Wilkes has night to remember for FSU basketball in win over Notre Dame
It was one of the most out-of-nowhere scoring binges in Florida State men’s basketball history — at least in conference play.
And it had to come as a complete shock to the Notre Dame Fighting Irish.
FSU redshirt sophomore Wyatt Wilkes had scored three points in ACC play all season. He had scored eight points total in the last two months.
So, no, there is absolutely, positively no way Notre Dame could've been prepared what happened on Saturday night.
The Orlando native scored a career-high 19 points by hitting a career-high five 3-pointers (on six attempts) in the Seminoles' 85-84 victory at the Tucker Center. Much to the delight of the fans, his coaches and most especially his teammates.
Don't miss out on our great Hoops coverage. Get your 30-day FREE trial
"I think that's what makes us Florida State," Wilkes said. "I think that's why so many people are interested in coming here to play. You see the camaraderie every single day. In practice it's not like, 'Oh, let's get this guy the ball.' It's, 'If you're open, shoot it.'"
Wilkes had hit just one shot in ACC play before Saturday night.
That came the previous Saturday when he rained in a 3-pointer against Miami in an eventual overtime victory against the Hurricanes.
But with forward Patrick Williams sidelined by a toe injury Saturday night and FSU head coach Leonard Hamilton not at all pleased with the early play of starters RaiQuan Gray and Malik Osborne, Wilkes was inserted into the game before the first TV timeout.
He wound up playing more minutes in the first half on Saturday than he had in any conference game in his career. And he certainly made those minutes count.
Wilkes hit two free throws -- after grabbing an offensive rebound -- and knocked down four 3-pointers against a Notre Dame defense that had likely not prepared for him much at all.
After the last 3-pointer of the first half, Wilkes' smile was so big it could be seen from everywhere in the building.
"I couldn't believe I got another one, honestly," he said. "But it's fun. It's fun to hit shots. But it's also fun to win. I'd trade every one of those 3s if we had won by 10."
Well, they didn't win by 10. They won by one. So they needed all 19 of his points.
Wilkes also hit a turnaround jumper in the second half and his fifth 3-pointer of the game as the No. 5 Seminoles were able to barely hold on for their seventh conference victory in eight games.
While the shooting barrage might have been a surprise to Florida State fans and Notre Dame players, it wasn't to the rest of the Seminoles.
"I told our guys a couple of weeks ago that that before he leaves here, he'll go down as one of the all-time best shooters in the history of our program," FSU head coach Leonard Hamilton said. "So he's showing his potential."
Wilkes was asked about that comment after the game.
"It means everything," he said. "To have him backing me just gives me all the confidence in the world. But this night, I'm getting a lot of questions about me, but I'm just glad we won."
It was Florida State's 10th straight win and 17th of the season. And like many of the previous ones, it wasn't easy. Also like many of the previous ones, there were heroes up and down the bench.
Two games ago, it was Anthony Polite burying four 3-pointers to help knock off Virginia. The next game it was M.J. Walker and Devin Vassell taking over in the second half against Miami.
On Saturday night, the leading scorer was a redshirt sophomore who has seen limited playing time for most of the past two seasons.
After the game, Wilkes was asked how he is able to have so much confidence to shoot those shots when he is sometimes the 10th or 11th person in the rotation.
Where does that self-belief come from?
"That's almost entirely a coaching and teammate thing," Wilkes said. "Our culture is that we don't really have to do it ourselves. A lot of teams, if you're not shooting well, it's kind of up to you to get out of that slump. But here, it's not. You constantly have guys in your ear telling you you're a great shooter, telling you to shoot the ball, telling you to be confident. So it's hard not to be."
Before Saturday night, Wilkes' career-high in points was 14. That came earlier this season in an 80-65 win over St. Francis. Other than that, he had never scored in double-digits. In his career.
He was averaging just 2.2 points per game this season.
And yet in front of the biggest crowd of the year, against a team that wouldn't go away, the forward went out and had a night that he'll never forget. At the absolute perfect time for the Seminoles.
"I was just so happy for him because he's put in the time," Hamilton said. "There's no doubt that his teammates all have a tremendous amount of confidence in him. And I think that you're just seeing the tip of the iceberg."
