WRAL Sports Fan

WRALSportsFan

ACC Countdown: No. 9 FSU Sick Of Bubble Label

By Michael Moore

Nov 2, 2007

Greensboro, N.C. — Florida State is sick of Selection Sunday.

The Seminoles are tired of being a consistent resident of the bubble come March, and are really fed up with being on the outside looking in once the brackets are set. And now, if they want to change that, they’ll have to do it without one of the best players in the school’s history.

Florida State has not reached the NCAA Tournament since 1998, and Leonard Hamilton’s team has been relegated to the NIT each of the last two years despite having a combined 16-16 ACC record and picking up three victories over ranked teams last season.

“We haven’t been able to finish, and that’s what has ultimately caused us not to be in the tournament the past two years,” senior guard Isaiah Swann said. “The key for us is to not leave it up to the committee. Get it done ourselves; we have 31 games to do it.”

Forward Al Thornton was the central figure in the 2007 ’Noles’ offense, scoring 19.7 points per game, and was selected 14th in the NBA Draft. Without Thornton, Florida State will rely on the penetration and shooting of its three veteran guards — seniors Swann and Jason Rich and junior Toney Douglas — each of whom averaged double figures.

The expectations outside of Tallahassee aren’t exactly high, with a preseason conference ranking of ninth. But the Seminoles believe they now have the experience to pull out the heartbreaking losses that have plagued their recent past. Over the past two seasons, Florida State has lost an astounding 10 ACC games by six points or less.

One thing is for sure: if they are going to change their postseason standing, the Seminoles will have to perform better on the road. Last year, Florida State picked up its first win ever at Duke, but finished its ACC slate just 2-6 away from Tallahassee.

“We’ve had good basketball teams and for different reasons, we’ve come up short,” Hamilton said. “They’re hungry, and why I think we’re going to have a good year is because they’ve learned through the struggle. The disappointment has created in the guys a sense of urgency and a focus that is ‘by whatever means necessary.’”

Last season, the Seminoles were hampered by a lack of interior defense, ranking ninth in the ACC in blocks per game and 10th in rebounding margin. That deficiency should be helped by the arrival of two big freshman bodies, 6-foot-9 Julian Vaughn and 7-1 Solomon Alabi.

“The interior physicality and the big hand that can change shots — we missed that last year, and you can’t replace that sometimes unless you do have some size and some quality of depth,” Hamilton said. “We were holding our hands up and hoping people missed.”

Whether through veteran guards or youthful big men, Florida State hopes to surprise some people in the ACC. And this Selection Sunday, the Seminoles want to be sitting calmly, waiting only to find out their seed.

“Going to the ACC Tournament knowing that we’re already in the NCAA Tournament – that’s one of our goals,” Douglas said. “It’s been: we’re on the bubble and if we win two games in the ACC tournament, we’re going. I don’t want it to be like that anymore.”