Four Seminoles On NBA Rosters For Wednesday Night

The NBA season kicked off on Tuesday night with blockbuster match-ups between the Cleveland Cavaliers and Boston Celtics and the reigning champion Golden State Warriors and Houston Rockets.

Typically, the league has never had many former Florida State players in its ranks. The only truly notable one of recent times was Sam Cassell, and he’s been out of the league for nine years. Others like Charlie Ward, Bob Sura and Al Thornton had their moments.

That’s all going to change this season.

Recent recruiting success means that more Florida State players are getting looks from NBA teams. In the past three years, two FSU stars have been selected in the first round, and three overall have been picked. The highest of which was Jonathan Isaac in this past draft at sixth overall to the Orlando Magic. Dwayne Bacon was chosen with the 40th pick of the same draft by the Charlotte Hornets. Malik Beasley went in 2016 at 19th overall to the Denver Nuggets.

The only other former Seminole to make it on an NBA roster is forward Okaro White. He went undrafted in 2014 and bounced around in Europe before getting signed to a 10-day contract with the Miami Heat in January. He played well enough that they signed him through the rest of the NBA season and are presumably keeping him around for good for the 2017-18 campaign.

How do these players project in the 2017-18 season? The NBA can be hard to follow in the middle of football season, so The Daily Nole has you covered on what to watch for.

Malik Beasley is in a bit of a “show us something” year. His rookie season was spent mostly in the NBA Development League (now the G-league), where he put up impressive numbers like 18.9 points per game, 7.6 rebounds, 2.6 assists, and 1.1 steals. That didn’t necessarily translate to the big show, where he averaged just over seven minutes per game and under four points.

But sites closer to the Nuggets seem to be excited about his overall progress. He’s still an athletic, quick shooting guard who can put up points in a hurry. Last year was him getting adjusted to the league and learning what it takes to be a professional. Hopefully this season is when he makes the next step and begins getting serious rotational play. If not — Denver is going to start becoming pretty impatient with their former first round pick.

Okaro White will probably never compete for a starting job in Miami. Instead, he excels as a depth piece. White surprised people last year with quality defense and occasionally pitching in on offense. He was able to notch over 13 minutes per game and command a longer contract.

Don’t expect much different this year. The Heat will be more than happy to use him as a second or third option down low, though a recent injury to starting small forward Rodney McGruder will require some shuffling of the roster. It is conceivable that he could become part of a solidified second string.

Dwayne Bacon has already started to turn heads in Charlotte. Florida State fans knew what he was capable of at the small forward position, and now the Hornets are about the witness that potential. It won’t be immediate as Bacon will likely be a third string option to start the year, only coming in very late in games for a limited amount of time.

But as the season goes forward, Bacon has the ability to become the team’s valuable sixth man. It’s simply a question of Bacon realizing his potential and developing into the player that he’s shown flashes of becoming.

Jonathan Isaac will be the main story for those wishing to follow Florida State alumni in the NBA. Unlike everyone else mentioned above, Isaac is expected to start pretty soon in his NBA career. While he’ll probably come off the bench at the beginning of the season, he’s too talented and too essential to the Magic’s plans to stay a rotational piece. Isaac has been praised all preseason about his defense, which will be his main tool when starting out in the league.

His scoring just isn’t there yet. Where he’ll be used remains a bit of a mystery, though fans can assume he’ll be a hybrid-forward for most of his time. Isaac has the most potential out of any former FSU player to be a true superstar. Expect a season full of both growing pains and moments of brilliance. Most Florida State fans will also be able to see him on TV since he’s right down the road in Orlando.

It can’t be understated how helpful it would be for Florida State basketball if more former players were succeeding across the NBA. Part of recruiting (and convincing kids to play for your school) is hyping the results of your program. Florida State typically isn’t a school that can use that card when it comes to basketball.

The 2017-18 season can change that. Players getting more visibility helps feed into the momentum that head coach Leonard Hamilton has on the recruiting trail. While it’s certainly extrapolating, it’s not all that far fetched to say that having successful NBA players helps legitimize Florida State basketball for years to come.

Besides that? It’s fun to watch talented athletes in their new uniforms on Wednesday.

Miami Heat (White) tip off against the Orlando Magic (Isaac) at 7 p.m. EST. It will be broadcast on Fox Sports Sun.

Charlotte Hornets (Bacon) vs. Detroit Pistons starts at 7 p.m. EST.

Denver Nuggets (Beasley) vs. Utah Jazz starts at 9 p.m. EST.