Florida State basketball has 10 new players: ‘It’s like starting over and taking a new job’

Leonard Hamilton’s 23rd season at Florida State could feel much like his first.

With one returning starter and 10 new players on his roster, the veteran men’s basketball coach has been in teaching mode during preseason practice.

While Hamilton, in the last year of his contract, is looking for a bounce-back season after missing the past three NCAA Tournaments, a learning curve is expected. That challenge, however, could be reflected in the Atlantic Coast Conference standings as the Seminoles are projected to finish in the lower third at No. 14 by CBS Sports.

The league has expanded to 18 teams with the additions of Cal, Stanford and SMU. Overall, the league welcomes back its ACC Player of the Year, Rookie, Sixth Man, and Most Improved Players of the Year, as well as the nation’s lone returning first-team consensus All American.

“Teaching, communicating with them, their level of focus, and as coaches us adjusting to how best can you prepare a team with that many new players and be ready to play by the time the season starts is an adjustment that we all are making,” Hamilton said Wednesday during the annual ACC Men’s Basketball Tipoff in Charlotte, North Carolina.

“When you have ten new guys that you are trying to integrate in your system, it’s like starting over and taking a new job.”

FSU men’s basketball returns one starter in senior guard Jamir Watkins

he Seminoles open their 31-game schedule against Northern Kentucky Nov. 4 at the Tucker Center. FSU’s 20-game ACC schedule begins at defending conference champion North Carolina State Dec. 7.

Jamir Watkins, a 6-foot-7 senior guard, is the lone returning starter from last year’s 17-16 team. Watkins, who transferred to FSU from VCU prior to last season, also ranks among the nation’s top returning players.

Watkins considered the NCAA transfer portal and tested NBA Draft interest in the offseason before he opted to return to the Seminoles. An All-ACC honorable mention selection last season, the New Jersey native averaged a team-leading…

Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/starting-over-taking-job-fsu-183307611.html

Author : Tallahassee Democrat

Publish date : 2024-10-10 18:33:07

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