FLORIDA STATE
Coach: Leonard Hamilton (10 years at FSU, 201-127; 25 years overall, 401-337).
2011-12 record: 25-10 (12-4 in the ACC).
2012: Postseason: Won ACC tournament; lost to Cincinnati, 62-56, in second round of NCAA tournament.
Returning starters: Michael Snaer, Sr., 6-5, G (14.0 ppg, 39 steals), Okaro White, Jr., 6-8, F (7.7 ppg, 4.4 rpg).
Top newcomers: Kiel Turpin, Jr., 7-0, C (son of former Kentucky All-American Mel Turpin, red-shirted last year); Devon Bookert, Fr., 6-3, G (Alaska's player of the year averaged 25.0 ppg); Montay Brandon, Fr., 6-7, G (combo guard averaged 19.0 at Wesleyan Christian HS in High Point, N.C); Robert Gilchrist, 6-9, F (from London, led Polk State College with 7.3 rpg last season).
Outlook: FSU loses six players from its ACC title team but returns four of its top five scorers and three of its top four rebounders, led by All-America candidate guard Michael Snaer. Forwards Okaro White and Shannon Terrance also have experience. White has started 25 games in two seasons. The Seminoles have led the ACC in field goal percentage defense in each of the last four seasons and will continue to depend on that relentless defense.
SCHEDULE
November
Friday – vs. South Alabama, 7 p.m.; Monday – vs. Buffalo, 7 p.m.; 16 – vs. BYU (Brooklyn, NY) 7 p.m.; 17 – vs. Notre Dame, 7 p.m.; 21 – vs. North Florida, 7 p.m.; 27 – vs. Minnesota, 7:15 p.m.;
December
2 – vs. Mercer, 2 p.m.; 5 – vs. Florida, 7 p.m.; 9 – vs. Maine, 4 p.m.; 17 – vs. Louisiana-Monroe, 7 p.m.; 22 – at Charlotte, 2 p.m.; 29 – vs. Tulsa, 2 p.m.
January
2 – at Auburn, 8 p.m.; 5 – at Clemson, 4 p.m.; 9 – at Maryland, 8 p.m.; 12 – vs. North Carolina, 2 p.m.; 19 – at Virginia, 4 p.m.; 24 – vs. Clemson, 8 p.m.; 27 – vs. Miami, 6 p.m.; 30 – vs. Maryland, 8 p.m.
February
2 – vs. Duke, 2 p.m.; 5 – at Georgia Tech, 9 p.m.; 9 – at Wake Forest, 12 p.m.; 13 – vs. Miami, 7 p.m.; 16 – vs. Boston College, 12 p.m.; 19 – at N.C. State, 7 p.m.; 24 – at Virginia Tech, 6 p.m.; vs. Wake Forest, 9 p.m.
March
3 – at North Carolina, 2 p.m.; 7 – vs. Virginia, 7 p.m.; 9 – vs. N.C. State, 2 p.m.; 14-17 – ACC Tournament
The Atlantic Coast Conference is no longer Tobacco Road and road kill.
For the first time in eight years, somebody other than Duke or North Carolina enters the season as the defending ACC tournament champions.
And that team is from a school that was expected to bring football prestige to the conference. Yet, entering the 2012-13 season, Florida State basketball has as many conference championships as its football counterpart in the last nine years, and of the two programs, only basketball is in position to defend a conference title.
“I think the program has come a long way,” FSU senior guard Michael Snaer said. “I think we’re at a point right now where we can just keep building. This is where we start making our tradition right now after winning the ACC championship. Maybe win another one, maybe win a national championship.”
Florida State has crept up on the ACC’s elite programs with a consistency that starts with coaching. Leonard Hamilton enters his 11th season at FSU, building a program that is setting a standard for toughness and defense.
In the last four years the Seminoles are 12-4, 11-5, 10-6 and 10-6 in the ACC — finishing no lower than fourth — and have lead the conference in field-goal percentage defense each season.
“When we look at our track record in the past six or seven years, we’ve been pretty good,” said Hamilton.
That trend should continue, although it’s clear many still do not believe in FSU. The Seminoles were picked by the 12 head coaches to finish fifth this season, the third time in the last four years FSU was picked to finish No. 5 or lower.
The Seminoles are No. 25 in the preseason Associated Press Top 25 poll.
FSU lost six players from last season but returns four of its top five scores and three of its top four rebounders, including the 6-foot-5 Snaer, voted to the All-ACC first team a year ago and generally considered the league’s top perimeter defender.
“We have a group of guys returning that I think is going to give us some tremendous leadership and stability to keep us moving forward,” Hamilton said.
Snaer had a chance to leave early after averaging 14.0 points and 3.8 rebounds and shooting .404 on 3-pointers. His value to the NBA rises when his defense is thrown into the mix.
Although Snaer said it “seemed like the right choice,” he did not want to pass up one more year at FSU.
“You would think you would be crazy to pass up that golden opportunity (NBA) just to come back to school, but it’s a place I love,” he said. “I don’t want to leave this year.”
Snaer and 6-8 versatile forward Okaro White will anchor the defense and more is expected offensively from 6-3 junior guard Ian Miller, who averaged 10.3 points last season, and 6-7 junior forward Terrance Shannon, who was starting early last season before suffering a knee injury.
“I can’t tell you how much we missed Terrance last year,” Hamilton said. “He’s an emotional leader. He loves to do all of the dirty work.”
Miller is a pure shooter but may be forced to take on some point guard duties, along with freshmen Devon Bookert and Montay Brandon, members of a talented recruiting class that includes junior college transfers 6-9 forward Robert Gilchrist and 6-6 forward Joell Hopkins.
Florida State will have a huge inside presence this season with three 7-footers on the roster. The most advanced appears to be 7-0 junior Kiel Turpin, the son of former Kentucky All-American, Mel Turpin.
Turpin sat out last season after leading Lincoln (Ill.) College to consecutive NJCAA Division II national championships. He spent last season working with senior center Bernard James, an ACC all-defense team member.
The roster also includes 7-3 Boris Bojanovsky and 7-1 Michael Ojo. Bojanovsky is from the Slovak Republic and averaged 22.0 points and 13.3 rebounds for the U-18 Slovakian Team in the European Championships. Ojo is from Lagos, Nigeria, and played at Tennessee Temple High.
Bob Ferrante contributed to this story.
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