Luke Loucks jokes that 'possibly even Stevie Wonder' could see Florida State is improving

The Florida State Seminoles added a much needed win on Monday night, which got them back over .500 for the season. After a stretch where the Seminoles had lost five-straight games, it comes after it looked like the season could go off the rails for first year head coach Luke Loucks.

Loucks is proud of the improvement that his team has shown this season. In particular, their ability to come together following the end of the semester.

“I think first and foremost, our guys have come together over this past week,” Luke Loucks said. “And I think the Christmas break, when you don’t have school, you just have more hours in the day. We’ve used those hours very strategically to put our guys in positions where they have to come together. They have to get to know each other. They have to look each other in the eyes. We’ve done a couple different, let’s call them sessions, where it has nothing to do with basketball and everything to do with building comradery and team spirit. I think they’ve taken that and run with it.”

Now sitting at 7-6, Florida State has shown improvement and dominated its last two games. Those were both Q4 opponents, though. Taking on teams with a bit more talent has proven to be more difficult. The Seminoles are 0-6 against Q1, Q2, and Q3 teams.

“Most teams over this break either splinter or come together. There’s very few teams that will stay neutral in these couple of weeks. So, it’s good to see. That off the court connectivity always helps on the court results. Certainly, we didn’t play a perfect game, but I think anyone with eyes and possibly Stevie Wonder could see that we’re playing better together. We’re playing team ball right now, which is what we need. We’re still making mistakes. Still missing open shots, which is frustrating. But the ability to move onto the next play and put the guy next to you in front of your own ambitions, to me, shows progress in a really positive way,” Loucks said. “Especially at the stage we’re at in the season where we just lost five tough games in a row and this team easily could have splintered and gone in the wrong direction.”

ACC play is just around the corner now for Florida State. There, Loucks’ team is going to continue to be tested by some of the most talented teams in the country. Regardless of how those games turn out, Loucks believes his team will continue to play hard.

“But credit to our guys in the locker room and credit to our coaching staff,” Loucks said. “Especially the college coaches, but across the board, our coaching staff has been incredible, telling the guys and helping me just paint this picture. We’re not quitting on this team. There will be zero quit in that locker room. There will be zero quit on our staff because we’re trying to build a foundation for what Florida State basketball is. This group and this roster has a big part in building that foundation.”

Florida State’s next two opponents are both Q1 opponents. On December 30th, the Seminoles will take on North Carolina in Chapel Hill. After that, they’re set to host Duke.