Last Friday Florida State had a 4-PT loss to Notre Dame in the ACC tourney but were still good enough to earn an at-large bid to this week’s NCAA tournament. The Seminoles have not made the NCAA tourney since 2012 but are back this year and will face #14-seed/in-state foe Florida Gulf Coast on Thursday evening in a West Region match-up in Orlando. Earlier today HoopsHD’s Jon Teitel got to speak with SO SG Terance Mann about why he has a rooting interest in Rhode Island’s run to the tourney.
You grew up in the Northeast: what made you choose the Seminoles? I have known 1 of their assistant coaches since I was 13 years old and I had a lot of faith in him because he thought that he could help me go far.
Your mother Daynia is the head women’s basketball coach at Rhode Island: how much of an influence has she been on you both on and off the court, and how happy are you that her school in not in your region?! I am very happy because that would kind of suck! I am rooting for URI and hope they do great things but I am glad that we are not playing them because it would be awkward.
Last year Dwayne Bacon was a Freshman All-American and this year he has made the most 3-PT shots of anyone on your team: how crucial has he been to your team’s success? He has been a huge key to our success: whenever we need a clutch basket to get us going he is there to come to our rescue. He is 1 of the best finishers that I have ever played with.
You play for Coach Leonard Hamilton: what makes him such a great coach, and what is the most important thing that you have learned from him? He lets guys play through their mistakes, learn from our experiences, and grow into great college players. He tells us so many life stories and teaches us so many things that it is hard to put my finger on just 1.
In the 2016 NIT you scored 10 PTS in a loss to Valpo: what did you learn from that game that you think can help you in the postseason this year? I learned that you have to do all the little things: if you get too hyped up then you will not be successful.
You went 12-6 in ACC play this year: how were you able to be so successful in arguably the best conference in the country? We just stayed focused and did not buy into all the hype. We stuck together and were connected on the court.
Your FT% went way up from last year to this year: how were you able to have such incredible improvement? A lot of repetition over the summer: I worked out twice/day and got in the gym a lot: I cannot even tell you how many FTs I shot! I still need to work on my concentration and think that eventually I can make even more of them.
You only have a couple of seniors on your roster: do you think that your team is ready to win right now or do you think that you might be 1 year away from making a deep run in the NCAA tourney? I think that we do not need many experienced dudes because we already work so well with each other. We just need all 13 guys to play their best.
James Earl Jones’ fictional character in the movie “Field of Dreams” is named Terence Mann: have you even seen the movie, and does everyone think you were named in honor of the author? Everyone assumes that I was named for him: I hear it ALL the time. I have not seen the movie yet.
Do you expect a ton of fan support while playing in Orlando, and what do you know about Florida Gulf Coast? I expect a lot of our fans to show up because it is so close. We do not know much about the Eagles but I am sure that our coaches will get us prepared. I do know that they are athletic and have given a championship effort so we will be ready for them.