FSU Set to Tip Off Basketball Season

Need a break from stressing out about the football shenanigans? Well, you're in luck. The defending ACC basketball champs tip-off the basketball preseason with the (free) annual Seminole Madness event. It begins at 7 pm, and for those of you out of town, it will be broadcast in its entirety on ESPN3.

This will be the first chance to get a look at a roster which features eight new players. We all know that the Noles return a solid and experienced corp with Michael Snaer, Ian Miller, Okaro White and Terrance Shannon. But how far this team goes will be determined by what sort of lift they get from the new guys.

And this is where Tomahawk Nation needs your help. Our resident Ham-etologist is unable to attend this event (thanks for nothing, Minnick!) so we'll need some fan insight into the array of new players.

I'll start the 1st Basketball Discussion thread on Friday, and be sure to post your thoughts. Some of the questions which are of interest:

• How ready is Kiel Turpin to be the man in the middle?
• What does the backup point guard situation look like? Terry Whisnant has been cross-training at the point,and national scribe Jon Rothstein - after watching a summer workout - has been regularly stating that he expects Devon Bookert to start from day one.
• Can Michael Ojo execute any moves that look related to basketball?
• Who does FSU look for when they need to stall their offense with turnovers?

Remember that this isn't your typical class of newcomers. This is grown man basketball. Kiel Turpin is a fourth year junior and is already 23. Robert Gilchrist, another JUCO transfer, is a 6-9 ex-soccer player. Devon Bookert and Aaron Thomas both spent post-graduate seasons at basketball academies. Michael Ojo turns 20 in January, and Boris Bojanovsky turns 20 in April. Montay Brandon is the only typical freshman.

So get out and support your team. And let us know what you think.