FSU Basketball: 2016-17 Roundtable Preview and Predictions

The word “hype” continues to be the term most frequently associated with Florida State athletics in the past few months. It makes sense — the current stretch of teams ranging from football, to basketball, to baseball, to soccer, and most FSU sports is impressive. When it is all said and done, it might turn out to be one of the greatest stretches in the FSU athletic history.

Men’s basketball falls under this word as well. Why? Because on paper, the 2016-17 Seminoles are almost certainly better than the previous year’s squad that narrowly missed the NCAA Tournament. The program may have lost key contributors in Malik Beasley and Devon Bookert, but players like Michael Ojo and Phil Cofer are returning from injury — all while FSU adds one of the best recruiting classes of the past five years. Added depth, talent, and experience are the three ingredients for a successful season.

It is now time for the team to prove it on the court. In case you missed it, The Daily Nole has been keeping our readers updated throughout the offseason with the happenings around the program. Listed below are links to any stories you might have missed. After that, we have our predictions for the results of the upcoming season. Contributing to this article are editor Mike Ferguson, staff writer Clint Eiland, and frequent contributor Robert Blackburn.

FSU Basketball: What Should We Expect From Jonathan Isaac This Season?

FSU Men’s Basketball Preseason Primer

Offensive MVP

Clint, Mike: Dwayne Bacon came back for his sophomore year instead of jumping to the NBA to the surprise of many. After the 2016-17 season, he likely will make that jump. Bacon scores from everywhere on the court and has the perfect build for an NBA small forward. With options like Jonathan Isaac and Xavier Rathan-Mayes taking away the defensive focus from Bacon, expect him to continue to build his draft stock with another high-scoring season.

Robert: Jonathan Isaac in the exhibition games looked every bit of the Kevin Durant comparison made by many observers. He has impressive athleticism and a clear potential to be a dominant scorer. At the end of the day, he is an absolute nightmare match-up, and he will show his natural talent in the upcoming season on his way to offensive MVP.

Defensive MVP

Clint: Jonathan Isaac seems like an odd choice for defensive MVP, considering he will primarily be an offensive threat, but the early showings for his defensive ability are very promising. His length and speed are incredibly deceptive on the defensive side of the floor, leading some to believe he will garner a surprising amount of steals and blocks, in addition to generally good play.

Mike: Dwayne Bacon has perhaps the most defensive upside on the entire team. He already ranked second in steals on the team, and was probably the best perimeter defender as well. Another factor in his favor is that he will likely be playing more at the shooting guard position in 2016, allowing him to have a raw physical advantage over most of the players he will be defending.

Robert: Christ Koumadje has refined all parts of his game in order to become a complete center. Included in this improvement was his defensive awareness, where he now shows much quicker lateral movement and a knack for swatting the ball out of the air. If he maintains the type of defense seen in the exhibition games, he will give FSU a truly dominant center on defense.

Breakout Player

Clint, Robert: Terance Mann has been waiting his time to be a starter, and 2016-17 looks like it will finally be the season. Mann plays shooting guard but has a small forward frame at 6-6 and 204 pounds. He always looks for the rebound and is a sneakily good defender. Do not be shocked if he turns out to be the third best player on the team by the end of the year.

Mike: Phil Cofer continues to be the mythical power forward that will eventually break out one day for the Seminoles. Yet everyone still agrees that he can be the most complete post player on the team if he can stay healthy. Cofer is now a junior and will be getting major minutes in the upcoming season. If he can live up to his potential as a player, FSU might be one of the most complete teams in the ACC.

Predict-A-Statline

Clint: Dwayne Bacon finishes with 17 points per game on 46 percent shooting, 6 rebounds per game, and 35 total steals.

Mike: Jonathan Isaac garners 14.5 points per game on 46 percent shooting with 7 rebounds per game.

Robert: Dwayne Bacon will average 20 points per game and 7 rebounds per game.

Most Glaring Question

Clint: Will FSU Avoid Bad Losses? Florida State’s 2015-16 season was not bad from a pure overall record standpoint. The Seminoles finished the regular season at 18-12 and had a chance at an ACC Tournament run, but the record covers up the multiple inexcusable losses that the Seminoles suffered at the absolute worst time of the year. At one point late in the season, they lost five straight, which included back-to-back losses against Georgia Tech and Virginia Tech — two teams who had much less overall talent than FSU. When the Seminoles played their best, they beat top 25 teams like Notre Dame and Virginia. When they didn’t, they lost to teams like Hofstra and Clemson. All great teams slip up every once in a while, but FSU will need to limit the head-scratching losses if it wants to reach the NCAA Tournament.

Mike: Can FSU Defend? The junkyard dog defense that head coach Leonard Hamilton was lauded for was conspicuously absent last season. Some of that can be attributed to players not buying into the system, but that still falls on Hamilton when it comes down to it. Florida State has enough offensive talent to reach the Sweet 16, but it remains to be seen if it has the defense to help balance the team out. There are encouraging signs; the Seminoles have more depth this season than any the past three, young players like Isaac have high ceilings as defenders, and veteran presence with Rathan-Mayes and Bacon is available. It’s up to Hamilton to get them playing on both sides of the court.

Robert: Does Leonard Hamilton Still Have It? This team will go as far as Coach Hamilton and the staff allow it to. Depth and experience on both sides of the ball will have Florida State in a position to win, but last season’s team also had its strengths, with one of its main issues being a lack of consistency. If the Seminoles want to reach their ceiling, they will need to figure it out quickly before ACC play begins.

Record/Postseason Prediction

Clint: 23-14 overall. Florida State has a fairly disappointing 19-12 regular season with a 10-8 ACC record, but it makes a surprising run to the ACC Tournament semifinals. The Seminoles make it to the NCAA Tournament and win their first round game before falling in the second round.

Mike: 22-13 overall. Seminoles go 20-11 (9-9 ACC) during the regular season, 1-1 in ACC Tournament and 1-1 in NCAA Tournament, losing in the round of 32.

Robert: I have FSU finishing at 18-13 in the regular season. I think the Noles will be much improved, and successful kicking off the season, but the ACC is just too deep. The best schools in the country would have trouble with Florida State’s schedule in January. FSU is playing for an at-large NCAA bid in my opinion; I can see the Seminoles squeezing in before being bounced in the first or second round.