#13o R.P.I. Florida State vs. #99 R.P.I. Virginia Tech: 

Virginia Tech men’s hoops are back on the schneid. As our now nearly officially up-down, side-to-side, on-again off-again season just dropped a notch.

The Hokies are clearly looking to find some fat girls, dorsal-fins, rally-caps, rabbits-feets, quad-leafs, and whatever else it takes to bust this mini-slump. Or, whatever it takes to get one ankle (Sean), another ankle (Hunter), and the knee-knocker (Collins) back in full, repair. (St.Nikon and St.Philip^2 bless). As we win 4 then drop 2 mo’. Thus, after our worst All Championship Conference L in nearly ½-a-decade. So, are we secondary L primarily due? As we now draw a team that has given us some mostly cloudy Sunshine State lumps in the past. As the homesteading Florida State Seminoles enter this contest at: 7 up vs. 6 down overall (and 1-1 inside the Atlantic Coast Championship regular season sweepstakes for ’24). That, and same as us… F.s.u. is not exactly consistency U at the moment. Nonetheless, what you wanna know is… who is gonna win and by how much, rights? So, read on… to find, out!

Florida State Head Coach: James Leonard Hamilton: age=75, 632–481 (.568) overall, 432–271 (.615) at Florida State.
$2,250,000.oo

Baller Hamilton played college basketball at the University of Tennessee at Martin; where he had the tag of an outburst scorer (55 max’, their all-time single-game mark).

After this Leo’ went into coaching and won the 1978 NCAA Championship under old-school Coach Joe B. Hall at Kentucky. He is a two-time A.c.c. Coach of the Year (2oo9, 2o12) and he is also the first coach to be named coach of the year in both the Big East (Miami Hurricane, 1995, 1999), and the A.c.c. His teams have qualified for seven NCAA tournaments and eight N.I.T.’s. He was the old-school U.P.I. National Coach of the Year in 1995 for da U; and he has won two conference championships (1 B.E., 1 A.c.c.).

Coach Leo’ is the Winningest Coach in Florida State History (27o wins) and the 8th all-time Winningest Coach in A.c.c. History (27o wins). He also coached one season for the Washington Bullets, though was un-retained by #45 M.J. himself. Leo -a Master’s degree holder his ownself- is an ace coach in the FSU.edu and former classrooms as more than 94%t of his players have earned their degrees. Bravo Leo! And the Coach Hamilton coaching tree has already sired eight other D-1 men’s head coaches. Very Pat Riley ‘esque; as Coach Hamilton’s teams have enjoyed a stinging defensive rep’ for many years.

Hamilton’s induction into the Tennessee Sports Hall of Fame marks the fifth Hall of Fame he will be a member of during his illustrious career. He is also a member of the Austin Peay State University, the University of Tennessee at Martin, and the University of Miami Athletic Hall of Fame.  Hamilton received the 2015 Alumnus of Distinction award from Gaston (N.C.) College at its 50^th Anniversary Gala on May 16, 2015.

Leo.edu earned his Bachelor’s Degree in Physical Education from Tennessee-Martin in 1971 and received his Master’s Degree in Physical and Health Education from Austin Peay State in 1973.

As to me… this is an underrated all-’round roundball coach here, men.
Prolly fair to say F.s.u.’s very own hooping f.Beamer.

Now the All Coaching Conference antediluvian elder statesmen, too.                                                          ⌛️

Daddy Leo’ is married to Claudette Hamilton. Claudette is a volunteer tutor, and they have two children: Lenny, a musician; and a daughter Allison.

F.s.u. at a glance:

• 27th most in spg!! (pickpockets 1o1).
• 41st most FTA’s/game!
• 67th in bench ppg O.
• 71st in swats.
• 272nd best in Effective FG percentage O.
• 331st most fouls/game ‘whistled’ against!!! (Physical team).
• NOT much that was outlying beyond those… very C— to C to C+++ everywhere Eye looked. Closer to C+++ itself overall, however.
• NO Injuries listed. ‘props’ @Coach God.

