Luke Loucks didn’t want to start with an easy exhibition game, a matchup at home against a lower division opponent.
But did he have to choose Alabama, which is ranked 15th in the Associated Press’ preseason poll, and at essentially a road site in Birmingham on Thursday night?
“They’re ranked 15th. I think we’re ranked 96th,” Loucks said, referencing KenPom’s preseason computer rankings. “I think we’re last in the ACC right now by these preseason rankings. And I think we’re last in Power 4 basketball, which to me excites me.
“I told our guys, ‘No one believes in you and no one believes in me. I’m a first-time head coach, first time coaching in college. And you guys for the most part are a lot of mid-major guys that haven’t proven yourselves at this level.’ So it’s a great opportunity.”
Loucks wanted this opportunity. He views it as an early gauge of who the new-look Seminoles are, who bring back AJ Swinton and Alier Maluk but will be led by transfers like Chauncey Wiggins (Clemson), Kobe Magee (Drexel), Lajae Jones (St. Bonaventure), Shah Muhammad (UMass) and Alex Steen (Florida Southern).
While longtime coach Leonard Hamilton preferred to face Division II teams in exhibition games, this will be a very real test very early.
“It’s going to feel like a real game,” Loucks said. “Honestly, I’m looking forward to making some mistakes, slowing down and getting better. And it will be a good measuring stick for us to go out there and compete, work on the things we’ve been working on and obviously go from there and get better.”
Loucks sees similarities stylistically in Alabama to what FSU wants to be on offense and defense. Fans can get their first look at FSU on a YouTube live stream (Thursday at 8 p.m. ET).
“I told our guys in film this morning, ‘A lot of their film looks like the way we play.’ We want to constantly put stress on the defense with how we attack and how we touch the paint. And then the freedom of shooting even if it’s early in the clock,” Loucks said. “If you’re open, that’s going to be the best shot and we’re taking it every time.”
Loucks’ goal all along was to play each of the Final Four opponents from April. Duke and Florida were easy, of course, and Loucks added a game at Houston. But he also had Auburn lined up for this exhibition on Thursday until logistics among the SEC schools prompted that FSU instead play Alabama.
FSU will face four of the top 11 teams in the AP’s preseason poll: No. 2 Houston, No. 3 Florida, No. 6 Duke and No. 11 Louisville. The Seminoles will also face a number of top teams in KenPom’s preseason rankings, including No. 35 Texas A&M (on Nov. 28 in Tampa), No. 44 Georgia (at home on Dec. 2) and No. 54 Dayton (road on Dec. 16) in non-conference play.
Loucks admitted some of his assistant coaches encouraged him to not take on so many challenges in year 1. But Loucks felt it was important to challenge the Seminoles as well as himself as a first-year college coach.
“I’ll never run from a challenge,” Loucks said. “I would much rather face the hardest teams in the country and know where I stand going into conference play than to have cupcakes where you’re comfortable and you blow teams out and you don’t really get tested. And then you face some real teams and it’s shocking how far you have to go.
“I would always rather flip it. No. 1, because I’m competitive and I want to see what the best looks like. No. 2, in terms of the growth of your team, it’s much more advantageous to play those tough teams early on and see what you got and see what you need to work on.”
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