It's on to Starkville (FSU Basketball)

[Flats Rascal]

It’s on to Starkville
FSU to visit Mississippi State in NIT


The road to New York goes through Starkville, Miss.

Mississippi State’s 101-72 victory over Bradley today puts Florida State on the road for the quarterfinals in the NIT on Tuesday. The winner will advance to the semifinals at Madison Square Garden.

All-ACC senior forward Al Thornton, closing in on FSU’s single-season scoring record, has played his final game in Tallahassee. All-SEC guard Jamont Gordon will now try to keep him from reaching Manhattan.

Gordon had 20 points, 10 assists and six rebounds in the rout over No. 4 seed Bradley, which needed to advance to keep No. 2 seed FSU (22-12) home for the quarterfinals.

Gordon and center Charles Rhodes lead No. 1 seed Mississippi State (20-13), which finished 8-8 in the SEC and advanced to the semifinals in the league tournament. The Bulldogs are 15-3 at home this season.

Thornton is 69 points away from breaking Jim Oler’s single-season school record. Oler scored 742 points in only 25 games in 1955-56.

FSU and Mississippi State will meet for just the second time since 1955. The Seminoles took a 4-3 edge in the series with a victory at the Rainbow Classic on Dec. 29, 1998.

ESPN will broadcast the 7 p.m. game.

[Flats Rascal]

Thornton is 69 points away from breaking Jim Oler’s single-season school record. Oler scored 742 points in only 25 games in 1955-56.

JIMMY OLER

From 1952 through 1956, Jimmy Oler wrote basketball records at FSU that still stand. In his 91 games as a Seminole, Oler tallied 1820 points to become the school's all-time leader. In the 1955-56 campaign, Oler scored 743 points, still the best single-season in Seminole basketball annals. That same year Oler averaged 29.7 points a game, a mark no Seminole since has approached. He also captained the Tribe that season. Oler is holder of the FSU single-game record for free throws, made (22) and attempted (30). His 42 points vs. Morningside in 52-53 is FSU's fourth best single game performance.

After graduation, Jimmy Oler became a highly successful Florida junior college coach. Opponents who looked at the Indiana native in Garnet and Gold often said, "But he doesn't look like a basketball player." The next thing they knew he had driven by them to score two more for FSU.

1990 -- James Oler – Coach from Gulf Coast Community College (Panama City)

Jim Oler scored 1251 points and averaged 18 points per game in his high school career and averaged 25.5 points per game his senior season.

Jim Oler was an outstanding baseball player in high school with a 4-year batting average of .508 as a second baseman. He averaged 12 strikeouts a game for six inning games as a senior pitcher. He batted .500 in 3 seasons with local American Legion teams. He turned down an offer to sign with the St. Louis Cardinals.

Coach J.K. Kennedy used to scour the country roads of Indiana searching for small town basketball talent. That’s where he discovered Jim Oler and many others. He coached Jim Oler for all 4 years at FSU 1952 thru 1956. Oler averaged 29.7 points per game in his final season. He scored between 32 points and 42 points 12 times. Note that all Jim Oler’s scoring achievements were made before the NCAA sanctioned the 3-point shot....




1934-1989