The FSU men's basketball team will play the first of two exhibition games on Thursday. First up is St. Leo at 7 p.m. There's no TV or live stream but we'll have some observations for you here on the Osceola Village.
All eyes will be of course on Jamir Watkins, the 6-7 senior who led FSU in scoring (15.6 points) and rebounding (6 boards) in 2023-24. He tested the NBA waters in pre-draft workouts and entered the transfer portal but in June opted to return to Florida State. An All-ACC preseason second-team pick, Watkins gives the Seminoles optimism that they can compete in league play.
We'll be closely tracking the newcomers. I'm curious about Bostyn Holt and Justin Thomas, a pair of 6-7 transfers. The new big man is junior-college transfer Malique Ewin (6-11, 230 pounds). Considered the nation’s top junior-college players, Ewin averaged 14.9 points and 9.0 rebounds and shot 62.6 percent from the field at South Plains (Texas) College. Can Ewin be the needed rebounder and defensive presence? That's a big question.
This is the antithesis of a Leonard Hamilton team: Florida State values veteran players and familiarity with the scheme but returns just four players from the 2023-24 squad: Watkins, Taylor Bowen, Chandler Jackson and Waka Mbatch. Hamilton doesn’t often play freshman point guards, but FSU landed four-star Daquan Davis in the spring.
Hamilton has coached Florida State since March 2002 but is in the final year of his contract.
Six key rotational players from last season are gone, including Darin Green Jr. to graduation. Primo Spears (UT San Antonio), Cameron Corhen (Pittsburgh), Baba Miller (Florida Atlantic), Jalen Warley (Virginia) and Cam Fletcher (Xavier) have found new homes.
FSU opens against Northern Kentucky on Nov. 4. FSU is projected to be just above .500 in 2024-25 by KenPom, and that's in part likely a result of a very soft non-confernce schedule aside from Florida (in Tallahassee) and LSU (in Baton Rouge). It's tough for the computer projections with so many new pieces on FSU as well as schools around the ACC.
But here's KenPom's preseason W/L for FSU's schedule:
All eyes will be of course on Jamir Watkins, the 6-7 senior who led FSU in scoring (15.6 points) and rebounding (6 boards) in 2023-24. He tested the NBA waters in pre-draft workouts and entered the transfer portal but in June opted to return to Florida State. An All-ACC preseason second-team pick, Watkins gives the Seminoles optimism that they can compete in league play.
We'll be closely tracking the newcomers. I'm curious about Bostyn Holt and Justin Thomas, a pair of 6-7 transfers. The new big man is junior-college transfer Malique Ewin (6-11, 230 pounds). Considered the nation’s top junior-college players, Ewin averaged 14.9 points and 9.0 rebounds and shot 62.6 percent from the field at South Plains (Texas) College. Can Ewin be the needed rebounder and defensive presence? That's a big question.
This is the antithesis of a Leonard Hamilton team: Florida State values veteran players and familiarity with the scheme but returns just four players from the 2023-24 squad: Watkins, Taylor Bowen, Chandler Jackson and Waka Mbatch. Hamilton doesn’t often play freshman point guards, but FSU landed four-star Daquan Davis in the spring.
Hamilton has coached Florida State since March 2002 but is in the final year of his contract.
Six key rotational players from last season are gone, including Darin Green Jr. to graduation. Primo Spears (UT San Antonio), Cameron Corhen (Pittsburgh), Baba Miller (Florida Atlantic), Jalen Warley (Virginia) and Cam Fletcher (Xavier) have found new homes.
FSU opens against Northern Kentucky on Nov. 4. FSU is projected to be just above .500 in 2024-25 by KenPom, and that's in part likely a result of a very soft non-confernce schedule aside from Florida (in Tallahassee) and LSU (in Baton Rouge). It's tough for the computer projections with so many new pieces on FSU as well as schools around the ACC.
But here's KenPom's preseason W/L for FSU's schedule:
