10/27/2022 basketball Edit

Observations from Florida State men's basketball exhibition vs. Newberry

Baba Miller had 11 points, seven rebounds and four assists in FSU's exhibition game. (FSU sports information)

Curt Weiler • TheOsceola

Senior Writer

Basketball season is almost upon.

The Florida State men's basketball team hosted its only public preseason exhibition Thursday night, hosting Division-II Newberry College 11 days before the regular season begins Nov. 7 vs. Stetson.

The Seminoles beat the Wolves 74-66, but the score was the least important aspect of Thursday's exhibition. The important part was getting a first look at this year's FSU squad in a game setting.

And there was plenty to take away from the game.

Darin Green Jr. will fit right in

Thursday's game was not Darin Green Jr.'s first time playing at the Tuck. Two seasons ago when he was at UCF, Green went off for 20 points on 6 of 9 from three-point range as the Knights stunned then-No. 15 FSU 86-74, snapping the Seminoles' 27-game home winning streak.

His unofficial FSU debut showed he could have a similar impact here. He finished the first half with a team-high 11 points, nine of which came on three three-pointers.

By game's end, Green had a team-high 15 points and shot 4 of 8 from the perimeter. He didn't make any of his three two-point shots and it remains to be seen how much that is a part of his game. But at the very least, he should serve as the sharpshooter the Seminoles sorely missed last year.

Freshman guard Tom House also filled that role, shooting 3 of 5 from outside the arc. He should be a serviceable spark off the bench in small doses this season in this role.

Overall, FSU shot 11 of 23 (47.4 percent) from 3-point range, lending some credence to Leonard Hamilton's belief that this can be a good three-point shooting team.

FSU's big depth will be tested

The loss of Brown transfer Jaylan Gainey to what is expected to be a season-ending right leg injury is a significant one.

Thursday's exhibition drove that point home with an exclamation point.

Even if Gainey was going to be making a significant jump from the Ivy League to the ACC, his collegiate experience and proven track record as an elite defender at this level would have been a really strong complement to starting center Naheem McLeod.

Now, FSU's interior depth will be tested, especially when McLeod can't be on the court. The second-year center was impactful against a diminutive D-2 squad, racking up 11 points and nine rebounds. But he also only played 24 minutes and won't be able to play a sizable amount of them in any given game because of FSU's up-tempo offense.

As such, the Seminoles will have to go into their depth perhaps a bit more than they wanted to with Gainey sidelined. Baba Miller, the late-addition freshman big from Mallorca, Spain, was one of the players many in the fan base were looking forward to seeing and he certainly delivered in his unofficial debut.

The 6-foot-11 forward had 11 points, seven rebounds, four assists and three turnovers. Nine of his points came from outside the arc, where he was 3 of 5.

Fellow freshman forward Cameron Corhen also had a productive showing in the exhibition. He was tied with Green, putting up a team-high 11 shots and made five of them, finishing with 10 points and three rebounds in 16 minutes.

Additionally, FSU may call on returning veteran Cam'Ron Fletcher to step in as an occasional big man if the team turns to a small-ball lineup. It won't be able to do so against all of its opponents or for extremely long stretches, but Fletcher is the type of versatile player capable of playing the five at times.

Against Newberry, Fletcher was perhaps the most impactful player across the board, racking up eight points, 10 boards, two assists, two steals and a block.

However, it does remain a question of how well FSU will be able to rebound when McLeod isn't on the court. Newberry managed eight offensive rebounds, most if not all of which came when McLeod was on the bench. That's where FSU will likely miss Gainey the most.