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FSU Basketball: Noles No. 23 in way to early 2019 rankings

By Kelvin Hunt

LOS ANGELES, CA - MARCH 24: Head coach Leonard Hamilton of the Florida State Seminoles reacts against the Michigan Wolverines during the second half in the 2018 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament West Regional Final at Staples Center on March 24, 2018 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images)
LOS ANGELES, CA - MARCH 24: Head coach Leonard Hamilton of the Florida State Seminoles reacts against the Michigan Wolverines during the second half in the 2018 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament West Regional Final at Staples Center on March 24, 2018 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images) /
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Will FSU basketball have high expectations going into the 2019 season?

FSU basketball went into the 2017-18 season without a lot of expectations after losing so much fire power from the prior year’s squad.

Leonard Hamilton’s 2016-17 team went into the season unranked but finished with a record of (26-9, 12-6 ACC) which was tied for second in the ACC behind eventual national champion North Carolina.

The team would make the NCAA Tournament as a No. 3 seed, losing in the second round to No. 11 seed Xavier in blowout fashion.

It was a disappointing finish to a great regular season compounded by losing three players who left early for the NBA Draft.

That set expectations much lower going into 2017-18 than what they would have been if only one of those players returned, much less all three.

Nevertheless, Leonard Hamilton’s squad turned in a respectable regular season by going (9-9) in ACC play and advancing to the Elite 8 in the NCAA Tournament.

FSU basketball doesn’t lose a ton off this years squad so expectations for 2018-19 have risen by one ESPN writer placing them at No. 23 in his way too early 2019 rankings.

"Leonard Hamilton’s squad surprised everyone with its Elite Eight run. Terance Mann (12.6 PPG) was a star in his team’s win over Gonzaga in the Sweet 16 (18 points). He’s one of the young pieces FSU will bring back next season. Hamilton’s team had only a handful of bad losses and it finished 9-9 in a strong ACC. And the NCAA could give Phil Cofer (12.8 PPG) a sixth season of eligibility after he missed the bulk of the 2015-16 season due to injury. CJ Walker‘s decision to transfer hurts FSU’s prospects, but there is still a respectable ceiling for this team."

Thoughts

No. 23 or even slightly higher certainly makes sense if one could guarantee Leonard Hamilton’s club will defend the way they did in the NCAA Tournament.

That’s the million dollar question though because defense was not FSU’s strong suit for much of the 2017-18 season.

CJ Walker transferring isn’t a huge deal with the emergence of Trent Forrest so FSU basketball could be set to be a top half of the ACC type of team next year.

That’s really all you want with the chance of making the NCAA Tournament as a good seed. Once there, anything can happen as evident of all the big upsets in this year’s tournament.

In fact, FSU won two games as straight up underdogs and the other win was basically a pick’em game.

Next: Leonard Hamilton Deserves Praise For Elite 8 Run

So there you have it. If Leonard Hamilton can get these guys to defend with the same energy and commitment as they did in the last four games of the year, watch out!

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