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Despite Loss, Season A Success For Douglas, FSU

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By COREY CLARK

The Tallahassee Democrat

Published: March 22, 2009

BOISE, Idaho - He didn't know it at the time, of course, but when Toney Douglas missed on a 3-point attempt in the final seconds of Florida State's first-round NCAA Tournament game Friday night, it would be the last shot he would take in a Seminoles uniform.

Wisconsin's Trevon Hughes came down on the other end and made a game-winning layup, while being fouled by Douglas, to give the 12th-seeded Badgers a 61-59 overtime win vs. No. 5 seed FSU.

"It doesn't seem real," Douglas said after the game Friday night.

Looking back, and it was too early for him to have any perspective after the gut-wrenching loss to the Badgers, the season Douglas put together in 2008-09 seems pretty unreal as well.

His 26 points against Wisconsin gave him 751 for the season, breaking the single-season school record of Jim Oler (743) that was set 53 years ago.

He finished with a 21.5 points-per-game average, which was the highest for a Florida State player since Tharon Mayes averaged 23.3 during the 1989-90 season.

His 239 made field goals are sixth on the school's all-time list and his 89 made 3-pointers were the third-highest total in the history of the program.

But the number that really stands out to FSU coach Leonard Hamilton is 25 - the number of wins Douglas led the Seminoles to in a season that got the program back to the NCAA Tournament for the first time in 11 years.

"He was instrumental in having one of the best seasons in the history of the school - going 25-10 and playing in the ACC championship game," Hamilton said.

Asked after the game if he could appreciate what he and his teammates accomplished in the 2009 season - the most wins for a Florida State team in 16 years, the first appearance in the ACC championship game, the return trip to the NCAAs - Douglas wasn't exactly in a pat-on-the-back type mood.

"No, not really," he said, shaking his head. "We had the game. We can't blame anyone but ourselves."

Once the pain of the last-second loss wears off, Douglas will come to realize just how special his senior season was. He'll remember the comeback win at Clemson, the game-winner at Virginia Tech, the 80 points he scored in the ACC Tournament and the fact that he actually finished his college career in the NCAA Tournament instead of the NIT.

But even if he never comes to fully appreciate his accomplishments in garnet and gold, his head coach certainly will.

"Most people will remember the clutch shots he made and his defensive effort - making all-conference, being the Defensive Player of the Year and almost a unanimous pick," Hamilton said. "That's what's going to be on everyone's mind.

"But what I'll think about Toney is all those mornings I came in and he was out there shooting 500 or 600 shots at 8 in the morning ... his dedication and how he tried to involve his teammates. All of those kinds of things that really demonstrate true character. His love for this university and this basketball team will be something that resonates in my mind as much as the statistical accomplishments."

It will resonate for quite a while.

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