Ratcliffe: Florida State has the look of an ACC contender

When Florida State coach Leonard Hamilton mentioned this week that his Seminoles basketball team was in a position they’ve never been before, “the top of the heap,” he was hoping his players would feel like they belonged there.

One of his players, Michael Snaer, apparently took his coach’s message a little too seriously by delivering a 100 percent guarantee that the ‘Noles would win the ACC title. While some media took the hot-shooting Snaer’s words too seriously as well, Hamilton was clearly irked by the whole situation.

“That’s a case of a kid who has not been there and done that,” Hamilton said. “An excited kid who probably just really spoke out of turn. He’s talked about it, feels sorry for what he said. I think sometimes when you’re trying to go to a place you haven’t been, sometimes you’ve got to deal with things that you haven’t ever dealt with and I think that’s a case of a youngster being overly exuberant, a kid who probably stuck his foot in his mouth.”

Maybe. Maybe not.

As No. 16 Virginia (18-3) heads to Tallahassee for a Saturday afternoon showdown with No. 21 FSU (15-6), who’s to say that Snaer’s guarantee isn’t good?

The Seminoles are indeed at the top of the heap of the ACC, tied at 6-1 with North Carolina, whom they walloped, 90-57, and Duke, whom they stunned on a last-second 3-pointer that ended the Blue Devils’ longest home winning streak in the nation.

Can’t blame Snaer for being a little exuberant.

Hamilton will be the first to admit his Seminoles, at least during his era in Tallahassee, are in unchartered waters. How they react to the pressure remains to be seen. They struggled at home in the first half of their game Wednesday night with the ACC’s worst team, Georgia Tech, and trailed 25-24 at the break before getting their act together in the second half.

Tony Bennett’s Cavaliers can relate to Hamilton’s feelings about being in unfamiliar territory. After two losing seasons, Bennett has his program off to its best start since the days Ralph roamed the ACC’s hardcourts and were ranked No. 1 in the nation.

Both coaches know they’re no longer the hunters. They’re going to get everybody’s best shot.

Having been around the ACC block a time or two, it is this columnist’s opinion that Florida State is presently the second-best team in the league, only behind North Carolina. The Tar Heels, I believe, are the best team in college basketball but something intangible seems to be missing.

Duke isn’t quite Duke, but still, Krzyzewski has a way of getting every ounce of success out of his players.

Virginia is even with the Blue Devils if it can find that sometimes missing but much-needed third scorer every game. Mike Scott, who is a strong candidate for ACC Player of the Year and without a doubt would be the MVP if such an award was given (Can you imagine what the Cavaliers would be like without him this season?) can’t do it just he and Joe Harris doing all the scoring.

Frankly, I’m amazed every time UVa pulls out a close win. Even Bennett scratches his head after some of them and wonders how his team survived.

He talks about the fine line the Cavaliers walk every time out, about their incredibly thin margin of error. It’s a tightrope not many teams could traverse.

Just imagine how Tony’s gut must roll, knowing that he has to go into hoop battles with a team ranked No. 246th in the nation in scoring (64.3 ppg). By the way, there’s 338 teams in Division I.

Yes, we know that his Cavaliers are No. 2 in the nation in scoring defense (50.6), just a shade behind top-rated Wisconsin, where the Bennett’s made a living off suffocating ‘D,’ but we wonder that even with great defense, can UVa win big games on the road against teams that can score and defend.

Georgia Tech coach Brian Gregory, who comes from the defensive-minded systems of Jud Heathcoate and Tom Izzo, had this to say about the Seminoles after falling victim to a second-half charge the other night: “They’ve always been good defensively (No. 57 in the nation, 62.0 ppg),” Gregory said of FSU. “But they’re good offensively. That’s made them go from a good team to a great team. They’re playing as well as anybody in our league right now.”

Outsiders look at Florida State’s overall record and perhaps question Gregory’s observation. After all, didn’t the Seminoles lose in December to both Harvard and Princeton?

The difference, insiders will tell you, has been the addition of Ian Miller, who didn’t play pre-Christmas.

Hamilton said that Miller has an uncanny way of getting to the basket, getting easy baskets, which takes pressure off Snaer, who may be the ACC’s hottest outside shooter of late, and Deividas on the perimeter.

Miller stretches the defense, which also opens things up for Bernard James, who will turn age 27 this weekend, on the inside.

“He’s meant an awful lot to our team and I’d say he has as much to do with our turnaround as anybody,” Hamilton said.

If Florida State defends its home court this afternoon and rises to 7-1 through the first half of the ACC schedule, who’s to say that Snaer was wrong?