NCAA Basketball: Updated early top-25 rankings for 2021-22 after NBA Draft deadline

The offseason work for the Seminoles took place early on, including the announcement of the departures of several key pieces. Five-star freshman Scottie Barnes is gone as a future top-10 NBA Draft pick, while senior guard MJ Walker and outgoing transfer Sardaar Calhoun take away around 18 ppg with them.

The two departures that would’ve been viewed as unexpected at the beginning of last season were Raiquan Gray and Balša Koprivica, two role players that were set to get more minutes this time around But both of them took advantage and had strong individual campaigns, including Gray, who ended up leading Florida State with 11.9 ppg and 6.4 rpg.

The starting frontcourt pair both went pro, leaving the team with just Anthony Polite as the lone returning player who averaged at least six points per game. The good news is that several rotational pieces are back, including Malik Osborne, RayQuan Evans, and 7’1 center Tanor Ngom.

Florida State has five newcomers to the team, including Houston guard Caleb Mills and Kentucky transfer forward Cam’Ron Flecther, as well as three freshmen, all ranked in the top-60 overall. Big man John Butler adds to the frontcourt depth, while five-star guard Matthew Cleveland will be a focal point of the offense. And combo guard Jalen Warley could end up being the Seminoles starting point guard next season as well.

There should be plenty of depth to work with for this team, they just need a player or two to emerge as go-to scorers on the offense. Teams coached by Leonard Hamilton deserve the benefit of the doubt at this point and next season’s squad could very well win the ACC again.