Returning Starters=zero, as in (o). As in: nadda, none, nil! w0w.

Florida State Strengths:

• Your (now) Alpha-baller would be: One double-deuce, or #22, 6′5″, 195 lb., Darin Green Jr. is a springy tho’ stringy looking S/G prospect. That said, he is prospecting better -if not contending outright- of late. A second-place 12.8 ppg is not the worst second season of A.c.c. work. The colorful Green Jr. also finds you: 2.8 rpg with .8 apg and 1.2 spg. This is a kinda rangy kid on: 4o.2% long. And yet then you see the relatively mere 41.7% from the floor and you have to wonder, ‘why’? Or, ‘how’… as in how did his FT percentage plummet by nearly 27% since we faced him last?!? (Now: a modest 68.2%). Well, ’cause he never met a 3-pointer he did not like or would not take. Seriously… 883 trinary attempts behind the arc is a mind-numbing number for nearly anyone. That’s code fo’ mo’ than 240%+ more 3-bombs than any other Seminole. wow. He has slimmed his game/frame down a bit since being ex-of-U.Cent.FLA. Quicker kid for it. He was the 3-point and the Slam Dunk Florida Panhandle H.S. champion alike. So, there are some hops and some shots installed here. His daddy balled at g.Dub (George Washington). And this Green painted a pretty tight scholastic offensive picture; very streaky scorer, just never won anything fo’ it. Oddly enuff… though still yet, he is the thinnest fringe overseas candidate for some instant-O just add P.T. team. Lindy’s did call him the most consistent Seminole. Maybe… that or he is lowercase on remaining career headroom. Take thy pick…
• Cam Corhen is a: 6′1o″, 225 lb., Forward by way of Allen, Texas. (Dallas, nice satellite/suburb). Where his elite/special school (which had its own National Hoops Conference) did peak with a #1 national ranking prior to: Sunrise Christian winning the inaugural championship NIBC. Whatever that means. Tho’ good ring-get on him. The book here says that Cameron Murphy Corhen is a stretch-4 or a small-ball 5. Take thy match-up pick. Which Eye find strange, as he seems to have only 1o-15′ worth of traditional Four range.  As he is said to have a 3-level skillset, and a few perimeter moves. That all being said… my preview mags all had this Cam’ pegged as being a: ‘year away’. So, the 2o23-2o24: 8.9 ppg with 3.0 rpg on a nice ~56.4% from the floor may have just arrived a year early. His old man (Richard) balled college ball as a UGA Bulldog (4.6 ppg career). And ESPN did have him rated 83rd best in all the land two years back. So, this is another one to ask back on… tho’ this is no bad initial start to be sure.
  (UPDATE: only scratched in six games thus far due to a… turf-toe in hoops, St. Servatius help).

  

