2022-23 Florida State Basketball Roster Preview
We are just over four weeks away from Florida State Basketball tipping off against Stetson, which means it's time for us to familiarize ourselves with the roster of the 2022-23 Seminoles. We will start with the returners, since there aren't many, and then move to the eight newcomers on the roster.
This is once again a very tall roster, with no scholarship player listed below 6'5" and an average height of a hair over 6'8". It's a team full of length and athleticism, like teams come to expect from Florida State. If everyone else can stay healthy, which is a big if considering what happened last year and what has already happened this offseason, this should be a tournament team.
Returning Players
There are only five players returning from last season's roster, which is honestly for the best. These returning players will be your starting 5 for the beginning of the season, barring injury. We'll go in order of seniority. It's an interesting group of returning players since no one has spent more than one season playing in FSU's system.
Caleb Mills, RS-Junior
21-22 Stats: 12.7 PPG, 2.4 RPG, 2.4 APG
I think all of our expectations were high for Mills last season, but he was very erratic throughout the season. He’d have performances like the one against Louisville (27 points on 16 shots) where you’re just amazed with his ball control and scoring ability, but then there are others like his ACC Tournament game against Syracuse (5 points on 11 shots) where his shot selection and passing decisions are mind-boggling. He’s the most experienced player on this team, and he’s going to be looked at as a leader.
Mills’ next step comes by improving his shot selection, being more consistent game to game, and to be a more vocal leader. He’s a willing defender with very quick hands and the more confident he is as a scorer, the more dangerous he is overall. I’m expecting a big season out of him, as he’ll also likely spend time as the backup point guard while Chandler Jackson adjusts to the college level.
Projected 22-23 Stats: 14.5 PPG, 2.6 RPG, 3.3 APG
Cam'Ron Fletcher, Junior
21-22 Stats: 6.8 PPG, 3.4 RPG, 0.9 APG
Fletcher, like pretty much everyone on the roster, dealt with injuries and inconsistent playing time a season ago, but there is a lot of praise around him this offseason. He’s a very strong player despite being 6’7”, and is expected to see some time as a small-ball 5, showing Coach Hamilton’s continuous ability to evolve his teams. I think Fletcher will be at his best on the block on defense this year; he showed a tendency to get beat backdoor last season as he would get caught ball watching, some putting him as a guy that will switch on ball screens is a fun little twist that a lot of teams won’t have an answer for.
As a willing on-ball defender, I want to see him improve his off-ball positioning, and continue his progression as a 3-point shooter. He shot the best percentage out of all returning players at 36.2%, but it was just on 2 attempts per game. He should be shooting 3-4 times a game as a full-time starter, and if his shooting numbers stay in that 36% range, that will help this team a lot.
Projected 22-23 Stats: 8.1 PPG, 5.5 RPG, 1.1 APG
Naheem McLeod, Sophomore
21-22 Stats: 4.5 PPG, 2.1 RPG, 0.4 BPG
McLeod was just starting to break out before breaking his hand last season, but his potential is tantalizing. His 9 point, 7 rebound game at home against Duke was a big reason Florida State came away from that game with a win. He has the best hands we’ve seen from a big at FSU in the last decade that’s not named Mfiondu Kabengele. His athleticism at 7’4” and 248 pounds is rare, as he can switch out onto most guards and hold his own for a little while being able to reach up and grab any lob thrown his way.
His block numbers are poor for someone his size, and that’s something he needs to improve upon (just a block rate of 4.3% a season ago, never had more than 1 block in a game). With Jaylan Gainey expected to miss most, if not all, of the season, McLeod is going to be playing 20-22 minutes per game, and will need to be a better deterrent in those stretches. The good news is Florida State will have even more time to work with him, as he is now a sophomore after being listed as a junior last year. We saw the massive strides he made through 18 games last year, now he’s got an extra two years to develop.
Projected 22-23 Stats: 6.3 PPG, 5.8 RPG, 1.2 BPG
Jalen Warley, Sophomore
21-22 Stats: 3.7 PPG, 1.9 RPG, 2.5 APG
There is no player who I have heard more about this offseason than Jalen Warley. His desire to be better than he was last season has been apparent since the abrupt end in the ACC Tournament, and he’s a prime breakout candidate for this team; The Field of 68 even polled ACC coaches about who is the most likely player to break out and the most common answer was Warley. At 6’6”, his ball handling and defensive ability could terrorize teams if he can put it all together, and his 2-1 assist-to-turnover ratio gives FSU confidence he can blossom into an even better point guard.
