ACC’s Top-100: No. 57 Terrance Shannon, Florida State
We’re not even 50 players into this list and I feel like I’ve listed off the entire Florida State roster. Well, I have put a lot of Seminoles on the list, but this team is so deep, there are still plenty of players ahead.
PLAYER: Terrance Shannon
POSITION: Small Forward
TEAM: Florida State
YEAR: Junior
TAPE: 6-8, 220
2010-11 STATS: 4.7 PPG, 2.7 RPG (.400/.545/.000)
DEEP THOUGHTS:
During his time in Tallahassee, Chris Singleton was a stud, particularly on the defensive end. He was capable of defending all five positions and doing it well. He’s gone now, so who is going to fill those gigantic shoes?
Luckily no one person has to do it all. As a team, the Seminoles are a fantastic defensive squad, but if you’re looking for one player to rise up and be the “signature” guy, look no further than Terrance Shannon.
Heading into his junior year, Shannon has been groomed to be the defensive stopper. While he’s not as versatile as Singleton, coach Leonard Hamilton can count of Shannon to guard up to three positions on the court. In fact, when Singleton went down with an inury at the end of season, it was Shannon who really shined.
Shannon is listed as a power forward, but at 6-8, he’s a true tweenier. He’s a spark of energy, who loves to play mean. He treats every rebound like a thief trying to steal his mamma’s purse. He’s long, with strong hands. Combine that with solid foot work and spacing and you got yourself a defender.
On the offensive end, Shannon will do most of his damage at or around the rim. He’s slowly developed his jumper, capable of hitting from 15-feet, but he is no threat from outside. In fact he has yet to take a three in college.Here in lies the problem.
The Seminoles are stacked in the front court with legit big men like Okaro White, Bernard James, Xavier Gibson, Jon Kreft and incoming transfer Kiel Turpin. These five are all big, tall forward/centers. The Seminoles do well when they stack the middle with the trees.
Now don’t get me wrong, Shannon is a superior athlete and can hold his own against these five, but at his size, you’d love to put him at the three spot, having him defending the likes of Harrison Barnes and Austin Rivers. Problem is, can he shoot well enough to be an effective small forward?
Personally I’d love to see Hamilton give him the start. Hopefully there is enough scoring elsewhere, so he won’t become a liability. If he’s seen as just a power forward though, then playing time will be tough to come by, but since I have Shannon ranked above most of those big men on this list, clearly I think Hamilton will go a different direction.
Whether Shannon starts or not, he’ll be fighting for minutes with guard Deividas Dulkys and incoming freshman Antwan Space, the 18th ranked small forward in the class of 2011.
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