• One number double number-one-ski, (A.K.A., #11), 6′11″, 2o4 lb., Sophmore, by way of: Mallorca, Spain would be Mr. Baba Miller. Who partially got himself in here fo’ his interesting 1st/Christian name. Baba gets you: 7.5 ppg and 4.8 rpg formerly off the Tally pine now part-time starting… on 47.5% overall. Baba also got himself in here as last year he is not in any of my ’23 pre-season wraps. So, the best I could limited 411 find… this Spaniard (‘si’) has Spanish National team Euro experience built-in. He was a G or backcourter guy early on in High School. Then… he had a whopping nine-inch growth spurt beginning at age 14 and found his way to a pterodactyl-esque 7-2 wingspan that found him moved to the frontcourt. Tho’ some ball-handling and backcourt fluidity do remain onborad. As this is a Swiss Army Knife kid who has the ability to be a tremendous player on both inside and outside and on offense and defense…a rangy and fluid wing player who can stretch the floor with his shooting and is an excellent rim protector. Learned to ball on the: Mediterranean Island of Mallorca; and he has a carrot frosted twist-top to cap all of dat. Has improved or grown his game since we saw him last. At least showing an offensive pulse of sorts. Fringe overseaer at the moment…
• r-Junior, 6′11″, 2o4 lb., Jamir Watkins: F1; is your Alpha or big chief at least in terms of (much) offensive wampum. Or at least some offensive wampum, or at least mo’ wampum than anyone else. Leading the way at: 13.2 ppg with another leading 6.3 rpg, another leading 3.2 apg, and a virtually leading 1.8 spg! Did Eye mention his: ‘leadership’ let? That, and do recall that Leo’s biggest O’s are medium O’s at best/at, most. The 80’s fun-n-gun Denver McNuggests just ain’t, never has been, and won’t ever be, either. So, this kinda pacing is (actually) setting a fair-to-middling FLA.State pace. And it is a highly balanced stat sheet that is a Holiday and on-court stocking stuffer of at least laterally expanse itself. Good player here folks; who some say could/would be doing a good deal mo’ somewhere else.  44% overall with 75% from the charity stripe and 34.4% from behind the arc are normative if not reasonable itself. Now mix in a silver medal for team swats (.8 bpg) and nearly 40% mo’ FTA’s than anyone else and you gain a mo’ well-rounder idea of just how much this roundballer is doing here. Watty is at least a 110v domestic baller, who could buss for mo’ like 22o in a mo’ arc-type sparky offensive system. Smooth, fluid, easy-looking guy upon breaking tape. ex-of V.c.u. Has won 2 Sunshine Slam titles, so you know Mister Jamir is a riser/finisher. His full name is: Jamir Kamal Watkins. He says his name comes from my mom and from the Bible. Jamir means handsome prince and Kamal means perfection. Lindy’s says he is a lengthy Wing, with a lot of defensive desire. Never a bad thing match-up-wise. Does have a strange handsy/smothering-looking set-up on his shot that is a little cockeyed… tho’ same as the best Qb1 Coach ever taught me: “Does it get there”? Reminds a scosche of Adrian Dantley on FTA’s for it. A versatile baller to be sure, tho’ has a history of knee-cutting(s), (right-A.c.l.; St.Nikon help). Late Hokie turndown recruit recall. Had good Trenton (Jersey) numbers in H.S. and showed a few signs of being an outburst guy here-n-there. Rivals 190th guy overall. Projects as an Association 2nd-rounder; seems mo’ parts overseas to me’s. However, 73 career games in 4.33 years is a concern here. Is said to be a skillful double-double baller when he is rolling healthier. Good player; good overall… does Watkins have anything (left) north of that, though?
• Primo Spears: is your 6′3″, 185 lb., lead-G or hybrid/’tweener of sorts. Not a Pt.Guard and not a pure S/G either. Slots somewhere combo’ in between, tho’ seems to want to be mo’ parts scoring-G to me. He’s a third-year baller on his likewise triune matching third team in three years; (ex-Georgetown / ex-Duquesne too) and we all know which color flag I feel about that. His real name reads: Amir Angelo Spears IV. Goes by the callsign of: lil’ Primo hence the gloss’ has stuck. Said to be an explosive and dynamic scorer who brings another dimension of scoring to the Seminoles’ rotation. Granted. He has suffered from blow-torch offensive output truly heat-checking days at all his tour stops. Can pop-clean for mid to high-3os on occasion. Was a Big East Honor Roll caliber guy, so g.Town.edu love there. Primo was pretty; well, primo’ as a Gridder. As he was a two-sport standout in both basketball and football; and where was an All-State Second-Team selection as a Wr1 and Db1 during his one season as a football player. That’s not ½-bad for any 1o-game career, is it? So, clearly, there is some elite cross-training bandwidth in play here. Does, however, have a history of elbow dents; three, that’s (3) surgeries worth of the same. Ouch^3 and St.Julia trifecta help(sss). His nickname comes from the word premier which was bestowed on his father as he developed a legendary career as one of the top high school players in the inner-city shirts/skins playground runs of Hartford, Conn. So, no pressure there. Primo is said to be a T&F star as a pure end-to-end speedster goes who just needs to slow his turnovers (1.4 tpg) down a scosche. Instinctive player— like a Wideout who just knows where the soft spot(s) are in (football) zones. The ~17/game last year up a Georgetown is instinctive indeed. The 29.8% floor paired with 23.1% long in Tally are ineffective indeed. p.Spears be better than this… health and systematic fit permitting of course. As his 75th On3 national ranking would seem to, agry.

