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Robert McCray V came oh so close.
A step back three as time expired that had a chance to send No. 1 Duke home from the ACC tournament early and put Florida State men’s basketball firmly on the NCAA tournament bubble.
It was a shot that March Madness dreams are made of, coming off the fingertips of one of the ACC tournament's most in-form players. Nobody would fault you for assuming it was going in.
But it didn't. The buzzer-beating three-point attempt smacked off the back iron as time expired, and FSU lost 80-79 on Thursday, March 12, which left the Seminole (18-15) players and fans with heads in their hands and a collective feeling of "what if."
But Seminole fans shouldn't forget that feeling.
The feeling that the program could go toe-to-toe with the nation's best and compete for an ACC tournament title ahead of a potential NCAA tournament run.
It’s a feeling that first-year head coach Luke Loucks instilled within the FSU fanbase after taking a team picked in the preseason to finish 15th in the ACC to a near-upset of top-ranked Duke in the ACC tournament quarterfinals. If his debut season is anything to go by, FSU has legitimate hope for a successful future.
“Obviously, a tough way to finish that game, but I'm so proud of these guys, the way they battled throughout this match. But most importantly, the way they battled through the second half of this season, in a season where these guys could have easily folded. They came to work every day and tried to find solutions,” Loucks told reporters in Charlotte following FSU's ACC tournament exit.
“I'm proud to coach this bunch. They have real character. They have real grit. Hopefully, as we build this program, I can continue to bring guys like we had this year on this roster, because it was an absolute joy and pleasure to coach them.”
After a miracle midseason turnaround that took the Seminoles from 7-11 and last in the ACC with a 0-5 record to a near upset of the Blue Devils, the end result wasn't the Cinderella run many fans wanted or believed FSU could achieve. But given the roster limitations, which included a lack of an elite rebounder — Duke outrebound the Seminoles, 46-25 — the team far surpassed preseason expectations.
Loucks has a foundation in place, which includes the eighth-ranked recruiting class in the country coming to Tallahassee next season. Not bad for someone who inherited a strict financial situation in an era of college basketball where money drives success more than ever.
He had one of the lowest budgets among Power 4 schools when he took the job. Loucks generated the majority of his funds through fundraising to compete in the ACC, one of college basketball's most legendary and now well-funded conferences.
Despite financial limitations in comparison to conference peers, FSU landed a roster that featured players like seniors McCray (25 points vs. Duke), who earned All-ACC third team honors, Chauncey Wiggins (13 points), and Lajae Jones (28 points), among other key players who took the Seminoles on a roller coaster ride of a season.
“Coaching any team sport, you want guys that are about the right things. Generally, that leads to good results on the court,” Loucks said. “Life is full of ups and downs. It's full of challenges. The thing I'm pleased with most, those six seniors, and really our whole team, we never let those lows get to us and break our spirit and break our character.”
It wasn’t a perfect year by any means, as evidenced by the 113-69 drubbing from NC State, a loss to UMass, alongside blowout defeats against Georgia and Texas A&M. But the Seminole team that fell painfully short of an upset of No. 1 Duke was a byproduct of those losses.
Those losses forced Loucks to change, something many coaches often resist. But rather than stick to his preseason idea of what the Seminoles would look like, the first-year head coach pivoted, a mature move from one of the youngest coaches in college basketball.
FSU's defense improved dramatically, which, paired with a newfound confidence and, more importantly, an efficient offense, made Loucks and his staff believe the sky was the limit for the program.
That belief turned into a two-month span that was one of the best coaching jobs done in college basketball this season. The Seminoles went from 7-11 to earning a first-round bye in the ACC tournament after winning 10 of the program's last 13 games, and it's not hyperbolic to suggest they looked like one of the top teams in the conference while doing it.
Ultimately, the early-season non-conference losses will keep the Seminoles from an at-large NCAA tournament appearance. But an NIT invitation is still on the cards, an invite the program would likely accept should it be extended, which would give a deserving postseason group a final chance to make a run for FSU.
Regardless of the outcome, don’t be surprised if Loucks has the Seminoles competing at an NCAA tournament level in the near future, especially with the culture he established with his inaugural roster.
“Once you get out of this present moment, hopefully — I know I will — all those guys in the locker room will look back at this year and have some pride about it. And again, it's a reflection for life. We had some really dark moments this year, and they fought through them,” Loucks said.
“Now you can go home with a sense of — hopefully looking back on this year with some gratitude for what we did, but a sense of pride for what we represent at Florida State. Again, I'm going to keep saying this, as we build this program, I would sign up seven days out of seven to coach guys like this, that care about the right things, that fight, especially when it's tough, and that care about each other.”
Liam Rooney covers Florida State athletics for the Tallahassee Democrat. Contact him via email at [email protected] or on Twitter @__liamrooney.
This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: Luke Loucks has Florida State basketball moving in right direction
Continue reading...
