The NBA Summer League is rolling in Las Vegas, and six former Florida State players are among the names trying to turn a strong showing into something more permanent. For the next 10 days, draft picks, G-League players and second-year veterans will be fighting for attention, rhythm and, in the best-case scenario, a roster spot.
Darin Green Jr. is with the Dallas Mavericks after spending two seasons at Florida State under Leonard Hamilton. Green built his college reputation as one of the program’s most reliable perimeter threats, appearing in 64 games and leaving his mark in the school’s 3-point record book with the seventh- and ninth-most made threes in school history.
He scored in double figures in 19 of his final 32 games as a Seminole and finished with 11.3 points per game. He also played internationally in Israel.
Chauncey Wiggins, now with the Boston Celtics, was one of Florida State’s most durable players. The 6-foot-10 forward appeared in 105 games for the Seminoles and brought a veteran presence to the roster.
Last season, he knocked down 85 3-pointers while averaging 13.3 points per game. One of his biggest outings came against SMU, when he scored 31 points, hit six 3-pointers and logged 37 minutes.
He also shot 85 percent from the free throw line.
Rob McCray V is in the Los Angeles Lakers’ Summer League mix after showing real versatility at Florida State. He handled both guard spots for the Seminoles and emerged as the team’s leading scorer last season, putting up 16 points per game on the way to third-team All-ACC honors.
Lajae Jones, who is with the Golden State Warriors, gave Florida State a steady scoring punch in the 2025-26 season with 12.7 points per game. He was especially productive in the ACC tournament, averaging 21 points across two games against the Cal Bears and the Duke Blue Devils. His top all-around performance came against Georgia Southern, where he delivered 36 points, 13 rebounds, three blocks, four steals and three assists.
John Butler Jr. is representing the Milwaukee Bucks after a brief but notable run at Florida State in the 2021-22 season. In his lone year with the Seminoles, he averaged five points, three rebounds and one block per game.
After that freshman season, he announced he would turn pro. Last season, he played for the Wisconsin Herd, Milwaukee’s G-League affiliate.
Jamir Watkins, now with the Washington Wizards, was one of Florida State’s top producers in 2024-25. He averaged 17 points per game and earned second-team All-ACC recognition. In 2025, he had a season-high 30 points against Rice and grabbed a season-best 11 rebounds against Syracuse.
Each of these former Seminoles arrives in Summer League with a different résumé, but the same goal: make enough noise in Vegas to stay in the conversation when October arrives.
In Other News...
Mike Norvell Pressure At Florida State Just Hit A New Level
Mike Norvells run at Florida State still carries the memory of 2023, when he guided the Seminoles to a 13-1 record and an ACC championship, but that success now feels increasingly distant. The conversation around the program has shifted hard in the other direction, with the Seminoles recent slide putting a very different kind of spotlight on the coach who once looked like he had the whole thing pointed back up.
Florida States on-field struggles have been paired with recruiting concerns that only add to the unease, as the 2027 class sits at No. 59 nationally and does not yet look like the kind of group that can quickly reset the trajectory. Even among ACC coaches, Norvell is being viewed through a harsher lens now, and the longer the results lag behind the standard he set, the harder it becomes to ignore the pressure building around him. [Read more 🡒]
Can FSU Finally Trust Its Linebackers In Year Two Under Norvell
Florida States linebacker room looks a lot different heading into the second year of the 3-3-5, and that is by design. The Seminoles have turned to transfers Ernie Sims, Chris Jones and Mikai Gbayor while also keeping a core that includes Blake Nichelson, Omar Graham Jr., Caleb LaVallee and AJ Cottrill, with freshman Izayia Williams adding another layer of competition. After a season of shuffling and uneven play at the position, the hope is that a cleaner fit in the scheme and a deeper group will finally give the defense more stability in the middle.
Jones arrives with a strong track record from Southern Miss, while Gbayor brings familiarity with Tony White after previous stops and a productive year at Nebraska. LaVallees return from a leg injury should matter too, because Florida State needs bodies it can trust, not just names on the depth chart. The bigger question is whether all of those pieces can settle in quickly enough to make the linebacker spot a strength instead of a weekly concern, especially with so much riding on how the new-look group handles the demands of year two. [Read more 🡒]
Florida State Just Hit A Familiar Roadblock With Elite In State QB
Florida State is back in the familiar position of trying to hold its ground with an in-state quarterback who has plenty of options. Hudson West, a 2028 target for the Seminoles, is drawing interest from Florida, North Carolina and Georgia Tech, and his recruitment already has the feel of a long one. For a program that still sells itself on staying home and winning big in Florida, landing a player like West would matter well beyond one class.
West has made relationships a major part of his decision-making, which gives Florida State a clear opening if it can keep building trust over time. The challenge is obvious, though: Mike Norvells uncertain tenure and the programs recent struggles to consistently secure top in-state talent hang over this pursuit, and those are the kinds of questions that can linger deep into a quarterback recruitment. [Read more 🡒]