Welcome to The Sports Bank’s third annual college basketball season preview series. Two years we looked at 99 teams in 99 days. Last year, we were slightly more aggressive and expanded to 111 teams in 111 days and will do so again as we look ahead to the 2012-2013 season.
We will rank the 75 power conference teams and top 36 mid-majors in reverse power ranking order. We’ll break down rosters, transfers, incoming freshmen, non-conference schedules, and pick a player to watch for each team.
Overrated. (Clap, clap, clap-clap, clap). Even though they lost six valuable seniors from last season’s team that won the ACC Tournament, the Florida State Seminoles are ranked 24th in the preseason coaches’ poll. As you can tell by my ranking, that’s way too high for a squad that will have to rely on a lot of inexperienced players in key roles.
FLORIDA STATE SEMINOLES
Last Season: 3rd, 12-4 in ACC, 25-10 overall
Predicted ACC Finish: 5th
Projected Depth Chart
F/C: Terrence Shannon (Sr)/Kiel Turpin (Jr)/Boris Bojanovsky (Fr)/Michael Ojo (Fr)
PF: Okaro White (Jr)/Robert Gilchrist (Fr)
SG: Michael Snaer (Sr)/Aaron Thomas (Fr)
SG: Terry Whisnant (So)/Montay Brandon (Fr)
PG: Ian Miller (Jr)/Devon Bookert (Fr)
Gone: PG-Jeff Peterson, G-Luke Loucks, G-Deividas Dulkys, C-Bernard James, C-Jon Kreft, PF-Xavier Gibson, PF-Antwan Space (transfer-Texas A&M)
2012-2013 Outlook:
The biggest thing going for the ‘Noles this season is the returning backcourt of Michael Snaer and Ian Miller. The duo has played well during their time in Tallahassee but will need to have breakout seasons to FSU to even come close to reaching last year’s success. Both guys are capable scorers but also have the ability to run the point. Snaer steps into the leadership role and is considered by many as an All-American candidate which seems a bit much to me.
Sophomore Terry Whisnant will likely step into the starting line-up after barely seeing the floor last season due to a plethora of depth and experience in the backcourt. He will be pushed though by freshmen wings Montay Brandon and Aaron Thomas. Brandon is more of a pure scorer while Thomas relies on his length and athleticism to be effective. Devon Bookert will be able to run the point if needed.
FSU has to replace some valuable size and experience up-front with Bernard James, Xavier Gibson, and Jon Kreft finishing up their collegiate careers. Undersized but physical Terrence Shannon returns after suffering a season ending dislocated shoulder. He will be joined in the starting frontcourt by Okaro White who is an athletic freak with a fairly well-rounded offensive game.
Trying to replace the size inside will be a trio of seven-footers. Junior college transfer Kiel Turpin is the most ready to contribute right away. He redshirted last season and has a decent mid-range game for a seven-footer. 7-3 Boris Bojanovsky is a bit of a project as is the huge 7-1, 290 pounder, Michael Ojo. That is a ton of size for Leonard Hamilton to work with and he has a solid track record of developing true big men during his tenure at Florida State. Freshman Robert Gilchrist will hope to replace Antwan Space who transferred to Texas A&M.
With so much youth and inexperience on the roster, it is hard for me to pick Florida State any higher than this. In typical Hamilton fashion, the ‘Noles will rely on their ruggedness on both ends but will need Snaer and Miller to have special seasons if they hope to compete with N.C. State, UNC, or Duke in the ACC.
Player to Watch: Michael Snaer
Known as one of the best lockdown perimeter defenders in college basketball, Snaer made the bold claim this off-season that he is the best shooting guard in the country. He can also get it done on the offensive as Snaer connected on 40.4% of his triple tries a year ago including a game-winner to upset Duke.
Key Non-Conference Games:
11/16 vs. BYU (Coaches vs. Cancer in Brooklyn)
11/17 vs. Notre Dame/St. Joseph’s (Coaches vs. Cancer in Brooklyn)
11/27 vs. Minnesota (Big Ten/ACC Challenge)
12/5 vs. Florida
12/22 at Charlotte
12/29 vs. Tulsa
1/2 at Auburn
OTHER 111 IN 111’S:
#48 St. Louis Billikens
#49 West Virginia Mountaineers
#50 BYU Cougars
#51 Temple Owls
#52 Washington Huskies
#53 California Golden Bears
#54 Kansas State Wildcats
#55 Nevada Wolfpack
#56 Colorado Buffaloes
#57 Iowa State Cyclones
#58 Northern Iowa Panthers
#59 Colorado State Rams
#60 Iowa Hawkeyes
#61 South Florida Bulls
#62 Valparaiso Crusaders
#63 Illinois Fighting Illini
#64 Arkansas Razorbacks
#65 Wichita State Shockers
#66 George Mason Patriots
#67 Virginia Cavaliers
#68 Villanova Wildcats
#69 Maryland Terrapins
#70 Marshall Thundering Herd
#71 Iona Gaels
#72 Northwestern Wildcats
#73 Oklahoms State Cowboys
#74 Rutgers Scarlet Knights
#75 USC Trojans
#76 UConn Huskies
#77 Harvard Crimson
#78 Xavier Musketeers
#79 Ole Miss Rebels
#80 Clemson Tigers
#81 Oregon State Beavers
#82 Texas A&M Aggies
#83 Providence Friars
#84 Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets
#85 Oklahoma Sooners
#86 Lehigh Mountain Hawks
#87 Washington State Cougars
#88 Long Beach State 49ers
#89 Belmont Bruins
#90 Vanderbilt Commodores
#91 Dayton Flyers
#92 Houston Cougars
#93 UCF Knights
#94 Old Dominion Monarchs
#95 Oregon Ducks
#96 LSU Tigers
#97 South Carolina Gamecocks
#98 Seton Hall Pirates
#99 Georgia Bulldogs
#100 DePaul Blue Demons
#101 Boston College Eagles
#102 Penn State Nittany Lions
#103 Arizona State Sun Devils
#104 Virginia Tech Hokies
#105 Texas Tech Red Raiders
#106 Auburn Tigers
#107 Wake Forest Demon Deacons
#108 TCU Horned Frogs
#109 Mississippi State Bulldogs
#110 Utah Utes
#111 Nebraska Cornhuskers
David Kay is a senior feature NBA Draft, NBA, and college basketball writer for the Sports Bank. He also heads up the NBA and college basketball material at Walter Football.com and is a former contributor at The Washington Times Communities. David has appeared on numerous national radio programs spanning from Cleveland to New Orleans to Honolulu. He also had the most accurate 2011 NBA Mock Draft and the most accurate 2012 NBA Mock Draft on the internet (Yup, repeat champ… #humblebrag.)
You can follow him on Twitter at David_Kmiecik.
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