Clemson | State | Georgia Tech | UNC | Maryland | Virginia | Wake Forest | B.C. | Virginia Tech |  Miami | Florida State | Duke

If this is the year of the big man in the ACC, where almost everyone has at least one imposing big man, and several have two or more, then Florida State is near the top of that list.

No.	Name	Pos.	Ht.	Wt.	CL
42	Ryan Reid	F	6-8	238	Sr.
2	Jordan DeMercy	F	6-7	215	Jr.
22	Derwin Kitchen	G	6-4	204	Jr.
3	Luke Loucks	G	6-5	196	So.
1	Xavier Gibson	F/C	6-11	240	So.
31	Chris Singleton	F	6-9	227	So.
32	Solomon Alabi	C	7-1	251	So.
4	Deividas Dulkys	G	6-5	196	So.
0	Pierre Jordan	G	6-0	165	Fr.
15	Terrance Shannon	F	6-8	220	Fr.
21	Michael Snaer	G	6-5	200	Fr.
33	Joey Moreau	G	6-2	165	Fr.

Start with Solomon Alabi.  The talented young Nigerian is projected by some to be the #1 player in the draft whenever he decides to come out. At 7-1, and 251, Alabi combines size and a lot of athleticism.  He’s just begun to scratch the surface of his potential.  

Coach Leonard Hamilton can put fellow sophomore Chris Singleton out with Alabi.  The 6-9, 227 lb. Singleton can shoot, pass, and defend.  He’s a pretty solid player and also athletic. 

And to top off the big man parade, they also have 6-11 Xavier Gibson, a 6-11, 240 lb. young big man who Hamilton thinks might have more potential than Alabi.  Ryan Reid, the 6-8 hothead, is still around, though he may see his minutes cut a lot. 

They also return Jordan DeMercy, a solid and useful player, who may get minutes as a more versatile, smaller frontcourt player.  

Florida State’s problems will probably be in the backcourt, where they’ll have to replace Toney Douglas.  We weren’t entirely sold on the Jeff Lebo/Auburn refugee before he really proved to be a great player.  His performance at Duke last year really showed what a gutty winner this kid is. Though FSU lost, he was relentless and a superb defender to boot.  We loved him.

Obviously Hamilton did as well.  Whoever replaces him won’t be a scoring point guard – Luke Loucks, 6-5 (and another player we like), and Derwin Kitchen, 6-4, are both candidates and neither is a huge scorer. Pierre Jordan, who sat out last year with a knee injury is as well.

Rookie Terrance Shannon, 6-8, also had knee surgery last year in high schooland that may slow him somewhat this year.

The ‘Noles also bring in 6-5 Californian Michael Snaer, an excellent athlete and a guy with range who will be counted on to extend the defenses, something that the big men will doubtless appreciate.  That was supposed to be provided by 6-5 Lithuanian Deivida Dulkys, but he wasn’t much use as a shooter as he only converted 28 out of 98 last year for .286.  If he could boost that, FSU would be ecstatic.  It’s an oddity of basketball, the most thoroughly integrated sport, and the most intimate, that stereotypes are so stubborn.  Michael Jordan’s offensive genius obscured the fact for many that he was for years the best defender in basketball.  The stereotype is that African-American players are expected to dunk and to excel offensively.  Lithuanians are similarly expected to be great shooters.  That Dulkys is actually a good shooter doesn’t change the fact that it’s also a stereotype.  

Incidentally, according to the FSU site, the correct way to pronounce his name?  David Us Duel Kiss.

So how will they do?  Well, first and foremost, while they do have some talent, it’s a young team with only Reid, DeMercy, and Kitchen as upperclassmen, and Kitchen is, remember, a JUCO transfer so he hasn’t been there for long.  We would never want to be in the position of relying on a hothead like Reid for leadership, and while DeMercy is a generally admirable player, he’s been average.  

It’s hard to see, in other words, who can replace that aspect of Toney’s contributions.  He was a superb leader. 

Assuming they can establish leadership, they have the size, depth and athleticism to be a defensive powerhouse. Watching Alabi move around is a fantastic experience. He’s huge, yet agile, and his presence, if not yet his command of the game, dramatic and intimidating.  If he comes even remotely close to his potential, then look out. We remember watching Shaquille O’ Neal in college,when he played Arizona, and watching him completely dominate the Tuscon Skyline, as they called their troika of big men, chasing them all over the court.  It was one of the most spine-tingling performances we’ve ever seen.  Alabi could have nights somewhat like that.  

Really, it’s a shame that O’ Neal played most of his career overweight.  He has been really, really good, but he could have been so much better.

Offense is a different story.  Hamilton is a solid defensive coach – it’s how he’s made his reputation – but no one has ever considered him a master on the offensive end.  So it was a good move on his part to hire Andy Enfield a few years ago to help out with the offense.  His impact is most notable on the free throw line.  Florida State was for years an erratic free throw shooting team; no more.  Enfield has them shooting as well from the line as any but a handful of teams.

Enfield had a big hand in the dramatic improvements shown by Toney Douglas and Al Thornton, among others. 

That Hamilton was relieved to have an offensive expert on staff was illustrated by something that happened in a game last winter, as relayed to us by another basketball writer:  FSU called time out and the team huddled up.  Enfield was explaining the play to everyone – including Hamilton, who was on the outside of the huddle looking in. 

FSU has been on the outside looking in.  Taking understandable pride in their football program’s success, basketball has been an afterthought.  With football struggling now, it would be interesting to see what would happen if basketball had a break-out season.  We’re not saying it’ll happen, or even that it’s likely, but it would be fun to see what would happen if it did.

DBR Is On Twitter! (DBRTweetz)