EXCLUSIVE: One-on-One With FSU Basketball Coach Luke Loucks

Wednesday was the unofficial start of the 2026-27 college basketball season, as the Atlantic Coast Conference held its media day in uptown Charlotte, North Carolina.

This was my first chance to hear from Florida State's head coach Luke Loucks as he prepares for his second season at the helm of his alma mater, and Loucks was kind enough to give me some time one-on-one to discuss last season, this season, and some thoughts about the roster.

Here is my full conversation with Coach Loucks, edited only for brevity and clarity.

"How tough has recruiting been for you? Obviously, in the NBA, you're not recruiting; now you're coming to college, and that's a big part of it. How much of an adjustment has that been for you?"

"I wouldn't say it's been tough; it's time-consuming. That's the toughest part of it, is the amount of energy and focus it takes to recruit at the level we want to recruit at. But it hasn't been tough in the sense that it's hard. It's not hard, it just takes a lot of your time.

"I'm a big believer in getting the guys that you want to coach, and you have to really evaluate to do that, you have to really dive into the intel, you have to really know how you want to play in order to do that. I think we have that pretty much under wraps, so then we can go evaluate the guys that we think can fit into what we're doing.

"And, ultimately, we want to recruit guys that have a chance at some point to play in the NBA. If they don't, the message we're preaching probably isn't great. If we don't think you can eventually play in the NBA, Florida State's probably not the place for you.

"On top of that, I don't want to call it easy, it's been a smoother transition than most would think because I think that what we're selling is authentic to who we are. Like, I played at Florida State, I want Florida State to be great, I know what goes into winning at Florida State, coach in the NBA, all of you guys want to go to the NBA, we develop guys for the NBA, have done it my whole coaching career, we've got multiple guys on staff that have done it.

"So, if you say your goal is to win in college, if you say your goal is to play in the NBA someday, there's really not a lot of programs that check the boxes that we check. It's something that's easy for us to sell because we believe in it. "

Mar 11, 2026; Charlotte, NC, USA; Florida State Seminoles guard Lajae Jones (10) with the ball in the second half at Spectrum Center. Mandatory Credit: Bob Donnan-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

"There's a lot of going and showing that you can make the NBA. You had guys come back from the pro level, like Trent Forrest, Devin Vassell, Patrick Williams, all of these guys. You took Anthony Robinson to work out with De'Aaron Fox. Obviously, Lajae [Jones] gets drafted. How big is it for the team just to see examples of it? "

"It's huge, in year one to use your connections and resources, but ultimately, and I think you saw it with our team last year, all of our guys, even the guys that didn't get drafted, got a lot better as the year went on.

"You look at a guy like Rob McCray, coming from Jacksonville and turning into an All-ACC point guard with more efficient numbers than he had at a low-major level. I think that's huge for us and what we're preaching.

"Same thing with Chauncey Wiggins, to go from averaging 8 to 9 points per game at Clemson to 14 with us, and all of his numbers got more efficient. Again, we're preaching: you come to Florida State, you're going to get better.

"Same thing with Lajae Jones. He got better at Florida State to the point where you go from a role player at a mid-major to getting drafted in less than a year's span, I think that's huge.

"Now, it's not as if we sell that it could be this, it's like, 'No, it is this. Here's the proof.'"

"You've talked about wanting to be the fastest team in the country, but you had more success last year after the NC State game when you toned things down, slowed the pace. Do you want to get back to playing fast? Do you want to keep things slower, maybe a mix of everything, just depending on the matchup?"

"I want to play fast because fast is usually efficient. Last year, we were out of control, and we were not good in transition. So, it wasn't so much [about] slowing the pace, it was giving them different directives on what we're looking for to be more efficient.

"Even in our 'slow down,' we were still top 40 in the country, and probably top 10 in high majors. If you look at that, I could be a little off, generally, we're always gonna want to get out in transition, makes or misses, especially off turning teams over. We turn teams over at a high rate, we disrupt offenses, that leads to breakouts, which feeds into the way we want to play.

"But I'm also a big believer in efficient basketball, and if the group can't play efficiently fast, then yeah, we'll slow it down a little bit. Every group is a little bit different, but historically, it's not like the fastest team wins, but it is usually easier to score when you play fast."

Feb 11, 2026; Lubbock, Texas, USA; Colorado Buffaloes forward Sebastian Rancik (7) during a time out in the first half of the game against the Texas Tech Red Raiders at United Supermarkets Arena. Mandatory Credit: Michael C. Johnson-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

"Part of being efficient, as you preach, is offensive rebounding. Didn't do a great job of it last year, but you got [Marcis] Ponder, [Cooper] Schwieger, [Sebastian] Rancik, hopefully, if [Alex] Steen comes back, you have all of this. How important was that for you this offseason?"

