Previewing Florida State

2008 Scouting Report / 2008 Game Plan
2008 Schedule
2008 Roster

Florida State Offense 07-08

Four Factors	Percent	Nat'l Rank
eFG%	52.3	92
Turnover Rate	22.7	231
Off Reb Rate	33.6	162
FTM/FGA	28.2	67

Aw, man, we have to play basketball again? Already? Where are those week-long layoffs when you want them?

Florida State is kind of a Seton Hall lite. The four guys who have gotten the most minutes for the Noles this season are all guards, all 6-3 or shorter. They've got more height to work with than SHU does; the problem is that most of FSU's forwards are young, ineffective, or both.

Replacing Al Thornton's contributions has been tough, as you would expect, although I have to say I thought it would be a much larger disaster than it has been. Rather than assume the "man" status this season, Toney Douglas has actually decreased his involvement slightly, and the result is a team that is balanced from one to five:

          %Poss   %Shots
Douglas    21.0    22.2
Rich       21.5    23.5
Swann      18.7    20.0
Mims       18.9    19.4
Echefu     21.8    20.1

All five average double figures.

Possible Starters:

Toney Douglas (6-1, 200) -- Since they score by committee, I guess I shouldn't be surprised that they pass by committee, too. Douglas has a modest assist rate, but he spends a lot of time playing with several other guards who are decent passers as well. Matching the team trend, Douglas is shooting threes more frequently in 2008. He doesn't go to the line often and rebounds like a 5-9 guy; good steal rate, though.

Isaiah Swann (6-2, 198) -- Averaging nearly 7 3FGA/40 minutes, and he'll hit 'em. After shooting 41% from outside in '07, he's at 39.8% this season.

Jason Rich (6-3, 211) -- Among FSU's guards, he is the least inclined to shoot threes, devoting less than a quarter of his attempts to them. Unfortunately, his 2FG% is way down, and he sports the lowest eFG% among the regulars.

Ryan Reid (6-8, 237) -- Very possibly won't start, and he's hardly been involved in the offense at all, but I'm going to assume Leonard Hamilton will want two forwards in there most of the time. He's good at being a tall person, which is about the extent of his strengths.

Uche Echefu (6-9, 225) -- Thank goodness for Uche. When it comes to reliable contributors in the front court, he's pretty much it.

Bench:

Ralph Mims (6-3, 205) is an upstanding individual and a fine American. Please don't hurt us again, Ralph.

Julian Vaughn (6-10, 239) and Jordan Demercy (6-7, 204) will see some time out of necessity. Neither will shoot often, both are turnover prone.

Florida State Defense 07-08

Four Factors	Percent	Nat'l Rank
eFG%	48.8	131
Turnover Rate	23.2	90
Off Reb Rate	33.4	183
FTA/FGA	28.0	38

FSU's defense ranks 24th in steal percentage, which is great, just freakin' great.

Pomeroy has the Noles by seven.