Florida State Basketball: Loss of Jaylan Gainey hurts 2022-23 frontcourt depth

Jaylan Gainey was one of the top transfers for the ACC this upcoming season. Unfortunately for Florida State Basketball, an injury has taken him out.

One thing Florida State Basketball is known for is its depth, both on the perimeter and in the frontcourt. However, last year’s group may have had depth and size but certainly lacked collective production. The Seminoles missed the NCAA Tournament and underwent some roster changes inside, including four newcomers.

The lone non-freshman of the group is Jaylan Gainey, a 6’9 transfer from Brown. His stats aren’t eye-popping in three years there, with a career average of 6.8 ppg and 5.4 rpg, along with just under two blocks per game. But Gainey’s reputation comes from him being an elite defender, including winning back-to-back Ivy League Defensive Player of the Year awards.

At 6’9 and over 240 pounds, Gainey is capable of playing both the four and five-spots in the frontcourt. While he’s not going to give much offensively, he’s a veteran big man that can be trusted by the coaching staff to defend the top frontcourt players in the ACC. Unfortunately, we’ll have a wait another year to see that come to fruition.

Gainey wasn’t able to start practice due to a knee injury and it turns out to be a season-ender for him. The hope is that he’ll be back for the 2023-24 campaign but for this upcoming, this leaves a hole in the frontcourt. The good news for the Seminoles is that there are other options available, including 6’7 forward Cam Fletcher playing at the undersize four-spot, along with 7’4 center Naheem McLeod getting extended minutes at the five.

There’s also a trio of freshmen with potential that could/have to be the breakout star needed for the program this season. DeAnte Green is a four-star athlete at 6’8, while Cameron Corhen is a 6’10 frontcourt prospect with three stars. The one to watch is 6’10 international freshman Baba Miller, ranked around the top-50 overall and already viewed as a future NBA prospect. He’s highly skilled but still viewed as a developmental player as a freshman but Florida State may have to throw him into the fire to replace Gainey.

It’ll be interesting to see how good the Seminoles’ defense will be now that the former two-time Defensive POY isn’t around. While the development of guards Matthew Cleveland and Jalen Warley are most important to the team’s success, they still need two-way frontcourt production. With Jaylen Gainey out of the picture, that part of the roster is now in question.