"It's one of our core identities. We want to create extra possessions and really, there's two ways to do it: create turnovers or offensive rebounds. We did a really great job creating turnovers. We didn't quite have the size nor the physicality to create as much as we would've liked offensively on the boards.

"I think we can take a huge step in that area this year. I'm hopeful, and we're coaching our guys to be, if not the best, one of the best offensive rebounding teams in the country. But there's a process to do that. One of those boxes that has to be checked is [that] you have to have real size. You can't be a tiny team and expect to out-rebound a lot of big teams.

"But between Ponder, Sebastian, even some of our wings, you look at Shon Abaev, Kam Taylor, they're big, lengthy, athletic wings. Those should be good offensive rebounders. We're really excited about the potential in that area."

"You just mentioned Shon Abaev. I was listening to your interview with Vince Wolfram the other day, and you talked about him playing point guard. How is that going? Because that's not something I would've envisioned for him."

"Actually, really good. It's still a work in progress, it's not [always] pretty by any means, but he has the capability to be one of our best playmakers, which he didn't really show much at Cincinnati.

"At his size, he's got a really good handle, he can really see the floor, and if he focuses on that, the scoring will come, because that's what he's always done, the shooting will get better because he'll take better shots, but if he can really improve his defense and his effort-level and then improve that on-ball distribution, I think it could unleash us, especially with the second unit.

"Martay Barnes is a point guard, but he's really a combo guard, and so between those two, that second unit when Ant [Anthony Robinson] is out of the game, you have two guys that can handle and create it at a high level. I think it could really be good for us."

Jan 24, 2026; Tempe, Arizona, USA; Cincinnati Bearcats guard Shon Abaev (10) against the Arizona State Sun Devils at Desert Financial Arena. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

"I want to ask about maybe some other guys that aren't getting talked about. Elisee Assui [we worked through the pronunciation together], not too much is known for the casual fan, coming from overseas and he's an older freshman, what are you expecting from him this season?"

"We call him Elli... Elli has been incredible so far in camp and is basically exactly what we thought. He had to lose some weight, he was a little heavy, but he is a Lu Dort-type of player where he picks up 94 feet, full court. He's aggressive, aggressive defensively, and we love that aspect of what he brings on the defensive end. The ball pressure, the physicality.

"Offensively, he keeps it really simple. I think he can shoot better than his numbers say, We've tweaked a few things balance-wise that he was struggling with, but he is a very smart offensive player. Doesn't force the issue, doesn't need a lot of shot attempts, doesn't need the ball in his hands, he's a good passer.

"But I think from day one, he's going to have a huge impact as a role player, glue guy, that's done it at a high level professionally for the last three years. He's been playing at the highest level of European basketball, so he understands what goes into winning."

"Another part of this freshman class, what about Collin Paul? Maybe not as talked about as some of these other guys, what do you think he can bring?"

"Collin's still working through his knee. He tore everything in his knee at a top-100 camp about a year ago. We ramped him up, had a couple setbacks, ramped him up, had a couple setbacks, so we're focused on getting his body right first and foremost. We're very hopeful that he'll be back very soon.

"But also, I'm not going to put him in a situation where he's at risk for another injury. [Virginia Tech coach Mike Young stops by and talks with Loucks briefly]... What comes with that is an all-out focus on getting his body right before we do anything back to basketball. If that takes another week, if that takes another month, it takes what it takes. At some point, I think he could have an impact on our season.

"He's 6'8", he's a really good ball-handler and facilitator, and can really push in transition, which I like. His shot is still developing. It's not a bad shot, but it's still developing. Then defensively, he has the size and athleticism to switch and be a versatile defender, so at whatever point he returns, we're really excited about him, but that's our focus with him now. Got this issue, we're going to focus on this, and we're not going to bring you back until we're not at risk for something else happening."

Feb 7, 2026; South Bend, Indiana, USA; Florida State Seminoles forward AJ Swinton (19) celebrates making a 3-point shot against the Notre Dame Fighting Irish during the first half at Purcell Pavilion at the Joyce Center. Mandatory Credit: Michael Caterina-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

"Another guy that was dealing with injury last year, AJ Swinton. He was really coming on before that unfortunate knee injury. How's he looking, is there any kind of timeline for him yet?"

