The Florida State Seminoles '08 Outlook

With so much talent in the tough ACC, the Florida State Seminoles have so much to prove. With five true freshmen and only two seniors, they have little experience.

But in the ACC everything is possible. Just take a look at the Wake Forest team from last season.  Even though they didn't prove much, the young and very wild Demon Deacon team played its way to some respect in the ACC, especially handling the Noles in Winston-Salem.

The thing that has bothered the Noles every year is the leaders of the team leave early. For example after the 2003-2004 Junior College transfer Tim Picket left due to graduation.

The following year Von Wafer became the team leader and was the scoring leader for the Noles.  He ended up leaving for the pros after just his sophomore year. Then the same happened when junior forward Alexander Johnson left to the pros, both were drafted in the second round and have not landed a long term deal.

The following year the Noles added free throw specialist Andy Enfield to the coaching staff which helped the Noles. While the Noles improved, another departure happened when senior forward Al Thornton graduated and was a lottery pick (13th pick L.A. Clippers).  

Finally, the Noles just last season had to let go their three senior guards, and with that, left the leadership that the Noles had.

So now the main question is who is going to step up for the Noles. 

With senior guard Toney Douglass and senior forward Uche Echefu it should be obvious who are the leaders of the team.

Personally I think that Uche Echefu should be the leader with his athleticism that he has and he has a great stroke from the line.  Toney Douglass is a defensive specialist that can score. He should go back to his traditional position as the two guard, but if he wants to prepare himself for the pros he should stay at the point. 

With four true freshmen who were ranked in the Rivals top-100, the Noles have a lot to be excited for. If they stay healthy they will succeed.  Coach Leonard Hamilton has a lot to be proud of with the success the Noles have achieved, and this season they should be a big surprise for the ACC.

The Noles road to the big dance is not a simple one due to their non-conference schedule playing their annual rivalry game vs. Florida, then playing Pitt, Cincinnati, Stetson, Georgia State, and Western Kentucky before they start their ACC schedule with Duke January 10.  The good thing is that they play the very experienced UNC Tar Heels only one time this season (Jan. 28).  The bad thing is that they are going to play Duke twice (Jan 10 & Mar. 3 at Cameron Indoor).

Coach Hamilton is and should not be in the hot seat because he has brought young talented kids to the program.  He has brought an excitement that Tallahassee is proud of and will take the Noles to the big dance. 

Even though the Noles will not have Von Wafer, Tim Picket, Al Thornton, Jason Rich, and Isaiah Swann, they have a number of new basketball players that should leave a great legacy for the Noles. 

Coach Hamilton has a lot of work to do teaching the fundamentals and mentally preparing the freshmen, but he has sophomore Jordan Demercy and junior forward Ryan Reid to help the bench while the freshmen get used to the college level.