FSU basketball: Impact of RaiQuan Gray entering NBA Draft
By Kelvin Hunt
FSU basketball saw its season come to an end in a Sweet 16 loss against No. 1 seed Michigan.
A reason why that loss occurred was junior forward RaiQuan Gray missing most of the first half with two fouls and picking up a third foul almost immediately in the second half.
It was a season that saw FSU basketball surpass the expectations of most with a young team.
They only returned one starter from a team that many folks thought had the potential to win the NCAA Tournament in 2020 before things shut down due to the pandemic.
The 2021 season saw many role players evolve into starters, but none of those players had the impact of RaiQuan Gray.
Gray saw his stats increase in every major category. He improved in minutes played, points, rebounds, field goal percentage, free-throw percentage, assists, and steals.
Despite those increases, I think most believed Gray would return in 2022 with the chance to improve those stats even more.
However, he announced Friday he would declare for the NBA Draft and pursue his dream of playing at the highest level.
It’s a blow to Leonard Hamilton’s 2022 team. Let’s take a look at the impact of him declaring for the NBA Draft.