular season PIR leader.He was named the 2015–16 Greek League Most Spectacular Player.
Miami Heat and Sioux Falls Skyforce (2016–2018)- Between 2016-2017, White bounced back and forth between the Miami Heat and their affiliate team the Skyforce. He broke his foot during layup drills. In all, white appeared in 41 games over the past two seasons with the Miami Heat, averaging 2.9 points and 2.3 rebounds. He also played in the NBA Development League All-Star game. On February 8, 2018, the Heat traded White to the Atlanta Hawks in exchange for Luke Babbitt and White was later waived.
Cleveland Cavaliers (2018–present) - On March 18, 2018, the Cleveland Cavaliers signed White to a 10-day contract. The Cavs, who have been carrying only 13 players on their roster for the past two weeks, had to sign a player by Sunday, according to a league rule. The White signing will cost the Cavs approximately $400,000 in salary and luxury tax fees.
Some NBA Highlights:
Dwayne Bacon
Background: Dwayne Bacon attended the McKeel Academy in his native Lakeland, Florida until transferring to the IMG Academy in Bradenton, Florida for his junior season. In his junior season of 2013-2014 at IMG Academy Bacon was IMG’s leading scorer. In his only season at IMG he averaged 19.3 ppg. Bacon transferred to the Oak Hill Academy for his senior season where he led Oak Hill to an undefeated regular season with a record of 45-0 and averaged 24.4 points per game, 4.4 rebounds per game, 3.4 assists per game, and 2.2 steals per game. He was ranked 14th on ESPN 100.
FSU: On September 5, 2014. Dwayne Bacon committed to Florida State over offers from Oklahoma State, Georgia Tech, and Auburn. As a freshman at Florida State Bacon received the National Freshman of the week honors from CBS Sports on November 21. He was a three time ACC rookie of the week (Nov 16, Dec 21 and Dec 28). In his first career game Bacon had 23 points, 8 rebounds, 2 steals and 1 assist. Bacon achieved his first career win over Charleston Southern with 20 points and 10 rebounds. He appeared in every game during the 2015-16 season for the Seminoles and averaged 15.8 points and 5.8 rebounds over 28.8 minutes per game. On March 23, Bacon announced via Twitter that he would test his draft status for the 2016 NBA Draft. He did not hire an agent and retained his amateur status and the ability to return to Florida State for the 2016-17 season. However, on March 28 he announced he will return to college.
During his sophomore season, Bacon was named a member of the All-ACC second team for his work with Florida State that season. After his team was eliminated from the 2017 NCAA Tournament, Bacon declared for the 2017 NBA Draft (with a commitment that he'd sign with an agent soon afterward) on March 22, 2017.
FSU Highlights:
Professional:
On June 22, 2017, Bacon was selected by the New Orleans Pelicans with the 40th overall pick in the 2017 NBA draft. He was later traded to the Charlotte Hornets on draft night. He did a brief stint in the D league where he put up 45 points in one game. In Charlotte, he immediately became immersed in a active role when guard Nic Batum sprained his left elbow at the start of the season. He is the sixth player taken in the second round to start the first game of the season since 2009. He has played in 49 games this season, but only getting 12 min a game. He is averaging 3PPG, and 2 Rebounds a game this season. However, now that Charlotte is out of the playoff hunt, he is getting much more PT. Bacon registered 15 points (6-14 FG, 0-1 3Pt, 3-3 FT), five assists, three rebounds and two steals across 31 minutes in yesterday’s win 140-79 win over the Grizzlies. Bacon has now gotten 20-plus minutes in each of the last three games, and is becoming a go-to option for the Hornets off their bench.
Per his head coach: “You guys know I was high on him. He has a chance to be a starter. I’m talking about a starter that you can win with. He can play at both ends of the floor, but he has worked. He shot 33 percent in college from three. His skill level from September has improved dramatically, but he has locked in, and taken advantage of this opportunity.” On March 22, 2018, Bacon said: “I’m feeling comfortable. I’m very comfortable. I’m just able to go out there and play. I feel like I still make minor mistakes, but I’m just getting better as I go.”
NBA highlights:
Malik Beasley
Background: Beasley attended Saint Francis School. As a senior, he averaged 22.2 points, 6.9 rebounds, 2.9 assists, 1.9 steals and 0.6 blocks, earning the Class 1A Player of the Year of the state of Georgia and an All-State Class A First Team. Before pledging to Florida State University, Malik Beasley was ranked the 28th best player in the 2015 class by ESPN. Despite being ranked so high, no big programs — UNC, Duke, Kentucky, Kansas — had offered the bouncy, 6-5 guard.
FSU: Malik Beasley is a prototypical two-guard: good size for the position, elite athleticism, consistent shooting, and scoring efficiency.As a freshman at Florida State in 2015–16, Beasley averaged 15.6 points, 5.3 rebounds and 1.5 assists in 29.8 minutes per game over 34 games. He was subsequently named to the Atlantic Coast Conference's all-freshman team, and ranked eighth in the conference in free throw percentage (.813) and 10th in field-goal percentage (.471). On March 21, 2016, Beasley declared for the NBA draft, forgoing his final three years of college eligibility.
