Florida State Seminoles 2010 NCAA Men's Basketball Post Season

<?xml:namespace prefix = st1 />Florida State Seminoles

Atlantic Coast Conference (22-9, 10-6)

Seed: #

Region

Big Wins: 11/29 vs Marquette (57-56), 12/20 at Georgia Tech (66-59), 3/3 Wake Forest (51-47)

Bad Losses: 11/24 at Florida (52-68), 1/12 NC State (81-88), 3/12 vs NC State (52-58)

Last NCAA Appearance: 2009, First Round loss to Wisconsin

Coach: Leonard Hamilton (3-4 in 4 NCAA appearances)

Why They Can Surprise:

Both of Florida State’s superstars are in the frontcourt. Small forward Chris Singleton is a great athlete who can score in every way imaginable. The 6-9 sophomore can get to the basket with ease and he can even knock down the long ball relatively consistently. However, Singleton is about a lot more than just scoring. He leads the team with xxx rebounds and also adds xxx assists, xxx steals and xxx blocks per contest.

Solomon Alabi is the traditional center on the team. The 7-1 sophomore has turned into a very consistent scorer under the basket and is also a great rebounder and a superb shot blocker. Usually the only way to stop Alabi is to foul him, but Alabi is one of the best free-throw shooters who is over seven feet tall that you will ever see. Ryan Reid does not get the accolades that Singleton and Alabi receive, but he is the prototypical glue guy and provides the Seminoles with even more size in the frontcourt and that is why it is so difficult to score against Florida State.

Why They Can Disappoint:

The frontcourt is great, and possibly the best in the Atlantic Coast Conference, but the backcourt has been inconsistent. Turnovers are a huge problem. It is not fair to blame Derwin Kitchen and Deividas Dulkys since the backcourt starters both have a positive assist-to-turnover ratio, but sometimes their passes will lead to a turnover from Singleton or one of the other big guys. Kitchen is the point guard and does a decent job of it, but he is not much of a threat to score. Dulkys is easily the best shooter on the team and has connected on xxx percent of his attempts from long range and is the only guard pushing double digits in the scoring column.

Who To Watch:

Luke Loucks is a capable backup point guard, but the star off the bench is freshman Michael Snaer. Snaer pretty much plays starter minutes and when his shot is falling he can be the scorer in the backcourt that this team lacks. He is not as solid of a defender as Dulkys, nor is he as consistent of a shooter at this point in his career, but when Snaer can come in off the bench and use his size and speed to get to the basket, it adds an offensive dynamic that the team lacks otherwise.

Probable Starters:

Derwin Kitchen, Junior, Guard

Deividas Dulkys, Sophomore, Guard

Chris Singleton, Sophomore, Forward

Ryan Reid, Senior, Forward

Solomon Alabi, Sophomore, Center

Key Roleplayers:

Jordan DeMercy, Junior, Forward

Xavier Gibson, Sophomore, Center

Luke Loucks, Sophomore, Guard

Michael Snaer, Freshman, Guard

By the Numbers:

Scoring Offense: 69.0 (172^nd in nation, 10^th in conference)

Scoring Defense: 60.2 (18, 1)

Field-Goal Percentage: 45.7 (66, 4)

Field-Goal Defense: 37.2 (1, 1)

Three-Point Field Goals Per Game: 5.9 (198, 6)

Three-Point Field-Goal Percentage: 34.1 (167, 6)

Free-Throw Percentage: 64.9 (283, 12)

Rebound Margin: 5.2 (29, 3)

Assists Per Game: 14.1 (92, 8)

Turnovers Per Game: 16.7 (321, 12)

Joel’s Bracket Says: