December 14, 2007

Chris Nee
Warchant.com

This past week has been a busy one for student-athletes at Florida State but it was off the field taking care of final exams. With the week of tests concluded, the players will return to their respective sports and for basketball that means they will travel to Indianapolis to face No. 18 ranked Butler as part of the eighth annual Wooden Tradition.

What makes the Bulldogs such a difficult matchup is a finely tuned offensive system. Where Butler really does its damage on offensive is from beyond the arc where they rank fourth in Division I with an average of 10.7 threes per game. According to FSU head coach Leonard Hamilton it is not as simple as saying that Butler is a three-point shooting club.

"They are three point shooters who can shoot four steps out from the three point line range," Hamilton said. "That distorts all of your defensive principles. Normally you play people up to the three point line but these guys have range beyond that. A lot of the principles that we have developed as habits almost work against you when you play against a team of this caliber and with their abilities."

The need for FSU to depart from its regular defensive principles is a message that the coaching staff has tried to get across throughout this week's practices.

"The things that we are used to in the past, we are going to have to adjust," senior guard Ralph Mims said. "We have to extend our defense. Our help and recover has to be quicker."

Butler is led by A.J. Graves, who is averaging over 15 points per game. However, the Bulldog's attack is a lot more than just built around one player.

Pete Campbell, a 6-foot-7 forward and Butler's second-leading scorer, sat the last two games with a sprained knee. No timeline has been set for his return but Hamilton expects the talented three-point shooter to be ready for this game. Campbell's ability to stretch the defense outside the paint opens things up for talented guard Mike Green to attack the lane.

"With Campbell being a four, and we have reason to think he is going to play, and with that unlimited range it just stretches the floor," Hamilton said. "That opens things up for Green who is a NBA point guard prospect that can drive and take the ball to the basket."

Butler's two leading scorers are not the only points of concern for the Seminole defense.

"Then you have (Drew) Stretcher and (Julian) Betko who can shoot from outside so even their role players can hurt you," Hamilton said. "They are a very good basketball team and they have our attention."

PROBABLE STARTERS FOR FSU

F #21 Julian Vaughn (4.5 ppg, 2.4 rpg) F #41 Uche Echefu (10.3 ppg, 6.0 rpg) G #3 Isaiah Swann (15.1 ppg, 3.8 apg) G #23 Toney Douglas (12.7 ppg, 2.9 apg) G #25 Jason Rich (9.8 ppg, 4.6 rpg)

?AND TOP RESERVES

G #10 Ralph Mims (8.9 ppg, 0.9 apg) F #2 Jordan DeMercy (1.8 ppg, 1.1 rpg) F #42 Ryan Reid (5.3 ppg, 4.4 rpg)

Butler's only loss of the season was a 43-42 setback to Wright State. While playing a slow-tempo game worked for Wright State, it is doubtful the Seminoles athletic squad would be able to employ a similar strategy.

"We are going to try to make it our type of game," Mims said. "We want to play at our pace."

This game though, could come down to defense. Florida State ranks 32nd nationally in scoring defense surrendering just 59.2 points per game. Butler is even better ranking sixth and are giving up just 54.3 points per game.

For the Seminoles to find success, they will need a complete game on both ends of the court.

"We know they can shoot and want to shoot," Swann said. "We have to make them drivers, make them beat us off the dribble, and make them play the game we want them to play. We can show no mercy. We cannot allow them to hang around, if we do, they will beat us down the stretch. They never stop coming at you so we have to get it done every second we are out there."

With this being quite possibly the Seminoles biggest test of the season, Swann was feeling confident as the Seminoles went through their final preparations.

"I am pretty sure we are going to pass this one with flying colors," he said.

The game is set to tip-off at 6:00 p.m. and is the second part of a double-header at Conseco Field House. The matchup is being televised on HDNet.

Talk about it on the Tribal Council or the Hoops Message Board.