By Kenneth Cross
Florida State returns its top two scorers in guard Caleb Mills (12.7 ppg, 2.4 apg) and power forward Matthew Cleveland (11.5 ppg, 4.6 rpg). Mills, a Houston transfer, missed five of the last seven games with an ankle injury and his absence due to the injury was a key in FSU’s struggles in mid to late-season action.
Injury woes gave Florida State a tough 2021-22 campaign as the Seminoles went 4-9 through the middle of the season and FSU was never able to move forward once again. Florida State then missed the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2015-16.
Cleveland was the ACC Sixth-Man-of-the-Year as he made game-winning shots in the waning moments of two games. The last came at Virginia where he scored to give FSU a 64-63 win which ended the Seminoles’ streak of losing eight out of nine games.
The duo will be the primary keys with their talent and experience as Mills showed that he could get to the basket off the dribble while being a three-point threat. Jaylan Warley fits into the backcourt and his overall talent will provide contributions on both ends of the floor. He plays on the point at 6-6 where he averaged 2.5 assists or he can finish at a two-guard with his dribble-penetration and ability to shoot.
Coach Leonard Hamilton hopes that Cam’Ron Fletcher will be healthy again as he struggled with an ankle injury although he proved his three-point capabilities in shooting 36.2 percent from behind the line in 29 games where he averaged only 16 minutes per night.
Guard Darin Green also will add depth in the backcourt as he transferred from UCF and was the Knights’ leading scorer at 13.3 points per game while shooting 38.5 percent from three.
Freshman Chandler Jackson is a combo-guard who can get above the rim and will also add to Florida State’s outside scoring ability.
FSU will be deep in the middle as four-star center Baba Miller joins the 7-4 Naheem McLeod in the paint where McLeod had a hand injury that ended his 2021-22 season on Feb. 2.
The two will be joined by a pair of 6-9 freshmen in in Cameron Corhen and De’Ante Green. Corhen brings his athleticism where he can play facing the basket while Green possesses solid footwork and has consistent touch with both hands.
Brown transfer Jaylan Gainey was the Defensive Player of the Year in the Ivy League during the last two seasons and will share time in the paint.
Florida State has a tough non-conference schedule with Florida State and Purdue as the key non-conference headliners in the Donald Tucker Center while Florida State will play in the ESPN Events Classic in Orlando over Thanksgiving. The first ACC game is a trip to Virginia on Dec. 3 before the Seminoles host Louisville on Dec. 10.