Professional:
Denver Nuggets (2016–present): Following the conclusion of the 2015–16 season, Beasley had surgery to repair a stress fracture in his right leg. Because of this, he did not participate in pre-draft workouts. Despite having medical concerns entering the 2016 NBA draft, Beasley was selected with the 19th overall pick by the Denver Nuggets. On August 9, 2016, he signed his rookie scale contract with the Nuggets. Beasley had a breakthrough game on November 10, scoring 12 points in 15 minutes off the bench. Overall, he is averaging 10 min and 3PPG. During his rookie season, Beasley has had multiple assignments with the Sioux Falls Skyforce of the NBA Development League.
NBA highlight (from yesterday):
Jonathan Isaac
Background: Issac first attended Barron Collier High School in Naples, Florida during his freshman and sophomore years. In his junior and senior years, he also attended the International School Of Broward in Hollywood, Florida. However, as a result of wanting to be reclassified as someone from the high school class of 2016, Isaac also attended IMG Academy for what was considered to be a postgraduate year in 2016. As a senior, he averaged 17.6 points per game and 10.0 rebounds per game while leading IMG Academy to a 21-10 record. Throughout his high school career, he grew six inches from his freshman year to his senior year, going from a combo guard of sorts to the combo forward he is today. Isaac was rated as a five-star recruit and was ranked the #12 player in the Class of 2016 by ESPN.
FSU: Before the 2016–17 season began, Isaac would be considered a preseason watch for the Karl Malone Award. On November 15, in his second game of the season, he recorded 20 points in a 99–78 win over Iona. Throughout the season, Isaac was considered a team leader alongside fellow prospects Dwayne Bacon and Xavier Rathan-Mayes. He averaged 12 points and 8 rebounds per game. At the conclusion of his freshman season, he was named to the All-ACC Freshman Team of 2017. In addition to that, Isaac announced his intention to forgo his final three years of collegiate eligibility and enter the 2017 NBA draft where he is projected as a lottery first round selection.[5] He was the second player in Florida State's basketball history to leave as a one-and-done prospect, behind Malik Beasley in 2016.
FSU highlights:
Professional:
On June 22, 2017, Isaac was selected with the sixth overall pick in the 2017 NBA draft by the Orlando Magic. Isaac has played in only 25 of the Magic’s 72 games this season — he missed 45 games because of a right ankle injury — and his protracted absences have hampered his development. In the games he has played, Isaac has averaged 20 minutes, 5 points, 4 rebounds.
Footnote:
Xavier Rathan-Mayes
Rathan-Mayes digned a 10-day contract with the Grizzlies in early March. In his second game with grizzlies, he almost put up a double-double, and has played a significant role for the Grizzlies since joining the team on a 10-day contract, averaging 5.8 points, 1.0 rebound, 3.6 assists and 1.2 steals across 23.6 minutes over five games. However, the Grizzlies are opting to let his contract expire. Here’s to hoping XRM gets another shot.
_________________________________________________________________________
Thanks for reading, please “like” if you enjoyed.
Previous editions:
Rewind 1 – Marcus Ball
Rewind 2 – Lorenzo Booker
Rewind 3 – Corey Surrency
Rewind 4 - Jeff Luc
Here is a list of all former FSU NBA players. Comment below if there’s anyone in particular you are interested in following up on.
- Solomon Alabi, NBA player, Toronto Raptors
- Dwayne Bacon, NBA player, Charlotte Hornets
- Malik Beasley, NBA player, Denver Nuggets
- Sam Cassell, NBA All-Star, #20 on FSU all-time scoring list (only played 2 years at FSU)
- James Collins, former NBA player
- Dave Cowens, all-time FSU rebounding leader, NBA Hall-of-Famer
- Harry Davis, former NBA player and 1978 Metro Conference co-player of the year
- Toney Douglas, NBA player, runner-up for 2009 ACC Player of the Year, 2009 ACC Defensive Player of the Year
- Hugh Durham former player and head coach at Florida State University
- Doug Edwards, former NBA player
- Mark Gilbert, Major League Baseball player (Chicago White Sox), and US Ambassador to New Zealand and Samoa
- Jonathan Isaac, NBA player, Orlando Magic
- Bernard James, former NBA player, Dallas Mavericks
- Ron King, former ABA player and former [Kentucky Mr. Basketball]
- Tharon Mayes, former NBA player
- George McCloud, former NBA player, 7th overall pick in the 1989 NBA Draft, first lottery selection in FSU history
- Tim Pickett, 2003–04 First-Team All-ACC and All-American Honorable Mention
- Xavier Rathan-Mayes, NBA player, Memphis Grizzlies
- Ryan Reid, NBA player, Oklahoma City Thunder
- Chris Singleton, 18th overall pick in the 2011 NBA Draft, 2010 ACC Defensive Player of the Year
- Michael Snaer, led FSU to an ACC Championship and named ACC Tournament MVP
- Bob Sura, all-time FSU scoring leader with 2,130 points, 17th overall pick in 1995 NBA Draft
- Al Thornton, NBA player, runner-up for 2007 ACC Player of the Year
- Von Wafer, NBA player, only the seventh McDonald's High School All-American to play at Florida State University
- Charlie Ward, former NBA player, former FSU point guard and quarterback, Heisman Trophy winner
- Okaro White, NBA player, Cleveland Cavaliers
- Mitchell Wiggins, former NBA player, Houston Rockets
