|
Beginning Monday, June 21st,
2004 CHN began unveiling 144 Team previews in 144 Days. CHN ranked the
nations top 144 teams, and is unveiling one per day leading up until the
opening day of the 2004-05 Season.
Bookmark the
144 Teams in 144 Days home page, and check back
each day to see which team is previewed next.
#34 Florida State Seminoles
ACC
2003-04: 19-14, 6-10, 8th
2003-04 postseason: NIT
By
Joel Welser
 This should be the deepest
Seminoles team we’ve seen in a long time. The problem is not many on the
roster are proven players. But with so many options at all positions,
somebody should step up at every spot on the floor. When that happens,
Florida State will be dangerous.
Who’s Out: Tim Pickett and
Nate Johnson’s absence leaves a gap in the backcourt. Shooting guard
Pickett led the team with 16.5 points and also added 4.5 rebounds and 2.1
assists per outing. Johnson ran the point and dished out 3.8 assists per
contest. Johnson’s floor leadership will be missed just as much as
Pickett’s scoring abilities. Johnson had a great assist to turnover ratio
of 3.2/1 during his senior campaign. The frontcourt takes a hit as well
losing Michael Joiner and Mike Mathews. The two only combined for 8.2
points and 5.5 rebounds, but each started over half of the teams 33 games.
Who’s In: Incoming freshmen
Jason Rich, Isaiah Swann and Ralph Mims will join probable starters Todd
Galloway and Von Wafer in the backcourt. Rich is a slasher, scorer and a
tremendous dunker. Swann has made the transition to a point guard, but has
never lost his great scoring ability. He’s an exciting player to watch and,
along with Rich, will be the future of the FSU backcourt. Mims, a combo
guard, has a solid long range shot and is a great rebounder for a 6-2
guard. The newcomers in the frontcourt are both junior college transfers,
who will use their experience to make an immediate impact. Diego Romero and
Antonio Griffin will have to compete for minutes with returnees Alexander
Johnson, Anthony Richardson, Al Thornton, Adam Waleskowski and Andrew
Wilson. That is a talented group but Romero and Griffin shouldn’t have any
problems finding some minutes.
Who to Watch: Alexander
Johnson made his way to the ACC All-Freshman team last year after starting
the last 16 games of the season. The 6-10, 225 pound power forward is the
teams leading returning scorer with 9.5 points per game. Johnson is ready
to explode into national prominence and this could be the year. He does a
good job of staying out of foul trouble and should be on the floor for
plenty of minutes and see a big increase in his numbers. He averaged 4.2
rebounds per outing and should see an increase in that stat as well if he
starts all season long.
Projected Conference Rank:
This is the ACC, so a lot of relatively unproven talent won’t be able to
compete with the likes of Duke, UNC and Wake Forest from day one. The Noles
will make some noise though and by March they’ll be ready to make a run. A
7th place finish in the conference should be enough for FSU to
take the next step to the big dance.
Projected Post-season
Tournament: NCAA
«
Team #35 ,
Team #33
»
Email Joel Welser:
jwelser_chn@ameritech.net
Chat About CHN's Top #144
Ranking:
http://pub14.ezboard.com/fcollegehoopsnetfrm8
Return to the
144 Teams in 144 Days home page
|
