Now we’re headed to Leonard Hamilton’s Florida State Seminoles. The Seminoles are coming off of a disappointing season ending 17-16. People didn’t have ridiculous expectations, but it’s been since 2021 that they’ve made the tournament, and patience seems to be starting to wear thin for FSU fans. They lost a few guys to the pros, but have returned key starters and have a few transfers who could make an impact in the upcoming season, to hopefully bring them back into the NCAA tournament.

Returners:

The best player on Florida State last year was Jamir Watkins, who many thought would leave for either the draft or another school, but decided to return to the Noles for his senior year. Watkins averaged 15.6 points, 6 rebounds, and 2.8 assists last season, and is an elite offensive player who attacks the rim with poise and ended last season with 19 straight games in the double digits. Joining Watkins in returning are junior Chandler Jackson and sophomore Taylor Bol Bowen. Jackson only played 15 minutes per game last year with only 4.9 points per game, but showed some promise with a 17 point game against Virginia and a 19 point game against Boston College. Bol Bowen also didn’t play a large role for the Seminoles as a freshman last year, with 3.1 points and 2.6 rebounds in only 11 minutes per game. His potential was highlighted, however, as a solid rebounder and defender, being above the 75th percentile in both steal and block percentage. Both these two track to join Watkins in the starting lineup to begin the season.

Transfers:

Coach Hamilton is bringing in 4 transfers for the 2024-25 season. Grad transfer Bostyn Holt is coming from South Dakota, where he averaged 12.3 points and 3.1 assists. Holt is a lanky guard who uses his 6’6 size to attack the rim, but can also pass very well, and shot 39% from three last season (on very low volume). He draws fouls at a high rate (94th percentile) and is a confident midrange shooter. Alongside Holt is guard Justin Thomas, from UTSA. He didn’t play for UTSA this past season, but played for Milwaukee during the 22-23 season. At Milwaukee, he averaged 7.3 points, 4.4 rebounds, and 3 assists. As a 6’7 forward, he was an elite defender there, with a Hakeem Pct (block % + steal %) in the 91st percentile! However, I am concerned as to how this will change moving up a level and after a year without playing. Joining the two guards are forwards Jerry Deng and Malique Ewin. Deng is coming from Hampton, where he averaged 10.1 points and 4.2 rebounds per game. The 6’9 big is an elite perimeter shooter, who shot 39.1% from three on over 3 attempts per game. I see him being an underrated player in the upcoming season. Ewin is a JUCO transfer, who, after playing his first season at Ole Miss, went to South Plains JUCO for a year, averaging 14.9 points and 9 rebounds, and being the #3 JUCO transfer recruit this year. Expectations are high for Malique as the projected starting center for Florida State, as Leonard Hamilton said, “Malique is a true all-around player, who makes big time plays on offense and defense.”.

Recruits:

The 5 player incoming class is led by Overtime Elite star Daquan Davis (pictured above). Davis was a top 100 recruit, who is expected to take a large offensive role for the Seminoles, especially as a point guard and if the transfers don’t work out, as there is a serious lack of guard depth on this team. He is joined by two forwards, Anastasis Rozakeas and AJ Swinton. Rozakeas is a 6’7 prospect from Greece, who is a smart player and good creator, but we’ll see how much of an impact he’ll have in year one. Swinton is a top 200 recruit who is 6’5 but has a 7’1 wingspan and is a great athlete. Florida State is also bringing in two big men, Christian Nitu and Alier Maluk. These three star recruits are 6’11 and 6’10, respectively, and are both good athletes. Nitu is a lefty who can score at all 3 levels, and Maluk is a 2025 recruit who reclassed to 2024 to give the Seminoles more frontcourt depth, and was a 5 star in the 2025 class.

Season Outlook

For a coach who is beginning to enter the “hot seat” range, Leonard Hamilton hasn’t built the most promising roster. The Seminoles will be carried by Jamir Watkins and his production no matter what, however they need new players to step up, and frankly, I don’t see many who can do that. Daquan Davis and Malique Ewin are the two expected to carry the most load, but I am not 100% confident in their readiness to be double digit scorers in the ACC. It is for this reason, along with their lack of high major experience and depth that I feel confident in, that I project Florida State to be a bottom 5 team in the ACC, and probably have a losing record this upcoming season. If they get into the top 10 in the ACC by the end of the season, that would be quite an impressive result in my book. If not, Hamilton is moving ever closer to the “make the tournament or you’re fired” zone.

P.C. Tallahassee Democrat