It was yet another winning campaign for the Florida State men’s basketball program during the 2013-14 season, but as has been the case so often in head coach Leonard Hamilton’s tenure, the Seminoles were left just on the outside of the field of 68 on Selection Sunday. Florida State will lose two of its top three scorers next season, but still looks to have the talent to make a NCAA Tournament push. Here are five areas where the Seminoles must improve during the 2014-15 season:
1. Establishing a Post Presence
Despite having a pair of 7-footers in the rotation, Florida State’s best post presence this past season was 6’9″ forward Okaro White. Centers Boris Bojanovsky and Michael Ojo combined to average 8.4 points-per-game with the majority of that coming out on the floor from Bojanovsky. FSU’s struggles on the low block were partially due to having Kiel Turpin miss the entire season, but with White leaving, the Seminoles will need to find a viable option in the post to be more successful on offense next season.
2. Taking Care of the Basketball
When it came to protecting the basketball this past season, Florida State turned the ball over more than 100 times more often than the next highest team in the ACC. The Seminoles ranked 12th in the ACC in turnover margin and their assist-to-turnover ratio was the worst in the conference. As has always been the case under Hamilton, FSU managed to make plays defensively, but squandered far too many scoring opportunities this past season by not getting shots at the basket.
3. Defensive Rebounding
With a pair of 7-footers and a ton of athleticism in the lineup, the Seminoles should be a very good rebounding team. This past season however, they were not. While Florida State ranked fifth in the ACC in offensive rebounding percentage, FSU was dead last on the other end of the floor. Florida State gave up second chance points far too often and never was it more evident than in an 81-75 loss to North Carolina in mid-February. With the size and athleticism that Florida State has, its rebounding woes are inexplicable and something that must be fixed before the start of next season.
4. Attacking the Basket
Florida State has size and athleticism at the wing positions, but were sometimes too hesitant to attack the basket at times last season. The Seminoles certainly have the personnel to do so and should look to penetrate more next season. Returning leading scorer Aaron Thomas has one of the quickest first steps in the ACC while 6’7″ swing-man Montay Brandon is a natural slasher. From the point guard position, Devon Bookert also needs to be more of a penetrator.
5. Winning at Home
For years under Hamilton, Florida State has been a very difficult team to beat at the Donald L. Tucker Center. This past season however, the Seminoles went just 4-5 at home during ACC play. Losses to Virginia and North Carolina are understandable, but home losses to Miami and Clemson were simply inexcusable, especially considering that FSU had defeated both of those teams on the road. Florida State’s best three wins a season ago were away from Tallahassee and losses to the Hurricanes and Tigers may have been the difference between a spot in the NIT and one in the NCAA Tournament.
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