BREAKING: FSU Lands Commitment From Ivy League Transfer
Florida State got a big addition to the 2022/23 team, as they received a commitment from Brown forward Jaylan Gainey. The 6'9" graduate transfer will have one year of eligibility and gives the 'Noles a needed body down low with Quincy Ballard entering the transfer portal last week, Alaa-Eddine Boutayeb entering the portal this week, and Malik Osborne's collegiate career on the fence
Gainey is a 2-time defensive player of the year in the Ivy League, having averaged 2+ blocks per game in each of his last two seasons, and his block rate of 10.7% ranked 23rd nationally, according to KenPom. He had the two best games of his career to close the season with 25 points, 12 rebounds, and 8 blocks against Columbia, followed by 20 points and 18 rebounds against Yale. He doesn't have a ton of experience against Power Conference schools, but he won't be relied upon to play a ton of minutes.
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What he will provide is experience. Even though he doesn't have experience in FSU's system, his 65 career games played are the most on the roster, followed by Caleb Mills at 61 games. He may not be the biggest player, but he's someone that's going to be able to switch 1-5 effectively, and guard the rim at a high level.
Gainey is an uber-athletic forward who gets off the floor in a hurry, and is a very natural rebounder. Florida State wasn't the greatest rebounding team last season. now they're getting a guy who ranked in the top-100 in defensive rebound rate this past season. He's also really smart with his shot selection, as his effective field goal percentage of 71.5% was 2nd best in the country, according to KenPom.
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From what I’ve been told, I believe the staff is going to try and get him a 6th year of eligibility as well since Ivy League didn’t play any sports in 2020-21, which could potentially give him two years of eligibility in Tallahassee.
As it stands right now, Florida State has no more scholarships available, but they're still recruiting 5-star Julian Phillips, have been in contact with recent Florida decommit Malik Reneau, Illinois State transfer Antonio Reeves, and I think they'll reach out to Memphis forward Josh Minott.
Stick with NoleGameday for more on Florida State Basketball throughout the offseason.
