Florida State University Athletics
Tuesday, January 13
Syracuse, NY
9:00 PM
Florida State
at
Syracuse
Bassong, Seminoles Travel To Play At Syracuse Tuesday Night
1/12/2026 9:43:00 AM | Men's Basketball
SYRACUSE, N.Y. – Travailleur acharné.
It's a French term referring to a relentlessly hard-working player and it's a perfect two-word description for Florida State's Thomas (Toh-Ma) Bassong.
With his career-high of 14 points to go along with two steals in 21 minutes of playing time against NC State on Saturday at the Donald L. Tucker Center, Bassong is quickly gaining the reputation as one of the Seminoles' hardest working players.
The Paris, France native will help lead the Seminoles into one of the toughest environments in college basketball (the JMA Wireless Dome) against one of the traditional powerhouses in college basketball (Syracuse) on Tuesday at 9:00 p.m. The game can be seen on the ACC Network with Anish Schroff and Terrence Oglesby on the call from central New York. Jeff Culhane and Jacob Ridenhour will have the radio call on the Seminole Sports Network.
"I take pride in doing the gritty work," said Bassong. "Doing the little things that give an energy boost to the team and to myself are very important. When I play hard and do the gritty work it doesn't really matter to me how many points or stats I put up. I just know that I have done my best."
Bassong's best efforts have come recently as the Seminoles have begun ACC play. Another test awaits the Seminoles as they face an Orange team that is ranked among the ACC leaders in blocked shots (first, 6.7 bpg), scoring defense (second, 65.7 points allowed per game), and field goal percentage defense (defense, .399).
Bassong led Florida State with 14 points against NC State on Saturday in Tallahassee. It marked the first time he has led the Seminoles in scoring and marked the second time a freshman has led Florida State in scoring this season. Bassong became the first Seminole to lead the team in scoring in an ACC game since Daquan Davis totaled 18 against Syracuse on January 4, 2025.
He has scored in double-figures in three of his last five games (37 total points) and is averaging 7.4 points scored per game since scoring 10 points in consecutive games against Mississippi Valley State (December 19) and Jacksonville (December 22). During that stretch of games, he shot .650 from the field (13 of 20) and made his Florida State high of five field goals against NC State.
Florida State's head coach Luke Loucks has certainly noticed Bassong's effort and improvement since his arrival in Tallahassee in early August after playing for his home country of France in FIBA U-19 World Cup in Switzerland during the summer of 2025.
"A lone bright spot to me was Thomas Bassong tonight," said Loucks following the Seminoles' game against NC State. "We were already planning on playing him a little more; he's had some really good practices. Thomas had the right energy and the most consistent spirit in terms of wanting to be there and wanting to play in the basketball game today."
One area where Bassong's hard work has provided results has been from the free throw line.
In scoring his career-high of 14 points against the Wolfpack, Bassong has now made more free throws in his last four games than he did in the first 12 games of his Florida State career. Bassong has made nine of his last 12 free throws in his last four games and has made at least one free throw in nine of the first 16 games of his career.
He made four free throws and scored 10 points in Florida State's victory over Jacksonville (December 22) and made four of five attempts in reaching his career-high for points scored against NC State.
Bassong has also seen an increase in his points per game average.
Bassong has scored in double figures three times in the last five games after not reaching double figures in scoring in any of his first 11 games. His previous career-high for scoring was eight points in the first two games of his career against Alcorn State and Alabama State. Bassong scored 10 points in Florida State's back-to-back victories over Mississippi Valley State and Jacksonville.
"My feel and understanding for the game have grown the most for me," said Bassong. "I'm feeling way more comfortable now. I know when to attack and when to pass."
Loucks and his coaching staff have watched the beginning of Bassong's maturation process since his arrival.
"There's going to be some growing pains for Thomas as well as Cam (Miles)," said Loucks. "Those two guys are freshmen who are playing real minutes in the ACC. Other teams that we are going against have McDonald's All-Americans that are playing less than our two freshmen. We are going to have to live with some growing pains."
While Bassong continues to find his way at Florida State and in the ACC, Loucks will continue to believe in his first-year forward.
"The biggest thing that Thomas brings to the table is that he plays with a ton of energy," said Loucks. "Sometimes that leads to mistakes. As long as he is playing with great energy, we've got to work through some of those mistakes as a freshman, hoping that as he develops those mistakes become less and less.
"Thomas gets on the court and is going to give you everything that he has. He's going to be an unbelievable player. He's about the right things, he's coachable, he'll look you in the eye when he makes a mistake. He's just getting to the point where he is starting to understand the game which can be scary. With his energy and body type, when he starts to understand basketball, he's going to be a very good player for a long time."
As Bassong continues to learn the game of basketball under the tutelage of the Florida State coaching staff he is looking for a long-term education both in the classroom and the basketball court.
"I want to be one of those players that starts the legacy of Florida State," said Bassong. "When fans are talking about the ACC, they automatically think about North Carolina and Duke. When I'll graduate or go the league, I want people talk about Florida State. I want to be part of that and to be a leader of this new era."
