TALLAHASSEE, Fla. - Florida State felt it was snubbed last March when the NCAA dismissed its winning record in Atlantic Coast Conference competition and left the Seminoles for postseason NIT pickings.<br>
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And coach Leonard Hamilton doesn't want to take any chances of a repeat this year.<br>
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``We have to go out and lay it on the line and let the chips fall where they may,'' said Hamilton, who begins his fifth season at Florida State.<br>
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He is 65-58 following last season's 20-10 mark that included a 9-7 record in the ACC for its first winning mark in a dozen years in league competition.<br>
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``This is a different team, different years, different challenge,'' he said.<br>
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Last year's schedule had too many patsies. This year the Seminoles will face three of the nation's highest ranked teams Pittsburgh, Wisconsin and defending national champion Florida in a nine-day period between Thanksgiving and final exams.<br>
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``We need those types of challenges early to let us know exactly where we have to be in order to compete in the ACC,'' Hamilton said.<br>
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Florida, Pittsburgh and Wisconsin were ranked No. 1, 4 and 9 in The Associated Press' preseason poll.<br>
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The Seminoles open their season Sunday at home against McNeese State in the first game of a three-day Colonial Classic, which also includes Illinois State and Southern Methodist.<br>
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Florida State is led by 6-foot-8 senior forward Al Thornton, a second-team all conference pick a year ago. In two games against Duke last season, Thornton hit the Blue Devils for 63 points and 21 rebounds.<br>
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``There aren't many kids like him,'' Duke coach Mike Kryzewski said. ``He's one of the best.''<br>
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Thornton twice scored 37 points in a game last year, but will need some help inside with the departure of 6-foot-10 Alexander Johnson, who gave up his final year of eligibility to turn pro. Johnson averaged 13.2 points and 7.4 rebounds, blossoming the second half of the season into one of the ACC's most productive big men.<br>
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The Seminoles are counting on 6-foot-9 Uche Echefu and 6-foot-8 freshman Ryan Reid to replace Johnson.<br>
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``He only needs time and experience,'' Hamilton said about the athletic Echefu. ``He adds a new dimension as an inside player ... being a good shooter.<br>
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Toney Douglas, who transferred from Auburn after averaging 16.9 points as a freshmen with the Tigers, is penciled in at the point guard position manned the last two seasons by Todd Galloway, who graduated. Ralph Mims will be Douglas' backup.<br>
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Douglas, the nation's second leading freshman scorer two years ago, scored a career high 38 points in just his third collegiate game and had 32 against Florida, scoring more than 20 points on a dozen occasions.<br>
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``He's a proven scorer who wants to be a significant player in the ACC,'' Hamilton said.<br>
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Jason Rich, who averaged 10 points a game last year, Isaiah Swann and Jerel Allen will rotate at the wing positions while 6-foot-8 Casaan Breeden is available to spell Thornton if necessary.<br>
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``We know we're going to have to play a lot of people,'' Hamilton said. `` We have about five guards that there's not much difference in. They're very close.''<br>
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The Seminoles continue to fly under the radar, although they were picked to finish in the upper half of the ACC by writers covering the conference.<br>
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Florida State fans will not see either Duke or North Carolina at home this year on a conference home schedule that begins Jan. 3 with Clemson and concludes Feb. 24 against North Carolina State and features a first-time visit from ACC newcomer Boston College on Feb. 11.
