The 2014-15 season has not gone as planned for Florida State as the Seminoles are just 9-8 overall, 1-3 in the ACC and without a victory in a true road game more than halfway through the season. Many around Tallahassee however, are raving about the potential future of the program and with good reason.
Much of that optimism is due to Florida State’s incoming recruiting class which includes All-American Dwayne Bacon, Malik Beasley, Terance Mann and 7’4″ Jean Marc Koumadje, who would replace current center Boris Bojanovsky as the tallest player ever to play at FSU. With perhaps head coach Leonard Hamilton’s best recruiting class, the future certainly looks bright for the Seminoles, but two building blocks may already be in place.
In Wednesday’s 73-64 loss at Pittsburgh, freshman forward Phil Cofer came to life, scoring a career-high 21 points and grabbing a team-high 11 rebounds. Despite having three 7-footers in the rotation, Cofer has been Florida State’s best player on the low block this season and one of the few players who have brought the Seminoles toughness inside.
Thanks to a career-night on Wednesday, Cofer is now averaging 7.7 points-per-game and 5.2 rebounds, which ranks second on the team, in just over 22 minutes of action per contest. Cofer has been Hamilton’s best option inside despite fighting for playing time with taller, more experienced players that happened to be more highly-touted upon arriving in Tallahassee.
At 6’8″, Cofer has consistently shown a good mid-range game and knocked down his first career 3-pointer in Wednesday’s loss to the Panthers. Over the years to come, Cofer is only going to get better and should continue to be a force inside for ACC defenders to have to deal with.
While Cofer looks to be a building block for the FSU frontcourt over the next few years, redshirt freshman Xavier Rathan-Mayes is shaping up to be the future of the Seminole backcourt. Rathan-Mayes was academically ineligible last season, but has been forced to mature very quickly this season and has excelled in doing so.
With Aaron Thomas ruled ineligible by the school prior to Florida State’s December 13th ACC opener against Notre Dame, Rathan-Mayes along with junior Montay Brandon have been forced to carry the Florida State offense.
Rathan-Mayes has been accepting of that challenge ranking second on the current roster, averaging 12.3 points-per-game. Rathan-Mayes has led the Seminoles in scoring six times this season, which is more often than any other player.
Regarded by some as a shoot-first point guard, Rathan-Mayes has proven that he has the ability to make his teammates better. Rathan-Mayes leads the team, averaging 4.4 assists-per-game, which would be the highest average for any Florida State player since Delvon Arrington averaged better than six during the 2001-02 season.
Earlier in the season, Rathan-Mayes had 9 assists in back-to-back games against North Florida and South Florida.
What makes the future even brighter with Cofer and Rathan-Mayes helping lead the Florida State attack is that each should mesh well with the trumpeted members of the incoming recruiting class.
Bacon and Mann are athletic swingmen who can put the ball in the basket while Beasley is a scorer. Koumadje is a project player who Florida State certainly hopes will eventually man the center position. With beefed up talent around him, Rathan-Mayes should excel as a facilitator while Cofer should again be the Seminoles’ best post player.
While the incoming recruiting class for Florida State brings the prospect of heights not reached by the Seminoles since their only Final Four appearance in 1972, folks in Tallahassee are already getting a glimpse of two intricate pieces for the future. So far, they have to like what they see.
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