A step back three as time expired that had a chance to send No. 1 Duke home from the ACC tournament early and put Florida State men’s basketball firmly on the NCAA tournament bubble.
It was a shot that March Madness dreams are made of, coming off the fingertips of one of the ACC tournament's most in-form players. Nobody would fault you for assuming it was going in.
But it didn't. The buzzer-beating three-point attempt smacked off the back iron as time expired, and FSU lost 80-79 on Thursday, March 12, which left the Seminole (18-15) players and fans with heads in their hands and a collective feeling of "what if."
But Seminole fans shouldn't forget that feeling.
The feeling that the program could go toe-to-toe with the nation's best and compete for an ACC tournament title ahead of a potential NCAA tournament run.
It’s a feeling that first-year head coach Luke Loucks instilled within the FSU fanbase after taking a team picked in the preseason to finish 15th in the ACC to a near-upset of top-ranked Duke in the ACC tournament quarterfinals. If his debut season is anything to go by, FSU has legitimate hope for a successful future.
“Obviously, a tough way to finish that game, but I'm so proud of these guys, the way they battled throughout this match. But most importantly, the way they battled through the second half of this season, in a season where these guys could have easily folded. They came to work every day and tried to find solutions,” Loucks told reporters in Charlotte following FSU's ACC tournament exit.
“I'm proud to coach this bunch. They have real character. They have real grit. Hopefully, as we build this program, I can continue to bring guys like we had this year on this roster, because it was an absolute joy and pleasure to coach them.”
FSU basketball re-establishes program in Luke Loucks first season
After a miracle midseason turnaround that took the Seminoles from 7-11 and last in the ACC with a 0-5 record to a near upset of the Blue Devils, the end result wasn't the Cinderella run many fans wanted or believed FSU could achieve. But given the roster limitations, which included a lack of an elite rebounder — Duke outrebound the Seminoles, 46-25 — the team far surpassed preseason expectations.
Loucks has a foundation in place, which includes the eighth-ranked recruiting class in the country coming to Tallahassee next season. Not bad for someone who inherited a strict financial situation in an era of college basketball where money drives success more than ever.
He had one of the lowest budgets among Power 4 schools when he took the job. Loucks generated the majority of his funds through fundraising to compete in the ACC, one of college basketball's most legendary and now well-funded conferences.
Despite financial limitations in comparison to conference peers, FSU landed a roster that featured players like seniors McCray (25 points vs. Duke), who earned All-ACC third team honors, Chauncey Wiggins (13 points), and Lajae Jones (28 points), among other key players who took the Seminoles on a roller coaster ride of a season.
“Coaching any team sport, you want guys that are about the right things. Generally, that leads to good results on the court,” Loucks said. “Life is full of ups and downs. It's full of challenges. The thing I'm pleased with most, those six seniors, and really our whole team, we never let those lows get to us and break our spirit and break our character.”
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It wasn’t a perfect year by any means, as evidenced by the 113-69 drubbing from NC State, a loss to UMass, alongside blowout defeats against Georgia and Texas A&M. But the Seminole team that fell painfully short of an upset of No. 1 Duke was a byproduct of those losses.
How FSU turned around its season
Those losses forced Loucks to change, something many coaches often resist. But rather than stick to his preseason idea of what the Seminoles would look like, the first-year head coach pivoted, a mature move from one of the youngest coaches in college basketball.
FSU's defense improved dramatically, which, paired with a newfound confidence and, more importantly, an efficient offense, made Loucks and his staff believe the sky was the limit for the program.
That belief turned into a two-month span that was one of the best coaching jobs done in college basketball this season. The Seminoles went from 7-11 to earning a first-round bye in the ACC tournament after winning 10 of the program's last 13 games, and it's not hyperbolic to suggest they looked like one of the top teams in the conference while doing it.
Ultimately, the early-season non-conference losses will keep the Seminoles from an at-large NCAA tournament appearance. But an NIT invitation is still on the cards, an invite the program would likely accept should it be extended, which would give a deserving postseason group a final chance to make a run for FSU.
Regardless of the outcome, don’t be surprised if Loucks has the Seminoles competing at an NCAA tournament level in the near future, especially with the culture he established with his inaugural roster.
“Once you get out of this present moment, hopefully — I know I will — all those guys in the locker room will look back at this year and have some pride about it. And again, it's a reflection for life. We had some really dark moments this year, and they fought through them,” Loucks said.
“Now you can go home with a sense of — hopefully looking back on this year with some gratitude for what we did, but a sense of pride for what we represent at Florida State. Again, I'm going to keep saying this, as we build this program, I would sign up seven days out of seven to coach guys like this, that care about the right things, that fight, especially when it's tough, and that care about each other.”
Liam Rooney covers Florida State athletics for the Tallahassee Democrat. Contact him via email at [email protected] or on Twitter @__liamrooney.
This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: Luke Loucks has Florida State basketball moving in right direction
Continue reading...
