Florida State Senior Phil Cofer to Miss Sweet 16 After Father's Death
Florida State senior Phil Cofer will not travel with the team to the West regional in Anaheim, Calif., according to ESPN's Andrea Adelson.
The Seminoles face No. 1 Gonzaga on Thursday. They will play the winner of Texas Tech or Michigan with a victory over the Bulldogs.
Cofer's father Mike passed away following the Seminoles' victory over Vermont on March 21. Mike was a Pro Bowl linebacker for the Lions from 1983-92. He died at 58.
Seminoles head coach Leonard Hamilton traveled with Cofer to his home in Georgia following Florida State's second-round victory over Murray State on Saturday. It is unknown whether Cofer will join Florida State if it reaches the Final Four in Minneapolis.
"We were going to support whatever decision he had to make," Hamilton told Adelson. "It's best for him and his family to get through this period. Now it gives us more of a reason to want to fight our butts off to get to the Final Four so he can have an opportunity to finish his career off."
Cofer is averaging 7.4 points and 26.2 minutes per game as a fifth-year senior in 2018-19. Florida State finished fourth in the ACC in 2018-19 at 27–7, 13–5. The Seminoles reached the Elite 8 in 2018, but have not reached the Final Four since 1972.