"He's similar but different than Collin. Obviously, both coming back from the ACL. AJ's working his behind off and he's done a really good job. He's such a natural athlete that I'm hopeful at some point this fall, going into the holiday season, that he's going to be available.

"At what point that is, we'll see. But I'm hopeful before ACC play that he'll be ramping up. These next few weeks will tell us a lot of where he's at. Once he's able to really run and cut and jump and as that progresses, we'll have a good idea on when he could be back."

"Maybe the freshman I've heard the most about is Brandon Bass Jr. Obviously, a guy with NBA connections, it sounds like he's making a pretty big impact."

"Yeah, if he's not our straight-up best shooter in the gym right now, he's a very close second. His catch-and-shoot ability has been the most consistent of the team so far. When he catches the ball and gets a clean look [Syracuse's Gerry McNamara stops by, Loucks congratulates him on the job], his catch-and-shoot ability is second to none.

"The best thing is he puts the work in. He's consistently with our shot trackers, getting the most shots up. He's in there early in the morning, late at night, that kid is a relentless worker, and it's showing up in the results. If he gets a clean look, I feel like it's going in."

"On paper, three-point shooting maybe isn't a strength for these guys. Anthony Robinson is about a 30% guy for his career, Kam Taylor was under 30% last year, but shot much better in conference play. How much of an emphasis has that been this offseason?"

"I think all of them are capable shooters, they're not considered as a shooter, but they're shot-makers. I do think with all of them, it's been a stress on their efficiency and of shooting the right shots. If you shoot the right shots, your percentage is going to go up as long as your shot's not broke. None of their shots are broke.

"I'm very confident that although we might not have three, four, five snipers, we got some guys that can really put the ball in the hoop in a variety of different ways. If they get the looks we're trying to generate, that ball's going to go in."

Mar 7, 2026; Tallahassee, Florida, USA; Florida State Seminoles head coach Luke Loucks before the game against the Southern Methodist Mustangs at Donald L. Tucker Center. Mandatory Credit: Melina Myers-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

"I don't know if you know this, you set a program record for ACC road wins last year, and you did it in your first year. How do you carry winning on the road, especially when early on it wasn't looking like you would set a program record?"

"Really? I didn't know that... It was looking at one point like we weren't going to win any games. I think that's a credit to the guys that we brought, a credit to the staff being focused on what the goals are, what the mission is.

"Especially when you get out of town... You're on the road together, we do a really good job of organizing our time in terms of what we spend our time on on the road. It's really machine-like. It's just like the NBA, you've only got so many hours in a city, we're gonna get this done, gonna get this done, and then it's tip-off time. You really don't have time to think. We try to do that with our team and it really paid off towards the end of the year."

"New format with college basketball this year with the preseason games. Playing Mississippi State [was canceled soon after due to the hurricane, stay safe everyone], Auburn, and LSU. How much more do you get from that than playing an NAIA school or a Division II school?"

"You know me, I want to compete. I want to play against top tier teams. I want to see what we have and what areas we need to improve. And it's much easier to do that before the real games start than do it in the middle of the season.

"So for me, you can play some teams and quote unquote 'build your confidence' and win by 40. You really don't get anything out of it. I would much rather go on the road, play against some SEC teams, and allow myself, our staff, and the players for making mistakes that we need to correct.

"[At] practice tomorrow, we gotta cover that, we didn't see this coming, or this guy's struggling with this, we got to address this. Those things, to me, are what helps teams long-term win games and ultimately his your stride at the end of the year, where everything is one big ramp-up to [where] we're playing our best basketball when it matters. You saw that last year.

"Obviously, there were some really low lows. I didn't want to go through it but it was good for us to go through. We're hoping in preseason, not hoping that we get smacked, but hoping that these are tough games for us that really challenges us and it will allow us very quickly to address the things that we need to address before the first go."

Other Notes from ACC Media Day

Just some other things that I learned today.

Alex Steen is still currently ineligible but is playing to appeal. Loucks was very upset and frustrated that other teams are allowed to have fifth-year players, but Steen remains ineligible.

Sebastian Rancik thinks this is a really special group, mentioning it a few times. He went through the NBA Draft process during the offseason and says he "got some good feedback" from some teams.

Rancik said it "meant a lot" that Loucks and associate head coach Jim Moran were willing to go to Slovakia to meet his family.

Anthony Robinson II is really looking forward to representing his hometown and Florida State, and being able to play alongside his brother while doing so is something he doesn't take for granted.

Robinson is looking forward to showcasing what he can do offensively after mostly being known for his defense at Missouri.

Robinson saw what Florida State was growing up, and he wants to be the reason they make it back to the NCAA Tournament.

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