The last two years of Florida State athletics have seen two underachieving years of football and two overachieving years of basketball. But as all Seminoles fans are extremely excited that their football program is on the way back up- the basketball program is on the way back down.
After a crushing, stunning defeat to one of the worst teams in the country in Auburn, and an overall performance in out of conference play that did anything but make FSU fans excited about their team, there was some slim optimism that the 'Noles could come together going into the start of ACC play in a game at Virginia Tech. Instead, they picked up right where they left off.
The offense played sloppy, they seemed to foul every other play, and they're getting away from playing solid defense every possession, which is what has been their trademark the last two years. That was FSU's problem in a nutshell in a 71-59 loss to Virginia Tech Saturday afternoon, and has been a developing problem all season.
Gene Deckerhoff usually doesn't ask Coach Leonard Hamilton any tough questions after a loss, and that stayed true after Auburn. But Coach Ham did say one thing in that post game show that was true- FSU is letting teams outplay them this season, and that is new. They did that yet again against the Hokies to fall to 1-1 in the ACC. And to make their situation in the ACC even better, they get to play Duke on Wednesday, the best team in the land.
But not only can you see how bad this team is just by watching them, you can see them it in the stats. They missed 40 field goals. They missed 17 three-pointers. They missed 6 free throws. They turned the ball over 19 times. Deividas Dulkys, who has gotten minutes on this team because he can shoot, has been 4/29 from behind the arch in the last 5 games.
The lineups that Hamilton chooses are also very suspect. I've pointed this out before- Derwin Kitchen cannot play to his full potential at point guard. Yet, Hamilton has him playing that position the majority of the game. Jon Kreft is nearly impossible to stop when he gets the ball down low. Yet, Kreft is barely ever in the game. And when he is, the ball never seems to make its way to him.
The limited minutes that Jon Kreft gets continues to baffle me. I've seen this guy on NBA mock draft boards, and Terrance Shannon is getting more minutes then him? Makes no sense. For example, Kreft comes into the game today with about 10 minutes left in the first half and makes a layup. He then gets a defensive rebound on the other side of the court. A couple of plays later, Kreft doesn't give up on the play, blocks a layup on a Virginia Tech fast break, runs the floor, and gets fouled under the basket.
Hamilton then takes Kreft out and he doesn't go back in the game until there's 13 minutes left in the 2nd half.
One of the announcers on ESPN made a good point- the decision making that this FSu team has is absolutely horrid. Especially Michael Snaer. It's almost as if he tries to make the wrong decisions. And since Leonard is in love with him, we get to see him play every game and make plenty of bad decisions and turnovers.
Chris Singleton is giving us 15 PPG, and gave us 22 today against Va. Tech. But with the way his supporting cast is playing, we're going to need more. Which is pretty sad.
Well, FSU is playing Duke on Wednesday. I'll be at the Civic Center to witness that massacre. I'll be back late Wednesday night or sometime Thursday to identify even more problems that Florida State basketball has. Until next time, 'Noles fans.
