Florida State's Quincy Ballard Enters Transfer Portal
Sophomore Center Quincy Ballard entered the transfer portal this morning after a disappointing campaign in which he only played 85 total minutes in the 2021/22 season. This will leave Florida State with a hole in the big-man rotation, as Naheem McLeod and Moroccan freshman Alaa-Eddine Boutayeb are the only true bigs slated to be on the roster, though Cam Corhen has 4/5 flexibility and Malik Osborne has an extra year of eligibility if he wants to opt into it.
Ballard, a native of Syracuse, was a late addition to the 2020 class, as he wasn't offered until April 4, 2020, before eventually committing and signing two weeks later. He was seen as a high upside take given his extreme athleticism but hasn't really been able to channel it since coming to Tallahassee. He was the 336th-ranked prospect in the 2020 class.
To anyone that followed the team this season, this comes as little surprise. Florida State was hit by the injury bug as bad as any team in the country, especially at their center rotation. Tanor Ngom missed 11 games (really 15, as he hardly played in a few games as he got back into shape), Naheem McLeod missed 13 games, and Malik Osborne missed 14 games.
Instead of turning to the unproven Ballard, the staff instead started giving minutes to 6th-year walk-on Harrison Prieto, who had a very solid season considering the circumstances. The staff turning to Prieto showed they had very little faith in Ballard, and put writing on the wall that he likely wouldn't be around for.
Ballard scored 38 total points, grabbed 33 rebounds, and blocked 17 shots across 36 games and 147 minutes in his two seasons in Tallahassee. I expect FSU to try and find a veteran transfer to fill this spot for next season, as next year's team currently has 6 true freshmen and everyone else having only been on the team for one season (barring Osborne, Anthony Polite, or Wyatt Wilkes using their extra COVID year).
