Jonathan Isaac Looks to Join Select FSU Company as NBA Lottery Pick
By Jason Parker
Jonathan Isaac spent just one season in Tallahassee playing for the Seminoles, but could make history with his selection in the 2017 NBA Draft.
It was probably the worst kept secret with the FSU basketball program this season: Jonathan Isaac, one of the top 10 recruits in the 2016 class, was going to spend just one season with the Seminoles before announcing for the NBA Draft. A player of his talent would likely have gone straight to the pros, but the one-and-done rule sent him to Tallahassee for a single season.
It was a win-win for everyone. Isaac got a chance to get his name even more in lights while playing for a Florida State team who finished second in the ACC this season – for the first time since 1993 – and led them back to the NCAA Tournament while he finished as an All-ACC Freshman Team member with a stat line of 12 points and almost eight rebounds per game last season.
Florida State Seminoles Basketball
Many mocks for next month’s NBA Draft in Brooklyn have Jonathan Isaac being one of the first few names called – for example, Sports Illustrated has him going to seventh to Minnesota while CBSSports.com has it split between either Minnesota or Sacramento – and there is a chance that history could be made for the program.
Being picked seventh would tie Isaac for the highest position a FSU basketball player has been taken in the modern draft era dating back to 1985. Anything higher than that would make Jonathan Isaac the highest Nole ever picked (Legendary FSU alum Dave Cowens holds the current honor after being picked fourth by Boston all the way back in 1970.)
As long as Isaac is one of the first 14 players picked come June 22nd inside the Barclays Center – site of last season’s ACC Tournament where he combined for 16 points and 27 rebounds in two games – he will make history as just the third former Seminole to be a lottery pick since the current system started (joining George McCloud in 1987 by Indiana and Al Thornton in 2007 by the LA Clippers).
Must Read: Should FSU Basketball Stop Recruiting One and Done Players?
When FSU basketball fans watch the 2017 NBA Draft next month, they will not just be watching to see where Isaac goes (as well as fellow early entree Dwayne Bacon), but to see history in the making if all goes according to what is predicted. His time in Tallahassee may have been brief, but the legacy of Jonathan Isaac will live on for the Seminoles for years to come.