Florida State basketball (9-12, 2-6 ACC) pulled off a 63-61 upset win over the California Bears (15-6, 3-5 ACC) on Wednesday night in front of the home crowd at the Tucker Center. The Noles played a great first half to lead 36-23 at the half, but had to hold on for dear life in the second half to win by two points.
They have won two of their last three ACC games after losing their first five in conference play. I’ve been critical of Luke Louck’s style of play this year.
I thought they were too dependent on the three-point shot, creating too many empty offensive possessions, which led to several blowout losses. Lo and behold, Loucks admitted that was the case and that he’s learned a ton on the job over the past few months as a new head coach. He felt he was too focused on the offensive end, and they’ve tried to emphasize the defensive end more.
Related Story: My Take On Luke Louck's Flawed Offensive Approach
FSU was averaging over 35 three-point shots per game (over 50 percent of their shots), only making about 30 percent of them earlier this year. Ironically, in the two wins in ACC play, fewer than 50 percent of their shots have been three-point attempts.
Loucks admitted that he has adapted as the season progressed, and it’s been reflective in their style of play.
I thought they were too dependent on the three-point shot, creating too many empty offensive possessions, which led to several blowout losses. Lo and behold, Loucks admitted that was the case and that he’s learned a ton on the job over the past few months as a new head coach. He felt he was too focused on the offensive end, and they’ve tried to emphasize the defensive end more.
FSU was averaging over 35 three-point shots per game (over 50 percent of their shots), only making about 30 percent of them earlier this year. Ironically, in the two wins in ACC play, fewer than 50 percent of their shots have been three-point attempts.
Loucks admitted that he has adapted as the season progressed, and it’s been reflective in their style of play. That’s what I wanted to see as a young head coach. It’s cool to have your philosophies, but the ability to adapt your current team to its strengths and weaknesses is the true sign of a good head coach. It seems Loucks is learning that.
He has some excellent talent coming that will allow him to play more to his style, but knowing he understands the need to adapt and stop trying to put square pegs in round holes is a great sign. I wasn’t sure that was the case a month ago, as they continued to shoot three-point shots in volume. Just because a guy is open doesn’t mean it’s a good shot when he’s not making them at a respectable percentage.
I feel more positive about the trajectory of this program following this press conference. The Noles have some winnable games coming up, starting with hosting Stanford on Saturday at 6 p.m. ET on the ACC Network.