Florida State Weaknesses:

• This campaign and 6 different big olè P/F’s or Fours provide some near 220v here. Though there are no mo’ true-C’s for this Georgetown yesteryear Five or Pivotal needy set. Gone is over 21′+ from last year’s truly vertical roster.
• Not a metric S ton of returning experience here. Lotta departures and roster churn for whatever reason(s) alike. Gelling/meshing is prolly mo’ parts in ’24 than it has been in ’23.
• Per: zero, as in zilch, as in zip… pre-season honorees. Not one. Not at anything 1st to 3rd string A.c.c.! wowow!
• The team has been dinged/dented a mite to not aid and abet any of ^that^ to boot. So, it is uncertain how much headroom and therefore how much ceiling/roofing F.s.u. has hoopology, left. February=tell…

‘noles TiPi: (depth=5+++) (Sometimes everyone plays, all-12).

Former 1 (starter) now 2 (backup) Cam’Ron Fletcher is a: 10.8 ppg netter and a rather sprite-looking 7.5 rpg go-getter. He is also a: 6′7″, 215 lb., third-year Wildcat striker who slides down from S.e.c. Kentucky to A.c.c. F.s.u. this off-season. The vibes here say that Cam’Ron was supposed to be a reserve or 6th-man deluxe or a very mini-me Hondo or j.Havlicek of sorts. So, the starting digits are something of a surprise here. The 39.4% from the floor and the 33.3% when dialing long-distance are marginal to serviceable respectively. This is after 47% floor and 36.2% on 3’s over in Lexington. So, mo’ was prolly expected here. He says he: is named after the rapper, Cameron, who has released 12 albums worldwide. Cam’Ron may be best known for sparking a fashion phenomenon with his pink wardrobe and matching Range Rover. Well… okay. So, there is that too. Other than that, we see that the 1.3 spg helps a bit as this is not the worst defender out there to be sure. Rivals no.37 ranked kid outta H.S. This Cam’ is Said to be a very athletic player who can make plays on both ends of the court…a versatile scorer who is known as a tough 3 and D player. Can rise/leap and finish a bit too. Missouri Basketball Coaches Association Class 4 Player of the Year in 2o2o after back-to-back Show Me State titles. Was a T&F runner and footballer so he has athletics, plural. Fam’ has played at several NAIA schools so this Cam’Ron is the top Fletcher kick here. ‘nother interesting guy to check back on come 2o25 or so. Tho’ that many rebounds and some scoring from an S/F could encode for medium export things.
(UPDATE: See below: was OUT, St.Nikon help!).
(UPDATE2: now BACK, tho’ benched).
(UPDATE3: still, dingy; though).

Josh Nickelberry: is a 6′5″, 2o6 lb., backup Two or Swing of sorts. 4.3 1.8 rpg on the best scorer’s table subbin’-in shooting that F.s.u. bullpen gots. ~35% from three-point-land is acceptable enuff. 2 years a Louisville and another 2 at LaSalle. Tho’… at least he gots one, degree. His fam’ has mad-game. Check it… his momma-bear played volleyball and is an Army veteran His poppa-bear played football at Northern Illinois Where his father is only ranked fourth in school history for assisted tackles (190), sixth in total tackles (419), and eighth in solo tackles (229); team Captain too. That’s sporting D.N.A., all. Joshua want to play a… game. As he was dunking on the reg’ by (only) the 8th, grade! Prof’ Falken and I dig it da most. Did net you 12 points & drop you 4 in 1o 3’s last year while Exploring. Prolly can do mo’… would help the State bench a good deal if/when Nickelberry gets back to dropping two nickelbacks too.

