The Daily Nole

FSU Hoops: Five Potential Replacements for Dwayne Bacon

Colin Abbey/FSU athletics

Wednesday’s news came as little surprise as Florida State sophomore guard Dwayne Bacon declared for the NBA Draft.

A Lakeland native and Oak Hill Academy product, Bacon led the Seminoles in scoring in each of his two seasons on campus. After averaging 15.8 points and a freshman, Bacon averaged more than 17 this past season.

Bacon won’t be the last FSU player to leave school early. Xavier Rathan-Mayes, a redshirt junior guard, will also test the NBA Draft waters. Freshman forward Jonathan Isaac is expected to declare for the draft when he announces his decision on Friday.

Replacing Bacon’s ability to score and athleticism won’t be easy, but the Seminoles will have to find someone to do it. Here are five candidates who could find themselves as the starting shooting guard in the FSU lineup:

Braian Angola-Rodas

A junior college transfer and native of Colombia, Angola-Rodas is a player with a lot of potential who hasn’t seemed to find his role just yet. At 6-6, Angola-Rodas handles the ball well, is athletic and has some range. As a junior this past season, he shot 42 percent from beyond the arc and gives a very good effort on defense. With a good offseason, Angola-Rodas could very easily be a double-digit scorer as a senior.

Trent Forrest

A 6-5 sophomore-to-be from Chipley, Trent Forrest is a player who doesn’t need the ball in his hands to make an impact. Despite playing only 15 minutes per game this past season as a freshman, Forrest led the team in steals. Forrest is a heady player, who handles the ball well and shoots a high percentage from the field. Forrest is a decent athlete who can make an impact as a facilitator as well. By the time his career at FSU is over, Forrest should be a 12-15 points per game scorer.

Anthony Polite

It’s unlikely that Florida State will go with a freshman to fill the void of Bacon, but if it does, Anthony Polite will likely be that guy. Much like Bacon, Polite finishes well around the basket and has good length. Polite, at 6-6, handles the ball well and has a smooth left-handed shooting stroke. Polite could make an impact next season, but don’t bank on him starting.

P.J. Savoy

Despite averaging just eight minutes and missing seven games, P.J. Savoy made the second most 3-pointers for Florida State and many of them came from well beyond the arc or while closely defended. Still, Savoy shot 40 percent from deep, which is his biggest strength. Savoy tends to give pretty good effort on defense, but is far from astute when it comes to defending on the ball or getting to the basket offensively.

Bryan Trimble

Of the five players to make this list, Bryan Trimble is probably the least likely to actually replace Bacon. That’s not a knock on Trimble. He has the chance to be a very good player at Florida State, but that won’t happen immediately. At 6-3, Trimble can do a number of things well offensively, but his biggest strength may be on the other end. He’ll be a player who fits in well for head coach Leonard Hamilton, but probably not one who starts from Day 1.

Mike Ferguson is the editor of The Daily Nole. Follow Mike on Twitter @MikeWFerguson

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