Florida State basketball is coming off its second straight Sweet 16 appearance and has to replace some key players. How good can they be in 2019-20?
While the football program has experienced a few down years, Florida State basketball has quietly been one of the country’s best and most consistent programs over the past three seasons.
Since the start of the 2016-17 season, the Seminoles have won 78 games and won at least one NCAA Tournament game every year, including an Elite Eight appearance in 2018 and a Sweet 16 berth this past March.
Still, expectations are tempered for 2019-20 as Florida State faces several big questions about this roster. Terance Mann, their do-everything leader from the past two seasons, is no longer around. Nor is Mfiondu Kabengele, last year’s leading scorer, who was selected with the No. 27 overall pick in the NBA Draft. Both of them now play for the Los Angeles Clippers.
There are even questions about FSU’s defense, which has been the biggest driving force behind the program’s recent success. Kabengele and Christ Koumadje were the only two players to average over 0.3 blocks per game last year, and both are now gone (Koumadje is currently on the Philadelphia 76ers roster).
Throw in the departure of Phil Cofer as well and the Seminoles are tasked with replacing four of their most important players. For a program that relied on depth last year – 11 players averaged over 10 minutes per game – Florida State has some holes they need to fill.
Head coach Leonard Hamilton does return his starting backcourt of Trent Forrest and MJ Walker, both of whom have the talent to be All-ACC performers, but this is largely a different FSU team that features many young players and transfers.
What exactly should we expect from this group in 2019-20? Here’s a full season preview for Florida State: