ORLANDO, Fla. -- The Florida State men's basketball team finds itself in an interesting place compared to where the program was last season.
Over the last few months, FSU (25-8) has become one of college basketball's more interesting stories. It's a tale which will add another chapter at 9:20 p.m. Thursday when the Seminoles face Florida Gulf Coast (26-7) in a West Regional first-round game of the NCAA Tournament at the Amway Center.
"Being so close, getting a certain wins, watching Selection Sunday and not really being there, I feel like all the years we've been fighting and fighting, we've accomplished something," junior forward Phil Cofer said. "We're here right now. I know everyone's mindset is not, 'Oh, we're in the tournament. We're done.'
"I think everyone here has a hardworking mindset and that's what got us here."
Exactly a year ago Thursday, the Seminoles opened with a first-round win in the NIT only to lose their next game.
Reaching the NIT brought an end to what was a disappointing season. FSU was believed to be a team capable of reaching the NCAA Tournament for the first time since the 2011-12 season.
Seminoles coach Leonard Hamilton and his staff recruited well by bringing in five players headlined by five-star swingman Dwayne Bacon and four-star shooting guard Malik Beasley.
Bacon and Beasley were expected to bring offensive firepower to FSU, a largely defensive-minded program under Hamilton. Those plans changed when Cofer, who was set to start at power forward, and center Michael Ojo were lost for the season.
FSU would finish 19-13 and undergo key changes in the coming months. Beasley departed for the NBA whereas Bacon, who entertained leaving, opted to stay. Hamilton and his staff recruited what Rivals deemed to be the No. 10 class in the nation featuring five-star forward Jonathan Isaac.
