florida state seminoles

‘Noles Will Be Thomas’ Team in 2014-15

Hopes are high for Florida State as the 2014-15 season nears. The Seminoles finished 22-14 this past season before falling to Minnesota in the NIT semifinals. Florida State hopes to return to the NCAA Tournament after a two-year hiatus, but for that to happen, Coach Leonard Hamilton will need a special season from junior guard Aaron Thomas.

A 6’5″ guard, Thomas was the prize of what was a highly-touted recruiting class for Florida State in 2012. After averaging six points-per-game and shooting 41 percent as a freshman, the Cincinnati product was arguably Florida State’s best player on both ends of the floor last season.

Thomas led the Seminoles, averaging 14.5 points-per-game and ranked sixth in the ACC with 1.6 steals-per-contest. He also averaged more than four rebounds each time out and shot a respectable 45 percent from the field.

While Thomas has proven that he can be a scorer on one end of the floor and a lockdown defender on the other, Thomas may have to take on a new role for FSU this upcoming season — leader.

Florida State has the majority of its 10-man rotation returning, but the losses of seniors Ian Miller and Okaro White will not be easy to replace. Miller was Florida State’s second-leading scorer last season and perhaps most clutch performer while White led the team in rebounding and played in more career games for FSU than any other player ever.

Miller and White also each had valuable postseason experience as the two played on a Sweet 16 squad in 2011 and an ACC championship team in 2012.

This season, Florida State’s roster will pose only one scholarship senior, Kiel Turpin. Turpin, a junior college transfer, missed all of last season and will be fighting taller players with more upside in Michael Ojo and Boris Bojanovsky, for minutes.

With a team void of veteran leadership, the Seminoles’ upcoming campaign will rest largely on Aaron Thomas. Thomas has never had a problem being heard and is a well-noted gym rat, making him a natural leader — both vocally and by example.

Though few would argue that Thomas is Florida State’s best player, the Seminoles do have talent around him.

Xavier Rathan-Mayes and Devon Bookert look to be a formidable duo at the point guard position while Montay Brandon and Jarquez Smith are each very good athletes to go with a trio of 7-footers.

While the talent for Florida State to make a run at the NCAA Tournament will certainly be there, the onus will be on Thomas to make his teammates better and FSU a true contender in what should be a talent-stacked ACC.

Making teammates better is an area where guys like Toney Douglas and Al Thornton excelled while other talents like Von Wafer struggled. There is little doubt that Florida State’s fate this upcoming season will rely heavily on Aaron Thomas, but for Seminole fans, that’s a fate they should feel very good about.

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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