He needs to take more initiative as a scorer to keep defenses honest, but we saw him start to gain that confidence towards the end of the season with a 15 point, 7 rebound, 6 assist game at Duke with almost no bodies available for the ‘Noles that game. More of those with an improved shooting stroke, and FSU is back in the NCAA Tournament this season with a solid seeding. Expect a MASSIVE leap from Warley this season.
Projected 22-23 Stats: 9.5 PPG, 3.2 RPG, 6.1 APG
Matthew Cleveland, Sophomore
21-22 Stats: 11.5 PPG, 4.6 RPG, 1.2 APG
There is a very strong chance this is Cleveland’s last season in Tallahassee if everything goes how it’s supposed to. He got a few sniffs from the NBA, but ultimately decided it would be better if he came back to school for another year, which was the correct decision. He’s capable of getting to the rim whenever he wants, and is a very willing rebounder.
He needs to be a little better finishing at the rim, but his ability to get there is at an elite level. Where Cleveland really needs to improve, and this should come as no surprise, is as a shooter from 10 feet and out. His free throw (61/110 for 55.5%) and 3-point shooting (6/34 for 17.6%) a season ago were downright terrible. I’ve heard he’s made great strides here, and even if he can break 70% as a free throw shooter and 30% as a 3-point shooter, his whole offensive operation is going to come much easier to him. Cleveland led the team in total points scored as a freshman, so expect him to have the game come a little easier to him as a sophomore.
Projected 22-23 Stats: 13.2 PPG, 5.1 RPG, 1.8 APG
Newcomers
Between the seniors, transfers, and early professional departures, there were a lot of open roster spots for this team, meaning the staff had a big challenge to turn this roster over. Enter 8 new players; 2 transfers and 6 freshmen. This is going to be a very young team with no true seniors, six freshmen, and three sophomores. As with the returning players, we'll go in order of seniority for the newcomers.
Jaylan Gainey, Senior*
21-22 Stats, Brown University: 9.3 PPG, 6.9 RPG, 2.1 BPG
Gainey comes over from Brown having won two Ivy League Defensive Player of the Year awards, and was looking like he would be a staple for the team defensively this year as someone that can guard 1-5 with elite athleticism and timing. While playing for the ‘Noles in their Canadian summer trip, he averaged 8.7 PPG, 7.0 RPG, and 1.7 BPG over three games. He’s also the Ivy League’s all time leader in field goal percentage at 69.9%. What could’ve been…
Unfortunately, it was announced earlier in the week that Gainey suffered a knee injury in practice that will hold him out for the season. FSU was already likely to get him for an additional year since the Ivy League didn’t play two seasons ago for COVID-19 precautions, taking away a season of play. Now, he’ll just get a medical redshirt and the team will look forward to him being healthy in the 23-24 season.
Projected 22-23 Stats: N/A
Darin Green, Junior
21-22 Stats, UCF: 13.3 PPG, 2.6 RPG, 1.6 APG, Career 38.8% 3pt Shooter
If there was one thing Florida State struggled with the most last season (besides staying healthy), it was 3-point shooting. The ‘Noles were just 33.1% as a team, as known shooters like Anthony Polite and Wyatt Wilkes just seemingly could not get it going from distance. Enter Darin Green Jr, a career 38.8% shooter on 6.5 attempts from deep per game. He’s going to live off of Warley, Mills, Cleveland, and others driving in and pulling in the defense with them and they’ll just kick out to Green who has a very quick trigger. Green is a willing passer, an average but capable defender, and has good size at 6’5”.
I’m really looking forward to seeing him in this offense and seeing what sets the coaching staff will draw up to get him open looks, like we saw with PJ Savoy a few years back (and he’s much more consistent than Savoy). In the 3 Canada games, he shot 30 3s, hitting 43.3% of them. I can’t wait. The fact he’s coming off of the bench shows how much talent this team has, as he started every one of the 52 games he appeared in for UCF the last two seasons.
Projected 22-23 Stats: 8.7 PPG, 1.8 RPG, 2.0 APG
Baba Miller, Freshman
Previously: Real Madrid, Spain
Arguably the biggest win of the offseason was getting highly touted Baba Miller to leave the Real Madrid club and join the Seminoles over Gonzaga, an international recruiting powerhouse. Miller is an exciting prospect at 6’11”, yet has skills like a guard; he can handle the ball in the open floor, excels at playing passing lanes on defense, and is getting to the point where he can score from everywhere on the floor, though still needs to improve from the perimeter.
