FSU Basketball: Jonathan Isaac and Dwayne Bacon find new homes

Former FSU Basketball stars Jonathan Isaac, Xavier Rathan-Mayes and Dwayne Bacon found out where they’d be continuing their careers at the 2017 NBA Draft.

June 22 was of crucial importance to three of the best players in FSU Basketball history: Dwayne Bacon, Jonathan Isaac and Xavier Rathan-Mayes. That’s because it was the night of the 2017 NBA Draft.

From broke college kids to millionaires overnight, their lives will never be the same. And after the blood, sweat and tears they sacrificed at Florida State, they deserve every bit of success that’s coming their way.

However, each of their draft experiences was a bit different; Isaac was a surefire top-ten pick heading into the night, Bacon a second-round prospect and Mayes was just hoping to find a good fit as an undrafted free agent.

Well, everything went pretty much chalk for the three ballers. Let’s check out where each ended up.

Isaac staying home

Though Isaac was born in New York, he was raised in Naples, FL and, obviously, played his college basketball in Tallahassee. So it was great to see him get drafted by a team from his home state, the Orlando Magic at No. 6 overall.

The former Seminole will help lead a rebuild for a Magic team that hasn’t had a winning record since Dwight Howard left back in 2012.

Many fans of the Orlando franchise voiced their displeasure with the selection, because they would have preferred high-volume guards like Dennis Smith or Malik Monk instead. Part of their reasoning? The Magic already have a somewhat versatile big man in Aaron Gordon on their roster.

Well, I find that a bit foolish, to be totally honest. Gordon is a player with some potential, certainly, but Orlando are in no place to be picking based on need; their talent level is so low that they made the right decision taking the best player available with the No. 6 pick.

And that was Isaac, who may one day become one of the top defenders in the NBA, and who can space the floor as a small-ball 4. The 6’10” small forward is light on his feet and has incredible instincts defensively; if he blossoms into a monster, and Gordon continues on his current trajectory, then you have the makings of an absurdly multifaceted 4/5 combo.

The best teams in the league are all trending towards playing wings who can switch on defense and shoot, ball-handle and distribute in traditional big man spots. By taking Isaac, the Magic helped their chances of eventually being able to do just that.

Bacon heading to Cam Newton’s city

With the 40th overall pick, the New Orleans Pelicans selected Bacon, before immediately dealing him to the Charlotte Hornets.

How did the former Seminole wing feel about the move?

https://twitter.com/hornets/status/878300716611256321

Levity aside, the Hornets were in need of scoring help, and they got it in a big way by adding Bacon (as well as former Kentucky 2-guard Malik Monk at No. 11).

What’s more, Bake is already 22; he’s a mature kid who’s gonna work hard and make an impact off the bench as a rookie, getting buckets for the second unit.

It’s a good fit, and a marriage that both parties will benefit from.

XRM headed back Northeast

As was expected, the former FSU point guard, Mayes, went undrafted on Thursday night.

It sucks, but the sad truth is his game doesn’t translate well at the pro level. He’s not a good enough shoot from deep, his ball-handle and decision-making is poor for a floor general and he’s already 23 years old. His prospects of sticking in the NBA are slim to none.

Even so, throughout his time as a Seminole, XRM did a great job of growing up as a person and, more importantly, improving his game. As a junior, he averaged a career-low 1.9 turnovers a night, and was one of the best defensive guards in the entire ACC.

If he can somehow regain the confidence he had from beyond the arc as a prep player, he could someday surprise everyone and make it to the NBA as a 3-and-D lead guard off the bench.

You never know, crazier things have happened before. And after getting picked up by the New York Knicks for an NBA Summer League stint, his chances of impressing, and eventually getting picked up by a pro team stateside, increased tenfold.

Nevertheless, even if Mayes doesn’t make it to the NBA at any point, he’s still going to make a ton of money playing overseas somewhere. There’s no shame in that.

Final thoughts

Overall, it was a great night for the FSU Basketball program. Isaac became the team’s first lottery pick since Al Thornton in 2007 and Bacon ended up in an awesome situation with the Hornets.

The Seminoles have now had three players drafted over the last two seasons, two of them going in the first round. That, in turn, is going to help coach Leonard Hamilton’s recruiting efforts going forward.

In fact, it’s already paying dividends, as FSU finished 2017 with the tenth best recruiting class in the country, per 247 Sports. (Picking up borderline five-star M.J. Walker at the death knell of the cycle certainly didn’t hurt.)

Next: FSU, Magic Fans React To Jonathan Isaac Pick

And with the improvements made in recruiting, Hamilton’s guys can try to reach another important goal: Qualifying for the NCAA Tournament in back-to-back years.