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FSU Basketball: Mfiondu Kabengele ranked as top 20 NBA Draft prospect

By Jason Parker

LOS ANGELES, CA - MARCH 22: Mfiondu Kabengele #25 of the Florida State Seminoles celebrates late in the game against the Gonzaga Bulldogs during the second half in the 2018 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament West Regional at Staples Center on March 22, 2018 in Los Angeles, California. The Florida State Seminoles defeated the Gonzaga Bulldogs 75-60. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images)
LOS ANGELES, CA - MARCH 22: Mfiondu Kabengele #25 of the Florida State Seminoles celebrates late in the game against the Gonzaga Bulldogs during the second half in the 2018 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament West Regional at Staples Center on March 22, 2018 in Los Angeles, California. The Florida State Seminoles defeated the Gonzaga Bulldogs 75-60. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images) /
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FSU basketball could have several former Noles hear their names being called during Thursday’s annual meeting of NBA teams for their drafting of players.

By the time that the 2019 edition of the NBA draft is completed last Thursday night, the FSU basketball team could send two players to the professional basketball game from this year’s team – as both Mfiondu Kabengele and Terance Mann are projected to be among the 60 players that get selected by one of the teams.

The general consensus from many experts covering the upcoming draft is that while Mann will likely have to wait until the second round before he is selected, Kabengele has a good chance to join some of the best Seminoles before him and be one of the first round selections.

Entering Thursday, projections have been all over the place as to where the former FSU basketball star will go – but the Washington Post thinks that when it comes to the players who are draft eligible, Kabengele is well within the top 20 among them.

Florida State Seminoles
Florida State Seminoles /

Florida State Seminoles

Several days before the draft, the Post ranked the top 50 prospects and had the former Seminoles coming at No. 19 among all the players who could be picked come Thursday night.

"You’d think a player that stands 6-foot-10 and possesses Kabengele’s lankiness would simply trot to the low-block each offensive possession and await a lob pass, but the Florida State sophomore’s scoring profile is more nuanced.Where he should immediately shine is on defense, using his length and superb timing as a shotblocker — his 8.3 percent block rate led FSU."

Now, in a perfect world where Kabengele would be taken at that spot, he would be going from the FSU basketball team to playing for the San Antonio Spurs – a team that won five championships over a 15 year period from 1999 to 2014 and something that would be quite a good first pro stop for him.

While Kabengele won’t be the highest FSU basketball player picked in the NBA Draft – that honor going to Dave Cowens being picked No. 4 by Boston in 1970 – fans of the Seminoles will be more than happy when he is the 13th former Nole to be picked in the first round.

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