Third-year, Jalen Warley is a: 6′7″, 2o5 lb., off-G by way of: Mt. Airy, Pa. Coach Ham’ himself crowed that this kinda hybrid 2-G-distributor had really improved his shooting this ’23 summer. This ’24 winter and we see that Warley is hitting it for: 6.8 ppg with 2.5 rpg on his distributive 2.4 apg with some D at 1.4 spg. This per his weakened netting: now down to an iffy 37.8% overall tho’ a reasonable 33.3% from 3-point-land. Jalen did get a Keystone State state bling and he was something of a triple-double threat scholastically. His dad was a St.Joe’s standout and his grandpaw was an A.b.a. near star way back when. Several she-cousins ran the collegiate ball as well. So, the hooping D.n.a. seems at least C.B.A. willing here. He was MaxPreps #1 Pa. H.S. baller and he was 247Sports 41st baller overall. May have disappointed a mite last year— tho’ did I mention the stunning 17% betterment in shooting itself this campaign, yet? Yet another ‘Nole to keep a future tense eye on as this was a pretty well-chip prospect who is at least on the rise >>> run ascent. Or, at least he was… as he has slumped a bit of late… maybe he is due to self-correct? As he did find 1-inch and a handful of pounds and there is always, dat.

After that… there are a combination(s) of, dings, rotations, line-up alignments and realignments, and mo’ dings. All resulting in ’bout 14 guys overall who have logged spot minutes or better thus far this campaign. Looks like the f.State bench goes at least a handful… maybe closer to two handfuls if/when it ever gets back in full, service. HTH’s.

UPDATE: (6′5″, play-right-away, 225 lb., Qb3): Super-Sophmore: Chandler Jackson’s 14 points led four players who scored in double figures for F.s.u on Wed. nite. Jackson, who dealt with multiple injuries (thumb among ’em, St.Julia bless) last season and a suspension over the summer, has given the Seminoles added firepower on the offensive end. JAX is said to be a hard-nosed, defensive, hawkish, toughy of a Pt.G2 for Leo. Just his {sic: Leo’s} kinda guy too. This is a streaky guy both on-n-off-court alike. Runs hawt/cold on each… for better or for worse. No.45th kid in the Nation per USAToday. That and JAX was only named Mr. Basketball in the state of Tennessee in 2o22 as a senior and a finalist for the Mr. Basketball Award in the state of Tennessee in 2o21 as a junior. Ranked #2 in Tennessee H.S. hoops accordingly. State champion ’22; with a high basketball I.Q. And this is a slasher who has a spot-up game to boot. His old man: (David), played four seasons at Western Illinois where he was a four-year starter…where led the Leathernecks in scoring in three consecutive seasons. Then enjoyed a 13-year professional career in France, Italy, and Poland. Neat Talent here… if/when he puts it all together, Chandler is indeed legit. Overseas legit… maybe mo’?

Illation, conclusion(s) and OPT digits:

Number of tomahawks who could scalp @Tech=five'ish+++ or so...

the takeaway:
The takeaway here is…

…we need not be too taken with either squadron here.

As in either/or 1o1 or one-oh-(n)one.

Either, these teams are both kinda good; though not great— and yet not (yet) in great fighting nick (i.e., health).

Or, these teams are both not that good; certainly not great— and yet not (yet) in great fighting nick (i.e., health).

’cause neither team is in good health. Certainly not in great health. 4sure.

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That much we can fully take away from their so-so and so-so+++ starts’ thus far…

Where they go once, they return to full health may or may not take them all that much further.

As frankly, neither team strikes me as all dat and a “snap” thus far.

 ***

Our handy-dandy friend the so-called Forum Guide of Graham Houston fame is calling for a getting closer and closer roundball round-robin askback here… soon… patient O&M grasshoppers.

