FSU basketball: Fans should have patience with Scottie Barnes

FSU basketball freshman Scottie Barnes is facing crazy expectations.

Whenever a player is considered the top-10 coming out of high school, the expectations can be off the charts, and it’s likely worse when you choose a place like Florida State.

FSU basketball has one of the best freshmen in the nation with Scottie Barnes. He’s already made his presence felt through two games and hit the game-winning shot against Indiana in overtime Wednesday night.

However, before the overtime period where he hit a huge three-pointer and the subsequent game-winner, the criticism was already on display from FSU fans.

Even the ESPN announcers were commenting with things like Barnes had a quiet night so far, but I suppose that comes when expectations are sky-high.

I’m not sure if folks are expecting him to score 20 points per game or what, but there are ways to impact the game other than scoring. Let’s not forget, he has only played TWO college games and is still trying to acclimate to the speed of the game, among other things.

Yes, he’s shooting 33 percent from the floor, and 28.6 percent from the free-throw line, and he needs to improve those areas. However, he’s playing hard and impacting the game on the defensive end of the floor.

He’s averaging 8.5 ppg, 5 rebounds, and 5.5 assists per game, not to mention half of his rebounds have come on the offensive end. He’s also shown good vision with the ball in his hands and will only get better with more experience.

The other thing to watch for is his confidence. Scottie Barnes doesn’t lack confidence, and if so, he wouldn’t have shot the three-pointer to tie the game in the overtime period. He wouldn’t have taken the shot to win the game against Indiana.

Those shots going in are only going to help his confidence grow, along with other players continuing to discover their respective roles on the team.

As a fan, I want to suggest to have patience and watch his game in totality. He’s a guy that can do things that can affect games in a myriad of ways and will only get better as the season continues.