Florida State Seminoles

2023-2024 Result: 17-16 record (10-10 ACC), No Postseason appearance

Outside of retaining Jamir Watkins and Chandler Jackson, there isn’t a ton to like about this defense. Leonard Hamilton loves to recruit athletic wings with positional size, but it seems like he struggled to bring in any high end transfers or high school prospects. A lot will be on the shoulders of Junior College transfer Malique Ewin (South Plains) who averaged 2.7 blocks per game a year ago, but it remains to be seen if he can keep up that type of production at the Division I level. Hamilton also likes to generate his defensive efficiency by forcing turnovers, but the lack of footspeed and athleticism compared to the Seminoles past teams is lacking. They will most likely fall from their 24th ranked defensive turnover rate number from a year ago, but it will still be a form of defensive resistance for them. 

There are also major questions on the offensive side of the floor starting with who is going to initiate offense. Jamir Watkins projects to be the main offensive piece, but he is more of a pure scorer than a playmaker. 4-star recruit Daquan Davis may be able to help with playmaking, but it will be difficult to trust a freshman that doesn’t necessarily have high end talent. As the Seminoles typically do, they may need to lean on their fast pace and offensive rebounding ability to generate easy baskets because this isn’t an offense that projects to be great in the halfcourt. A lack of shooting and ball handling sets up for major issues against power conference competition.

Florida State could certainly be in for a long season if Daquan Davis and Malique Ewin can’t impact the game in a significant way. Taking the pressure off Jamir Watkins on both sides of the ball will be very important for this team to be able to compete in the ACC, but I am afraid it is going to be too tall of a task for the Seminoles. I project Florida State to finish bottom 3 in the ACC.

Key Additions

Daquan Davis (4-star recruit)

Justin Thomas (UTSA)

Malique Ewin (South Plains JUCO)

Jerry Deng (Hampton)

Bostyn Holt (South Dakota)

Projected Starting Lineup:

Head Coach: Leonard Hamilton (25th Season)

Guard: Daquan Davis (FR)

Guard: Chandler Jackson (JR)

Forward: Jamir Watkins (SR)

Forward: Taylor Bol Bowen (SO)

Center: Malique Ewin (JR)

Key Losses

Cam’Ron Fletcher

Jalen Warley

Cam Corhen

Baba Miller

Primo Spears

Darin Green Jr