FSU's Kabengele declares for draft
- Thread starter jhmossy
- Start date
Huge, huge loss. Easily FSU's best player. I was surprised he wasn't showing up on draft boards sooner, to be honest. I still think he should have played WAY more than he did. I think Kabengele is worth a first round pick. How will FSU be next year without him? @GE Nole
They"ll roll out the next 7 foot African on their bench who just learned to play basketball a few years ago.
Incredible how Hamilton always seems to find one...
I was just look at FSU's incoming recruits. They have two 7 footers coming in next year. I remember Balsa Koprivica; he's been on everyone's radar since he was a freshmen. The other kid is 7'3. Seriously crazy how he gets these enormously huge centers seemingly every year.
It’s a loss, no way around it. When I last spoke with Fi he was pretty sure he was coming back. But that was in early February and he really caught a lot of attention the last 6 weeks of the season as he added a three point shot. He played starters minutes, by the way. Most amount of minutes for a non-guard on the team.
Obviously you don’t just replace a 6’10, physical monster who has a stroke out to 23 feet and doubles as a rim protector. And he’d be in his 4th year to boot. So yes, our ceiling is reduced.
That said, Hamilton’s system isn’t reliant on one guy. Assuming we back fill some depth with a grad/juco transfer ball handler and maybe another at center, we should still be solid. Forrest, MJ Walker, Devin Vassell, and RaiQuan Gray are all good pieces. Anthony Polite is a strong defender. Patrick Williams is a stud. Two seven footers come in, though the 7’3 guy (McLeod) is a redshirt candidate. Malik Osborne is a guy who sat out last year as a transfer and the staff is high on him. Excellent rebounder. Anthony Polite is
Definitely need to add a backup ball handler, preferably one who can shoot. But it’s not a death sentence. Likely will take longer to hit our stride, as Fi would have been an experienced go to guy in November and December. But by March we should be dangerous again. Don’t forget, we just played tough with Gonzaga in the Sweet 16 without Cofer and Nichols, and only 13 combined points from Mann and Kabengele.
Honestly, the biggest loss when it comes to Fi is the loss of his toughness and leadership. Guy was just an incredibly unselfish teammate and a gym rat who could lead by example or with his voice.
I really enjoyed watching him play. Selfishly wanted to see one more season out of him.
You and me both. It's still not entirely out of the question.
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