The Daily Nole

By The Numbers: Impact of FSU Basketball Departures

Lance King/FSU athletics

The past week confirmed what many were expecting for Florida State basketball. Xavier Rathan-Mayes, Dwayne Bacon, and Jonathan Isaac all made their decisions on staying or leaving for the NBA. All three decided to venture into professional waters, each with varying expectations.

Isaac will almost certainly be the highest drafted of the three as it’s hard to see him falling out of lottery territory. Bacon is a bit more questionable. He’s likely going to get drafted, though it ranges anywhere from late first round to middle second. Rathan-Mayes will have the hardest journey of the group and have to try and make his way onto a practice squad, if not overseas.

Two other key contributors are also graduating in Michael Ojo and Jarquez Smith. The obvious changes to the starting lineup will be readily evident: five players who started a combined 139 games this past season will no longer be in Tallahassee. The schemes and dynamics of the team will have to change as well.

How much? Below is a compilation of numbers to illustrate how much of the team’s production will be gone. Next to them are some blurbs about what to think of these numbers, and whether or not the aspects of the team will improve/decline for the 2017-18 season. Either way, next season’s team will be radically different from this past one.

The Numbers

  • 58 percent of scoring production, which includes its three leading scorers. There’s a reason that offense will be the biggest question mark heading into next season. None of the remaining players had much consistency scoring, though the potential is there.
  • 54 percent of rebounding. Jonathan Isaac is surprisingly the far and away leader of this group, though it makes sense when factoring in the playing time that each one got. The leading rebounder returning would be Terance Mann at 4.5 per game.
  • 65 percent of block production. This is one area that might not be as a big a concern as one would think from the numbers. Christ Koumadje had 40 blocks last season and the team adds a defensive piece in Ikechukwu Obiagu with its recruiting class. Though Jonathan Isaac’s versatility in guarding forwards and some guards will be missed.
  • 47 percent of steals. For as good of a defender as he was, XRM only had the fourth most steals on the team. Trent Forrest was tops in this category with 45, followed by Isaac with 37, and then Bacon/Mann with 35. Braian Angola-Rodas and C.J. Walker showed promise here as well with 15 and 20, respectively. This might actually get better next year when these players get more minutes.
  • 56 percent of assist production. XRM obviously dominates this stat with 168 assists. The next closest was Dwayne Bacon with 61, and Trent Forrest once again makes an appearance with 55 assists. Though fans should watch this number, as it might go up next year with more pure point guards on the team.
  • 56 percent of 3-point shooting. This doesn’t necessarily mean the best 3-point shooters are leaving (P.J. Savoy and Angola-Rodas hold those titles) but it does mean that the team will need to find more threats from beyond the arc. It’s very easy to shut down outside shooting when a team only has a few reliable options.

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