FSU Basketball: ‘Noles Lose Huge Production From Early Departures
By Kelvin Hunt
FSU basketball is coming off one of its best seasons ever. We look at what they’ll lose with its early departures to the NBA Draft.
It was easy to get excited about FSU basketball in 2017. The team returned dynamic players Dwayne Bacon and Xavier Rathan-Mayes with freshman sensation Jonathan Isaac joining the fold along with some other talented freshmen.
The excitement was justified as the ‘Noles overcame an early season loss against Temple to rattle off 12 consecutive wins. Four of those wins came over top 25 opponents, including the rival Florida Gators and Duke.
The ‘Noles went on to be among the national leaders with seven wins over top 25 opposition to make their first NCAA Tournament since 2012.
Florida State Seminoles Basketball
A large part of that success was due to Bacon, Rathan-Mayes and Isaac. The trio accounted for 48.5 percent of the points scored, 40 percent of the rebounds and 45.2 percent of the free throws attempted on the season.
The trio all averaged over 26 minutes per game with Terrance Mann being the only other player to average more than 15 minutes per game.
That’s a ton of production to replace all at once with the three declaring early for the upcoming NBA Draft.
What’s Next?
FSU basketball will not be able to replace it. That’s a lottery pick in Jonathan Isaac and likely two second round picks in the upcoming draft.
There aren’t any surefire NBA caliber players on the roster, and there aren’t any top 10 overall talents on the way.
The 2017 FSU basketball recruiting class is ranked No. 17 nationally and No. 5 in the ACC according to 247 Sports composite rankings. The class consists of two power forwards, two shooting guards and a center.
The year’s team was young but extremely talented, but next season will see an inexperienced less talented team looking to compete in the ACC.