Takeaways from Florida State men's basketball's exhibition win over Barry

Curt Weiler
Tallahassee Democrat

Although there are still two weeks until the season officially begins, Florida State was back in the Tucker Civic Center Tuesday night.

The FSU men's basketball team hosted its first of two preseason exhibitions against Division-II Barry University, coasting to a 95-66 win.

The score was the least important takeaway from Tuesday's scrimmage, however. The exhibition gave everyone their first look at this year's new-look FSU squad in action.

The Seminoles lost six players off last year's team which made the Sweet 16 for the second consecutive season. Still, they were just five spots outside the AP Preseason Top 25 poll when it was released Monday.

What were the big takeaways from FSU's first preseason exhibition?

Forrest rounding out game

Trent Forrest entered his senior season with plenty working in his favor.

The point guard is one of the best defenders in the conference, a proven capable distributor and a dangerous attacker of the basket.

The one area of his game he needs to show the most growth in entering his final season? His jump shot.

While prolific at driving towards the basket, Forrest has been hesitant to take regular jump shots.

If Tuesday's scrimmage is any indication, that was a focus of Forrest's offseason.

In the opening minutes of the scrimmage against Barry, Forrest attempted a three-point shot.

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Minutes later, he unleashed a pull-up jumper and broke out a turn-around jumper from mid-range early in the second half.

A bit after that, a nasty pump fake sent his defender airborne and allowed him an uncontested mid-range shot he promptly swished.

Come the regular season, these plays will do wonders for Forrest's ability to finish around the basket. If defenders have to trust his perimeter shooting even a little, it makes him even more lethal.

It had a big impact Tuesday as he finished his a well-rounded performance with a game-high 19 points on 7 of 10 shooting with five assists and three rebounds.

Patrick Williams looks the part

Yes, it was a scrimmage against a vastly inferior team. And yes, he'll have some growing pains adjusting to the college game as all freshmen do.

But FSU true freshman Patrick Williams looked the part of the No. 26 overall player in the 2019 recruiting class in his unofficial debut for the Seminoles Tuesday night.

Williams scored FSU's first points of the night on a thunderous fast-break dunk.

His athleticism is what jumps out most about Williams at first glance. His vertical leap on his dunks -- of which he had four -- was especially noticeable when facing off against Barry.

But it's the kind of athleticism that will translate to every game Williams plays in, giving him an instant offensive impact.

Williams also showed an early commitment to FSU's ideals of doing the little things right. He scored 12 points and wrangled a team-high nine rebounds in less than 18 minutes while showing the high energy level and effort head coach Leonard Hamilton is looking for at the defensive end of the floor.

Olejniczak mans the middle

With FSU replacing Christ Koumadje and Phil Cofer off last year's team, the question of who steps up inside is one of the team's biggest entering the season.

While true freshman Balsa Koprivica sat out Tuesday's scrimmage, Ole Miss graduate transfer Dominic Olejniczak showed why he's expected to start the season as the Seminoles' center.

He averaged 5.3 points and 3.0 rebounds in 18.3 minutes last season for the Rebels. His showing in the exhibition is evidence of the fact that he may be destined for a larger role in his last season of eligibility.

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Offensively, Olejniczak broke out a few impressive finishing moves, most notably a running hook shot and turn-around hook shot. He sunk both as part of his 10-point performance where he was a perfect 5 of 5 from the floor. He added five rebounds, had good hands inside and looked to be a strong rim defender.

Additionally, in a young frontcourt with Koprivica, Rice transfer Malik Osborne and redshirt sophomore RaiQuan Gray, Olejniczak's three years of experience at both Drake and Ole Miss will help him pass on valuable experience to the younger interior Seminoles.

Up Next

The Seminoles' second scrimmage is Friday, Nov. 1 against Columbus State. The Seminoles open the regular season five days later at Pittsburgh Nov. 6.

You can reach Curt Weiler at cweiler@tallahassee.com.