Seminoles Add Scottie Barnes' Brother, St. John's Transfer To 2023-24 Roster
Florida State's roster is going to look a lot different in 2023-24 with Leonard Hamilton coming off his worst season in Tallahassee since taking over the program more than 20 years ago. Four players (Matthew Cleveland, Caleb Mills, Naheem McLeod, Jeremiah Bembry) transferred to other schools and the Seminoles replaced the losses with a mix of high school talent and transfer portal players.
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The list of additions out of the portal includes La Salle's Josh Nickelberry, VCU's Jamir Watkins, and Georgetown's Primo Spears. With that being said, there's also another high-major profile transfer that the Seminoles were able to bring in as a walk-on who is related to a star that recently came through the program.
When Florida State updated its roster a couple of days ago, junior guard Jason Simpson was listed as a member of the team. Simpson played the first two years of his career at St. John's and is Scottie Barnes' brother.
The Florida native joined St. John's after spending two seasons at Montverde Academy. He averaged 12.0 points, 7.0 assists, and 2.0 steals per game while shooting 40% from three-point range. Simpson spent most of his time with the Red Storm as a reserve.
Simpson appeared in two games as a true freshman before an injury sidelined him for most of the 2021-22 season. He earned playing time in three games last year, totaling four minutes in his trio of appearances. Simpson nabbed his first career steal in a loss against Xavier in February.
It will be tough for Simpson to earn consistent minutes with the Seminoles. He'll be jockeying with junior Jalen Warley, junior Primo Spears, and sophomore Chandler Jackson for minutes. Spears will need to earn a waiver to be eligible for the upcoming season.
Barnes spent one season in Tallahassee after joining FSU as the highest-ranked recruit in program history. He averaged 10.3 points, 4.0 rebounds, 4.1 assists, 1.5 steals, and 0.5 blocks in 24.8 minutes per game. Barnes was named the ACC's Sixth Man of the Year and Freshman of the Year. He was selected No. 4 overall by the Toronto Raptors in the 2021 NBA Draft and went on to win Rookie of the Year in the NBA.
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