And as Bassong carves out his place at Florida State, he does it the only way he knows: avec une grit acharnée, en construisant sa legacy jour après jour.
It's a French term referring to a relentlessly hard-working player and it's a perfect two-word description for Florida State's Thomas (Toh-Ma) Bassong.
With his career-high of 14 points to go along with two steals in 21 minutes of playing time against NC State on Saturday at the Donald L. Tucker Center, Bassong is quickly gaining the reputation as one of the Seminoles' hardest working players.
The Paris, France native will help lead the Seminoles into one of the toughest environments in college basketball (the JMA Wireless Dome) against one of the traditional powerhouses in college basketball (Syracuse) on Tuesday at 9:00 p.m. The game can be seen on the ACC Network with Anish Schroff and Terrence Oglesby on the call from central New York. Jeff Culhane and Jacob Ridenhour will have the radio call on the Seminole Sports Network.
"I take pride in doing the gritty work," said Bassong. "Doing the little things that give an energy boost to the team and to myself are very important. When I play hard and do the gritty work it doesn't really matter to me how many points or stats I put up. I just know that I have done my best."
Bassong's best efforts have come recently as the Seminoles have begun ACC play. Another test awaits the Seminoles as they face an Orange team that is ranked among the ACC leaders in blocked shots (first, 6.7 bpg), scoring defense (second, 65.7 points allowed per game), and field goal percentage defense (defense, .399).
Bassong led Florida State with 14 points against NC State on Saturday in Tallahassee. It marked the first time he has led the Seminoles in scoring and marked the second time a freshman has led Florida State in scoring this season. Bassong became the first Seminole to lead the team in scoring in an ACC game since Daquan Davis totaled 18 against Syracuse on January 4, 2025.
He has scored in double-figures in three of his last five games (37 total points) and is averaging 7.4 points scored per game since scoring 10 points in consecutive games against Mississippi Valley State (December 19) and Jacksonville (December 22). During that stretch of games, he shot .650 from the field (13 of 20) and made his Florida State high of five field goals against NC State.
Florida State's head coach Luke Loucks has certainly noticed Bassong's effort and improvement since his arrival in Tallahassee in early August after playing for his home country of France in FIBA U-19 World Cup in Switzerland during the summer of 2025.
"A lone bright spot to me was Thomas Bassong tonight," said Loucks following the Seminoles' game against NC State. "We were already planning on playing him a little more; he's had some really good practices. Thomas had the right energy and the most consistent spirit in terms of wanting to be there and wanting to play in the basketball game today."
One area where Bassong's hard work has provided results has been from the free throw line.
In scoring his career-high of 14 points against the Wolfpack, Bassong has now made more free throws in his last four games than he did in the first 12 games of his Florida State career. Bassong has made nine of his last 12 free throws in his last four games and has made at least one free throw in nine of the first 16 games of his career.
He made four free throws and scored 10 points in Florida State's victory over Jacksonville (December 22) and made four of five attempts in reaching his career-high for points scored against NC State.
Bassong has also seen an increase in his points per game average.
Bassong has scored in double figures three times in the last five games after not reaching double figures in scoring in any of his first 11 games. His previous career-high for scoring was eight points in the first two games of his career against Alcorn State and Alabama State. Bassong scored 10 points in Florida State's back-to-back victories over Mississippi Valley State and Jacksonville.
"My feel and understanding for the game have grown the most for me," said Bassong. "I'm feeling way more comfortable now. I know when to attack and when to pass."
Loucks and his coaching staff have watched the beginning of Bassong's maturation process since his arrival.
"There's going to be some growing pains for Thomas as well as Cam (Miles)," said Loucks. "Those two guys are freshmen who are playing real minutes in the ACC. Other teams that we are going against have McDonald's All-Americans that are playing less than our two freshmen. We are going to have to live with some growing pains."
While Bassong continues to find his way at Florida State and in the ACC, Loucks will continue to believe in his first-year forward.
"The biggest thing that Thomas brings to the table is that he plays with a ton of energy," said Loucks. "Sometimes that leads to mistakes. As long as he is playing with great energy, we've got to work through some of those mistakes as a freshman, hoping that as he develops those mistakes become less and less.
"Thomas gets on the court and is going to give you everything that he has. He's going to be an unbelievable player. He's about the right things, he's coachable, he'll look you in the eye when he makes a mistake. He's just getting to the point where he is starting to understand the game which can be scary. With his energy and body type, when he starts to understand basketball, he's going to be a very good player for a long time."
As Bassong continues to learn the game of basketball under the tutelage of the Florida State coaching staff he is looking for a long-term education both in the classroom and the basketball court.
"I want to be one of those players that starts the legacy of Florida State," said Bassong. "When fans are talking about the ACC, they automatically think about North Carolina and Duke. When I'll graduate or go the league, I want people talk about Florida State. I want to be part of that and to be a leader of this new era."
And as Bassong carves out his place at Florida State, he does it the only way he knows: avec une grit acharnée, en construisant sa legacy jour après jour.
Players Mentioned
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