UPDATE: Quincy Ballard signs with Florida State

For most of the past decade, Florida State has entered each season with at least two 7-footers on the roster. Next year will be no different, as Leonard Hamilton secured a commitment from 7-0 center Quincy Ballard out of Quality Education Academy in North Carolina:

Until a couple weeks ago, few had heard of Ballard. Then, Florida State offered him a scholarship. In the days that followed, Maryland, Cincinnati, North Carolina State, and Syracuse all joined with offers.

Ballard is originally from Syracuse, New York.

The 7-footer has not been evaluated by any of the major recruiting services. It’s clear he’s a project, but considering his skill set, it’s a bit shocking he had no high-major offers after his senior season, and it wasn’t until the end of his post-grad year that FSU jumped on board.

Phenom Hoops Report has been the primary outlet pushing his skills, and while I’d take their scouting report with a grain of salt, it’s still impressive.

With FSU limited to just one true big man next year in Balsa Koprivica, I’d be surprised if Ballard redshirts. He could play decent minutes during the out-of-conference portion, before ramping down to five or so minutes per game the rest of the season.

With Ham and Co’s reputation developing big men, this’ll be an interesting player to watch.

He joins 5* Scottie Barnes and the No. 3 ranked JUCO player Sardaar Calhoun in next year’s class. Florida State still has two available scholarships, so expect more moves:

UPDATE:

Ballard has signed his LOI to FSU: