FSU basketball: Noles make first 2021 bracketology projection

FSU basketball should be one of the better teams in the AC next season and here is where the Noles are projected in 2021 bracketology.

What could have been for FSU basketball in 2020? In a perfect world, the Noles would have been cutting down the nets to a national championship title a few nights ago.

The team will look at bit different with the departures of Trent Forrest, Devin Vassell, and Patrick Williams.

However, FSU basketball seems to reload instead of rebuild nowadays under Leonard Hamilton’s leadership.

ESPN’s Joe Lunardi feels the same as he’s released his way-too-early 2021 NCAA Tournament Bracketology projections.

The Noles would have been a No. 2 seed at the lowest and possibly could have been a No. 1 seed had they been able to complete the ACC Tournament before the coronavirus shut everything down.

Lunardi has the Noles projected as a No. 4 seed, which projects them being one of the better teams in the ACC once again.

Leonard Hamilton has two top 10 players signed in the 2020 class in five-star Scottie Barnes and four-star Sardaar Calhoun. Experienced players like MJ Walker, Malik Osborne, RaiQuan Gray, Anthony Polite, and Wyatt Wilkes return.

The benefit of Leonard Hamilton creating teams with great depth means a lot of players get valuable experience, which helps with continuity from year to year.

The Noles will likely add a couple more players to its 2020 recruiting class. They just offered seven-footer Quincy Ballard and could add a graduate transfer or two as they did last season with Dominick Olejniczak coming from Ole Miss.

FSU does lose its top two scorers from the past season in Vassell and Forrest, but the same was true the previous season when they lost Terrance Mann and Mfiondu Kabengale.

I like this projection for the Noles. In typical Leonard Hamilton fashion, the 2021 team will take some time to find the fight combinations but should be a formidable opponent later in the season.