Florida State finished last season with a 24-9 (13-5 ACC) record. The Seminoles earned a six seed in the NCAA Tournament. FSU beat George Mason to reach the second round before falling to third-seeded LSU.
The Seminoles broke through and finally won a game in the NCAA tournament, but then experienced huge turnover in the roster as only three players from last season will return to Tallahassee. The coaching staff responded by bringing in a talented transfer class. FSU has made the NCAA tournament for an impressive 12 straight years. The question is whether the streak will continue given the roster upheaval.
Let’s take a closer look at the Seminoles.
Allie Kubek (Graduate, transfer – Maryland)Mari Gerton (Freshman, Cincinnati, OH)Jasmine Shavers (Senior, transfer – Texas Tech)Emma Risch (Junior, transfer – Notre Dame)Tatum Greene (Sophomore, transfer – Boston College)Sole Williams (Junior, transfer – Texas A&M)Pania Davis (Junior, transfer – New Mexico Junior College)Ta’Niya Latson (transfer, South Carolina)Brianna Turnage (transfer, Georgia Tech)O’Mariah Gordon (Graduated, Artego Bydgoszcz, Poland)Raiane Dias Dos Santos (transfer, Virginia)Mariana Valenzuela (transfer, Seton Hall)Morelia Chavez (transfer, Fresno State)Carla Viegas (transfer, Pitt)Makayla Timpson (Graduated, Indiana Fever)Malea Williams (Graduated)
Last year’s starting backcourt of Ta’Niya Latson and O’Mariah Gordon has departed. Florida State will replace them with Sydney Bowles and Jasmine Shavers. Bowles played in every game last year for FSU averaging 10.6 points and 3.2 rebounds on 39.7% shooting (34.7%, 3pt). Bowles was a secondary scorer for Florida State last year who was unafraid to take a big shot (see the UNC game on Jan. 26th). Her role will change significantly this year. Bowles was a wing last year who was asked to be ready to take open threes. This year she will be the starting point guard. Florida State’s success this year will be determined in large part by how well Bowles adapts to this new position.
Jasmine Shavers will be the shooting guard. Shavers brings experience to the position. Shavers led Texas Tech in scoring last year with 14.9 points per game. Shavers will likely lead FSU in three-point attempts. The question will be how many she makes. Shavers shot 32.7% from deep last year. That isn’t bad but the Noles probably need Shavers to improve that number to have a real shot at contending for a top five spot in the ACC.
Mari Gerton is a talented four-star recruit. Gerton is the only true freshman on the roster and the only true point guard on the roster. She will be running the show for the Seminoles sooner or later. For now she will backup Bowles at the point.
Amaya Bonner will start on the wing for the Noles. Bonner averaged 3.4 points and 2.6 rebounds last year. Bonner is an active, athletic wing with good size. She has the length to disrupt passing lanes and the athleticism to be very effective in the open court. Bonner has tantalized Nole fans with good games against impressive competition (16 points against Tennessee in 2023) but she has struggled with injuries which has impacted her consistency. If Bonner can remain healthy the talent is there for her to make a significant impact.
Sole Williams and Tatum Greene will also be counted on to play important minutes. Williams averaged 7.3 points and 2.3 rebounds for Texas A&M last year. She is an experienced player who was a solid starter for the Aggies. Williams took a lot of threes last year but only shot 29.8% from behind the arc. FSU will be hoping for improvement in that area. Greene is a young player who has a high ceiling. She has excellent length at 6’3 and has the potential to be a force defensively.
Emma Risch was a five-star high school recruit who never really found her footing at Notre Dame due to injuries. Risch is a three-point sniper who shot 41.9% from deep last year for the Irish. However, she only had 43 three-point attempts. If Risch can stay healthy she may remind FSU fans of Sammie Puisis.
Pania Davis and Allie Kubek will start for Florida State. Davis is a junior college transfer who was highly regarded. She is living up to expectations. Davis had 14 points and nine boards against Alabama. FSU will be counting on the 6’6 Davis to provide rebounds and rim protection. Davis is capable of that but she can also score. How well Davis can adjust to ACC competition will be a big factor in FSU’s success this season.
Kubek is very experienced playing against top talent as she is coming from the Big 10. Kubek averaged 9.1 points and 4.7 rebounds for the Terps last season. Kubek is a rugged rebounder and tough defender. Her size and experience will be valuable for FSU in the frontcourt.
Avery Treadwell is entering her third year in Tallahassee. Treadwell averaged 2.8 points and 2.2 rebounds in limited minutes last year. Treadwell has proven to be a good rebounder when given extended minutes. That is good news for the Noles because FSU will almost certainly turn to Treadwell more this year.
Even though FSU is experiencing so much turnover this year the coaching staff is committed to remaining an uptempo team. The DNA of the team will not change in that respect.
However, the Noles are losing 81% of the scoring and 80% of the rebounding from last year. Those are just numbers. Losing the Big 3 of Ta’Niya Latson, Makayla Timpson and O’Mariah Gordon has a much bigger impact than just numbers. Florida State has done an admirable job replacing all of the talent that was lost but we have to be honest; trying to replace the Big 3 is nearly an impossible task.
Nevertheless, there is talent here. The first issue is that all of the new players have to build chemistry. Secondly, most of these players will be in either new roles or new positions or will be playing at a higher level than they have before. In other words, adjustments will have to be made. How well those adjustments are made (and how fast) will tell the tale for this season. Finally, FSU will have to figure out a way to maintain some type of consistency. There has been a lot of conversation about how the team will be different this year in that there won’t be one player who is always at the center of the offense. Therefore, many different players will have the opportunity to step up at different times. This may be true but this team will need a couple of players to come forward to consistently produce. FSU doesn’t necessarily need someone to average 20+ points or 10+ rebounds (although that would be great) but if the Noles don’t get consistent production from someone it will be very difficult to continue the NCAA Tournament streak.
Health is always an important factor in any team’s success but it is especially so for this group because there are only 10 players on the roster. If the Noles lose even a couple players to significant injuries the ceiling for the team could be seriously adversely impacted.
This is not last year when Florida State seemed to have the pieces in place for a serious post season run therefore expectations must be tempered. With all of the talent lost from last year it was very possible that this program could have cratered. That didn’t happen because the staff did a good job bringing in impressive talent. With a little luck it would not be a stretch to see this team make yet another NCAA Tournament run.
Florida State will host Florida A&M today at 6 p.m. ET. The game will be broadcast on the ACC Network Extra.