FSU basketball: Matthew Cleveland plans to return for 2022-23

FSU basketball standout Matthew Cleveland announced Friday afternoon that he’ll return to Tallahassee for his sophomore season.

The reigning ACC Sixth Man of the Year averaged 11.5 ppg, 4.6 rebounds, and 1.2 assists while shooting 45 percent from the floor.

Cleveland appeared in 29 games with eight starts and scored double-digits in 10 of his last 11 games, including the game-winning three-point shot against Virginia.

Cleveland announced the news with a video on his Twitter account with the words “Job’s not finished” in the immortal words of Kobe Bryant:

Cleveland’s Return Impact

Leonard Hamilton’s roster suffered a ridiculous amount of injuries after climbing to first place in the ACC with two wins over Miami and defeating Duke.

The team was already young, with three freshmen playing major minutes and the top scorers from the previous year not returning. Cleveland returning means Leonard Hamilton will have a five-star talent that’s got some experience under his belt. We can’t expect the same progression as what we saw from Scottie Barnes in his rookie season in the NBA.

However, the improvement Cleveland can make in his game between now and the fall could be substantial. He can defend and is a nightmare in transition. The biggest improvements we need to see are in his shooting and rebounding. Can he become a goto player for the Noles next year? I think so. It’ll depend on who else decides to return and who else Leonard Hamilton signs from the transfer portal.

I also wonder if Cleveland’s decision will impact others like Jalen Warley and John Butler to return as well? I didn’t see where Cleveland was getting a lot of attention from NBA pundits, despite having numbers similar to Scottie Barnes. However, another year of development makes Cleveland getting drafted in the first round a real possibility.