The annualized year-to-date vitals say that… VeeTee is up a nearly nominal looking +2% in shooting percentage margin (ALL: of which is due to slightly superior marksmanship overall, as these two are tenths apart in stop-unit terms); here we see that VeeTee is up +3% in 3-point percentage margin (this time ALL on 3-D which is just a bit thriftier as these two 3-o’s were again only separated by tenths of possessiveness), and VeeTee us up a slightly useful looking +4 caroms collected in rebounding margin year-to-date. (On this one we see that the Techmen won the Windex Wipes entirely off the D-‘glass. As F.s.u. is actually pretty dang springy off the O-‘glass itself; mind that store as this one is a clash of rebounding styles to be sure; or strength-on-strength, crime).

The most recent 5-game metrics say that… the Hokies are now up a nearly sharp-looking +8% in shooting percentage margin (75% of which is due to better O, tho’ the O&M halt-unit, is a bit better on D too); with the F’n Gobblers up a downright nifty +11% in 3-point percentage margin (all less 3% is from being better in 3-O, tho’ 3-D is a bit better as well. As F.s.u. has wilted on 3-O and 3-D alike, whereas V.P.I. is a bit tighter on 3-D), and the Techmen are now up a useful looking nearly +6 misses corralled in rebounding margin in the last fortnight of play. (As the O&M is really gettin’ after the D-backboard; although, the ‘noles are just slightly positive off the fiberglass in their own right of late).

Armchair Pt.Guard’s:

F.s.u. is a .625 host; whereas VT is .ooo (o’fer 2) as a guest.
VeeTee is up a nifty +12% at the charity stripe for the year.
V.P.I. is up a restive+9 in R&R.

The Call…

No.142 Net Ranking Florida State vs. no.62 Net Ranking Vah.Tech:

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The VerdicT:

Honestly?

(And as we all know; you need not be St.Joseph the Carpenter to realize that lying is fo’… rugs).

Though in all honesty?
@Home and I’d favor Tech.
@Neutral and I’d possibly (still) favor Tech.

@Away however and it is none too clear cut whom to favor, here.

–oOo–

F.s.u. sure has a better look at us 616 miles So-by-So-West down in Tally. Granted. And this just in… rain is rumored to be wet; snow is whispered white and 30% history odds to win out on the A.c.c. road will be hard to come by here.

Fair-play. FLA.State is not a rightful home ‘dog.

They prolly win this not worse than 4-3 in an N.b.a. Finals format.

Nonetheless, they are not (entirely) beyond our depth, not even in their very own panhandling backyard.

 

The digits:

Right now, and I’d be inclined to say that both schools appear to be in a near decline of sorts.

As both have mo’ parts N.I.T. (or maybe C.b.i./C.i.t.) bubble look-n-feel than they do NC2A bubble-feel to me.

That… and I would not die of shock if one of these two flirted with being spring-broke for this post-season here.

In this game here methinks you could actually see one of these two

 start to make a post-season needy move. As most of the pre-season predictions pegged these two north of where they currently are. So, either both are o-ver-ra-ted (clap-clap-clapclapclap) or one of these two is due.

1, 2, 3, 4, 5,

Nevertheless, if you asks me -and you did via reading these very words- if you asks me…

…this is one that is so hard to parse that you could dabble in an extra-innings or sudden-death pick here. As these two could very well be knotted at 3 against 3 heading into any seventh game seven-game series format.

The caveat being… Wake may have just authored an O&M print of a wake-up call on how to beat us in ’24. Pressure. Extending, pressing, pressure. As we do not have the pure ball-handlers, or move without the ball guys, or raw speed/athletics to beat the same extended pressure down the court and make it pre-set-up, pay. Additionally, this vicing seems to mess with our good -though not great- spot-up 3-point-shooters. As they too are none too quick/athletic about it.

Eye am most curious to see if this look goes: peat-repeat and then, threepeat.
As Leo is a hardliner (typically) in defensive terms.

Finally, it is not so much that I rate F.s.u. as better… per se…

…mo’ like healthier, @home and deeper to boot.

Not to mention we are .o8% in Tally in the last, decade.

🏀💯🏀

 

(47% confidence interval)
Virginia Tech=73, Florida State=77

please support the VT F.C.A.!

“LETS GO!”

“Hokies!”

 bourbonstreet**