The Team Behind Florida State’s Newly Initiated In-Game Coach’s Challenges

PITTSBURGH, Pa. – If you see Florida State head coach Luke Loucks look to his bench during a game this season, he’s often looking for confirmation on whether he should, or shouldn’t, initiate a coach’s challenge.

New to the college game this year, the coach’s challenge gives head coaches the ability to get video confirmation of a referee’s call they think should go in favor of his team.

Florida State closes out it ACC road schedule at Pittsburgh on Wednesday night at the Peterson Events Center on the University of Pittsburgh campus.

The game between the Seminoles and the Panthers will be televised beginning at 9:00 p.m. on the ACC Network with Kevin Fitzgerald and Eric Devendorf on the call. 

Jeff Culhane will have the call live on the Seminole Sports Network and on Facebook Live on the Florida State Men’s Basketball Facebook page. Fans can also check out their Courtside Cam broadcast on the FSU MBB Facebook and X pages, the Seminoles’ YouTube channel, and on the Seminoles Unconquered app.

When the NCAA Playing Rules Oversight Panel approved the Coach’s Challenge in the summer of 2025, It was a fundamental shift in how coaches manage critical moments in any given game.

For Loucks, the Coach’s Challenge was nothing new for the first-year college head coach. The NBA adopted the rule beginning with the 2020-21 season. Loucks successfully handled the challenges for head coach Mike Brown during two of the three seasons he was a member of the coaching staff with the Sacramento Kings.

Loucks and his staff have made the coach’s challenges a priority and have become one of the most successful teams in the ACC at winning challenges thanks to assistant director of operations Ryan Shnider and student assistant Michael Rubin. It’s Shnider and Rubin who are seated directly behind Loucks and his staff and need to make instant decisions to lead to winning games.

Coaches have the ability to challenge, at any point in a game, out-of-bounds calls, basket interference/goaltending, and whether a secondary defender was in the restricted-area arc.

Borrowing from the NBA’s challenge rules, teams must have a timeout to request a review. If the challenge is successful, teams will get one additional replay challenge for the rest of the game. If the initial challenge is unsuccessful, the team will not be able to challenge the rest of the game, and lose a timeout.

Loucks and his staff have what’s referred to as a ‘reasonable’ amount of time whether to challenge a call.

With the eagle-eyed Shnider and Rubin intently studying every play of each game, the Seminoles won both of their challenges during Saturday’s victory at Georgia Tech to run their challenge record to 8-3 for the season. Including both challenge wins against Georgia Tech, the Seminoles have won five consecutive challenges.

“These guys (Ryan and Michael) work their tails off every day,” said Loucks following the Seminoles win over the Yellow Jackets which moved them to 8-8 in ACC play. “They do it because they love the game and love the program. They put so much time and effort, and they are in a tough spot. It’s a really challenging job because I am breathing down their neck asking whether I should challenge or not. They have to make a split-second decision that can win you or lose you a game.”

Against Georgia Tech, Loucks initiated out-of-bounds challenges in both halves.

Loucks’ first challenge came at the 11:07 mark of the first half with Florida State leading 20-14. The challenge reversed a call, giving possession to the Seminoles who immediately scored on an out of bounds play to increase their lead to 22-14. The successful reversal was magnified later in the half as Georgia Tech pulled to within five at halftime. Florida State led 41-36 at the intermission.

 

Loucks’ second challenge came at the 8:54 mark of the second half with the Seminoles leading 62-53. The reversed possession call gave Florida State the ball under the Yellow Jackets’ basket and ended in a 3-point shot by Robert McCray V giving the Seminoles an insurmountable 65-53 lead.

 

Florida State never trailed and led for all but 35 seconds in the game, thanks in large part to the quick-thinking of Shnider and Rubin.

 

Both Shnider and Rubin have aspirations of becoming head coaches at the Division I level.

 

Shnider, from Wellington, Fla., is now a member of Loucks’ staff after enjoying four years as a student manager and two years as a graduate manager at Florida State.  He helped the Seminoles win the 2020 ACC regular season championship and was a member of the Florida State team that reached the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament in 2019. During his time as the Seminoles’ head manager and then as a graduate assistant manager, Shnider handled a variety of duties, including recruiting, analytics, scouting, and game planning.

“It’s all about making split second decisions to help win a game,” said Shnider. “Coach Loucks talks all the time about how 5-10 possessions win or lose you a game. Any possession that we can help get back will help us win. Michael Rubin and I have to be on top of it, ready to challenge any possession if needed.”

Rubin, a third-year sport management major, is in his third season as a team manager. His daily responsibilities include assisting the coaching staff with video and analytics, player development, and scouting. Basketball has developed into a lifelong obsession for the Tallahassee native whose father, Seth, was a Seminole team manager from 1998-01.

 

Rubin highlighted his motivation behind making an impact with his laptop, noting that winning a coach’s challenge could be the difference between winning and losing.

“Coach Loucks and his staff constantly emphasize the importance of doing your job at a high level,” said Rubin. “If there’s anything I can do to impact winning, I’m going to do it. Coach also talks about how most games, especially in ACC play, come down to five possessions or less, so if Ryan and I can help generate an extra possession, it could change the outcome of a game.”

For a job on the bench that he is so passionate about, Loucks is happy to have a pair of stars looking out for his team.

“Ryan and Michael take so much pride in that job,” said Loucks. “It’s a testament to our program as we work to build this team into a successful program in the ACC. Everyone has to show up every single day and do their job at a high level with a great attitude.”