The NEXT: Name To Know In College Hoops

Meet Florida State's Toney Douglas

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Douglas takes it to the rack against Cal.

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Toney Douglas' name might seem like a weird combo of James Toney and Buster Douglas, which is somewhat appropriate because the Florida State senior has quick hands and a sneaky knock-out punch. After a season-high 32-point explosion in a close loss to North Carolina on Wednesday, Douglas sits atop the ACC scoring chart with a 24.5 ppg average; several slots above some of the conference's marquee names.

(While we wouldn't necessarily put Douglas on the first-team All-ACC list by any means, last night Dick Vitale and Mike Patrick rattled off some predictable names for the squad: Tyler Hansbrough, Jeff Teague, Gerald Henderson and even Tyrese Rice. If FSU makes a Tourney run, we'd say Douglas might have to be thrown up there.)

The 6'2" Georgia native ( his brother Harry was a star receiver for Louisville) began his college career in the SEC, where he committed to play for then-coach Cliff Ellis. A regime change came before he ever laced up his sneakers for the Tigers but he honored his initial commitment, becoming a third-team All-America under Jeff Lebo. At the end of the '05 season, Douglas dipped a toe in NBA draft waters and found them chilly, but rather than return to Auburn, he sought warmer waters in Tallahassee.

While sitting out his transfer year, Douglas must have read up on Seminole legends of the past, because he emerged as an all-league defensive player in the mold of Charlie Ward and Sam Cassell. He became the first FSU player since those two luminaries to lead the ACC in steals, swiping 90 last season for a 2.6 spg average. He's keeping up the pace in his senior season, having already tapped away 43 steals.

He'll need those quick hands and his scoring touch if the Seminoles are to gain any traction in the conference standings. The Noles have some winnable weekday home games, but will spend most of their Saturdays on the road as they travel to Clemson on 2/7, Wake Forest seven days later, and then roll into Blacksburg to face the unpredictable Hokies on the 21st of February.

The garnet and gold will need to win at least one of those if they hope to climb out of the ACC's soft middle and into the NCAA Tourney picture.

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