Florida State begins quest for first NCAA bid since 2021 against FAMU

Luke Loucks, who was part of four NCAA Tournament teams during his playing days at Florida State, enters his second season as Seminoles head coach with plans to take them back for the first time since 2021.

The first step in that process comes Monday night when Florida State opens with crosstown rival Florida A&M in the nightcap of the Orion180 Tip-Off Classic in Tampa, Fla.

Loucks guided Florida State to an 18-15 record in his first season, including 10 wins in the final 13 games. Expectations are elevated after some additions to the roster — highlighted by Cincinnati transfer and former McDonald’s All-American Shon Abaev.

The Seminoles got their first good look at Abaev during an 89-87 exhibition win over LSU on Oct. 24, when the 6-foot-8, 215-pound sophomore scored a game-high 26 points while making 5 of 8 three-point attempts.

Another big addition is 7-foot, 285-pound freshman Marcis “Baby Shaq” Ponder, who had a polarizing pair of exhibitions. He amassed 21 rebounds (12 offensive) in just 24 minutes during an 82-71 win over Auburn on Oct. 14, but he picked up two quick fouls in the first half against LSU that limited him to 19 minutes, five points and seven rebounds.

“(Ponder) could lead the country in rebounding if he stays out of foul trouble,” Loucks said after the game.

There are also larger exterior expectations surrounding the Seminoles entering Loucks’ second season. After Florida State was picked to finish 15th in the Atlantic Coast Conference last year, it was picked seventh this year.

The Rattlers are coached by Florida State two-sport legend and Heisman Trophy winner Charlie Ward, who also enters his second season as head coach.

Ward led the Rattlers to a 15-16 record last season and a run to the Southwestern Athletic Conference tournament semifinals.

FAMU was picked to finish fourth this season among 12 teams in the SWAC preseason poll as the Rattlers retained starting guards Jaquan Sanders (11.7 ppg, 3.6 apg) and Antonio Baker Jr. (9.9 ppg, 3.6 rpg).

Ward loaded up on international talent to complement his returnees as he added seven players from abroad, including 6-9 freshman Ben Ndour from Senegal.

“It’s a great group of young men,” Ward said at the SWAC’s virtual media day earlier this month. “They provide different cultures for us to understand and learn from. And we’re all about diversity. So that’s one of the ways that we’ve been able to incorporate diversity into our team.”

–Field Level Media