Talented 7-Footer Entering NCAA Transfer Portal for FSU Basketball

The transfer portal has started to churn for Florida State, as they look to build on a good first season under Luke Loucks. Now that he and his coaching staff are fully established, they can attack the portal in full force, but that still means some attrition from the current team.

Sophomore forward Alier Maluk is expected to enter the transfer portal, per 247Sports. The talented 7-footer from New York reclassified to join FSU a year early in Leonard Hamilton's final season and showed some real flashes as a true freshman. That made him a priority for Luke Loucks in his first offseason, making sure to retain him.

Florida State sophomore Alier Maluk will enter the transfer portal, @247Sports is told.

The 6-11 forward will have two years of eligibility remaining

Repped by @WMEBasketball https://t.co/OCx1G3u7o9 pic.twitter.com/rgFrfN4NBX
— Dushawn London (@DushawnLondon1) April 3, 2026

However, he never gained the trust of the coaching staff this year, appearing in 22 games, starting three, for an average of just 6.3 minutes per game. He basically played just 33% of the minutes he played in his freshman season, which is not the year FSU needed from him. They desperately needed quality center play this year, and he still couldn't see consistent action.

The highlight of his season came against Notre Dame, where he technically didn't log a second of game action but hit two game-sealing free throws late in the game. He had his best game of the season against Mississippi Valley State, producing 7 points and 7 rebounds.

Alex Steen ended up being the only quality center option for FSU this season, and he was undersized. Chauncey Wiggins ended up spending a lot of minutes at center this year because of that.

FSU will be looking to upgrade the center position in a big way this offseason. They've already signed 4-star center Marcis Ponder, who stands around 7'0", 300 pounds. Ideally, they'd like to add an experienced center who can anchor them down low while Ponder learns how to play with his size.

This is FSU's fourth portal entry so far, joining Cam Miles, Martin Somerville, and Shah Muhammad.

Who is Leaving Florida State?

Alier Maluk, Forward, Senior

Robert McCray V, Guard, Senior

Kobe MaGee, Guard, Senior

Lajae Jones, Wing, Senior

Chauncey Wiggins, Forward, Senior

Alex Steen, Forward, Senior

Shah Muhammad, Forward, Senior

Cam Miles, Guard, Freshman

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