Florida State men’s basketball landed a big-time transfer recruit.
Georgetown transfer guard Primo Spears was on an official visit in Tallahassee from Thursday to Saturday and he announced his commitment to the Seminoles on Saturday evening on Instagram Live.
Spears, who is listed at 6-foot-3, 185-pounds, was coming off a visit from Kanas last week and also had Arkansas and TCU as finalists.
The newest FSU men’s basketball assistant coach Kevin Nickelberry coached Spears at Georgetown, which likely played a factor in his recruitment.
Spears left Georgetown after head coach Patrick Ewing was fired.
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According to 247Sports transfer rankings, Spears is ranked No. 93 and has a grade of 90, placing him as a four-star recruit in the portal.
He’ll have two years of eligibility left but will need a waiver to play during the 2023-24 season as he transferred already once from Duquesne to Georgetown.
Spears averaged 16 points, 5.3 assists, 3.0 rebounds, and 1.1 steals per game during the 2022-23 season, his lone one with the Hoyas, starting and appearing in all 32 games. He wasn’t overly efficient from the field, shooting 40.8% and 30% from 3-point range, but he averaged 37.2 minutes per game.
In 2021-22 with the Dukes, he averaged 12.7 points per game as a freshman, starting in 30 of the 32 games and playing 32.2 minutes per game.
Spears attended Mt. Zion Prep in Lanham, Maryland.
What it means
FSU head coach Leonard Hamilton indicated that he was expecting a roster overhaul following the worst season in FSU program history, which included 23 losses and just nine wins.
Now the 2023-24 roster is coming into more focus. Forward Baba Miller announced earlier this month he intends to return to the Seminoles for his sophomore season.
Story continues
The Seminoles announced the additions of La Salle guard Josh Nickelberry and VCU forward Jamir Watkins through the transfer portal on April 19.
Center Naheem McLeod, as well as guards Caleb Mills, Matthew Cleveland and Jeremiah Bembry are FSU players who have left the program via the portal. Mills has since committed to head coach Penny Hardaway at Memphis.
Cleveland and Mills were two of the leading scorers for the Seminoles.
If Spears is granted his waiver, which has a decent chance of being cleared due to him leaving after a coaching firing, he would likely step into a role of being expected to be the leading scorer.
Guard Darin Green Jr. is also expected back and averaged 13.4 points, 2.9 rebounds and two assists per game.
Reach Ehsan Kassim at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter at @Ehsan_Kassim. You can also follow our coverage on Facebook (NoleSports) and Instagram (tlhnolesports).
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This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: FSU men’s basketball: Primo Spears commits to Seminoles from Hoyas
