florida state seminoles

‘Noles a Preseason Bubble Team?

It’ll be another two weeks before Florida State takes the floor for its first meaningful game of the 2014-15 season, but it appears that experts are expecting Florida State to be in a familiar place — on the bubble.

After reaching the NCAA with relative ease in four straight seasons from 2009-12, the Seminoles have been forced to settle for the NIT in each of the last two seasons.

Earlier in the offseason, Florida State earned three votes in the preseason USA Today Coaches Poll and this week, FSU was given five votes in the AP’s preseason poll. At ACC Media Days, the Seminoles were picked eighth in what appears to be a very good 16-team Atlantic Coast Conference.

The Seminoles will be enduring the losses of two key seniors. Guard Ian Miller was a source of instant offense for Florida State while forward Okaro White led last year’s team in rebounding and played in more career games than other Florida State player ever.

While Florida State has only one senior on the roster, the Seminoles may actually be a more experienced team this season than last with a number of juniors that have seen a lot of the floor. The most notable among them is guard Aaron Thomas, who led the Seminoles in scoring and steals a season ago.

Though FSU has a number of guys returning from last year, the ‘Noles will also benefit from a couple of guys who couldn’t play last season. Freshman guard Xavier Rathan-Mayes was ruled academically ineligible prior to last season while senior center Kiel Turpin missed all of the 2013-14 season to a knee injury.

Rathan-Mayes will give the Seminoles a very good ball-handler that can put the ball in the basket while Turpin will add experience and a third 7-foot body to head coach Leonard Hamilton’s rotation.

There are certainly a number of unknowns for Florida State entering 2014-15, but experts are already indicating that they believe the Seminoles will once again end up on the bubble. In the past, the bubble has not been a kind place for Florida State, but if FSU can be just a bit better than people expect, March Madness will return to Florida’s capital city.

About Mike Ferguson

Mike Ferguson is a Bloguin contributor, the editor of Noled Out and a lifetime Florida State sports enthusiast. Mike vividly remembers watching Warrick Dunn run down the sideline in Gainesville in 1993, the "Choke at Doak" in 1994 and Monte Cummings' driving layup to beat #1 Duke in 2002. Mike has worked as a sports reporter in both print and online. For isportsweb in 2013, Mike gave press coverage of Florida State football's run to the 2013 national championship. Mike has been featured on SI.com, FoxSports.com and Yahoo Sports while interviewing major sports stars such as 2013 National League MVP Andrew McCutchen. Mike graduated from Florida State University in 2009 with a major in Religion and a minor in Communications. Mike currently resides in Haines City, Florida with his wife Jennifer and daughters Trinity and Greenly. Mike is a full-time reporter at Polk County's newspaper, The Ledger, in Lakeland, Florida. Mike can be followed on Twitter @MikeWFerguson.

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