The crazy thing is, Miller’s still growing. He has grown 9 inches in the last 4 years, and will continue to grow and add muscle despite being a respectable 204 pounds. This is a very Leonard Hamilton type of player, with his size, length (7’2” wingspan), and skillset. NBA scouts are salivating with the potential of Miller, though it’ll be interesting to see how much he plays this season off of the bench.
For more on Miller, check out our friend David K Digital, who did an amazing in-depth analysis on his game.
Projected 22-23 Stats: 7.1 PPG, 5.2 RPG, 2.7 APG
Cameron Corhen, Freshman
Previously: Sunrise Christian Academy, Kansas
Corhen is going to have to play more than the staff probably expected when he signed, given the injury to Gainey. He proved himself more than capable in the Canadian games, averaging 9.3 PPG, 4.7 RPG, and 1.3 BPG, but has to be a little more efficient scoring the basketball. The staff believes he can be another Mfiondu Kabengele, slightly undersized for a big at 6’10”, but is strong and does a great job locking down the interior while being able to shoot from 3 occassionally.
Before the injury to Gainey, he was likely only going to play 8-12 minutes per game this season as he adds muscle and improves on his game. That’s now probably been bumped up to 12-16 minutes per game as he plays more, and Cam’Ron Fletcher plays some small-ball 5 as well.
Projected 22-23 Stats: 3.1 PPG, 2.1 RPG, 0.2 APG, 0.5 BPG
Chandler Jackson, Freshman
Previously: Christian Brothers Academy, Tennessee
Jackson is dealing with a thumb injury that will keep him out for most of the preseason, but he’ll be back by the time they tip off against Stetson. It may take him a little longer to integrate himself into the offense since he’s not practicing as much, didn’t put up many numbers in the Canadian games, and we saw last season that point guard is the hardest position to pick up as a freshman.
He is an absolute bulldog defensively, willing to get in your face and do the nasty work, while being able to score from every level. Jackson’s shot has made a lot of progress this season, and he’ll split backup point guard duties with Caleb Mills when Warley needs a break.
Projected 22-23 Stats: 2.1 PPG, 1.1 RPG, 1.5 APG
De'Ante Green, Freshman
Previously: Asheville Christian Academy, North Carolina
De’Ante Green comes in as a highly touted player, a top-100 prospect, and scouts say he has the chance to be a Marcus Morris type; someone who can defend at a high level while scoring from the perimeter. At 6’10”, he’ll be able to defend multiple positions while scoring from all over the floor, once he gets back on the floor.
Green tore his ACL in December of his senior season, and while he was originally expected to be ready by November, he’s recently suffered a setback that will likely keep him out the entire season. If he were to play, it likely wouldn’t be until much later in the season, and at that point, might as well just keep his eligibility intact.
Projected 22-23 Stats: N/A
Jeremiah Bembry, Freshman
Previously: Executive Education Academy, Pennsylvania
Bembry is an unheralded player from the Northeast who gives me some shades of Terance Mann with his ability to make the flashy, but correct pass. He definitely has more flair in his game than you’d usually see, and his jumpshot has made great strides since the end of his senior year. With his size at 6’6”, he’s got massive defensive potential as well.
This is another player that we’re not sure if he’ll play or not. Bembry has been dealing with a back issue for most of the summer and it’s likely to carry into the season. FSU is running out of bodies quickly, so it would be nice to see him play at some point this season.
Projected 22-23 Stats: N/A
Tom House, Freshman
Previously: Centerville High School, Ohio
Much like Darin Green, House is a phenomenal shooter, though it’s gonna be interesting to see how he translates to the college level. House is going to have to play this season because of the injuries that the roster has already sustained. He shot 1-6 from 3 in the first two games in Canada, but rebounded to hit all 3 of his attempts in the final game.
House is an underrated distributor and has decent athleticism as well. He dished out 11 total assists in the three Canada games, and had to play off of Ohio’s Mr Basketball in Gabe Cupps in high school. Ideally, you’d see him not play much this season as he bulks you and gets used to the speed and strength of college ball, but is going to have to play and contribute this season.
Projected 22-23 Stats: 1.5 PPG. 0.3 RPG, 0.9 APG
