TALLAHASSEE – It is well known in college basketball circles that once a first-year player gets to March and the uncontrolled excitement of postseason tournaments begin, that player is no longer a freshman. Thye’ve been through every emotion, played in tight games in incredible environments, learned how to travel to different cities and play in front of knowledgeable fans, hit the proverbial wall and bounced back even stronger, and battled opponents they could only dream about playing against less than a year ago.

That’s exactly the path that Florida State’s Alier Maluk and Christian Nitu have followed.

Both players arrived on campus last summer and had to find their classroom buildings even before they could look for the practice courts at the Basketball Training Center on the Florida State campus. Once they learned how to navigate the spacious campus, summer workouts began. Then came the first game against Northern Kentucky on November 4 which was followed by a road trip to play Temple and UMass in Connecticut. As the college basketball season hit the gas conference play began – 20 games of ‘be at your best at all times basketball’ in the toughest arenas in America.

Maluk and Nitu have flourished and will take the court as integral players in Florida State’s rotation during the Seminoles’ final home game of the season on Saturday.

While the Seminoles’ game against SMU will honor head coach Leonard Hamilton as he leads Florida State in the final home game of his career and four seniors – Bostyn Holt, Jesse Jones, Jason Simpson, and Jamir Watkins – for their career achievements, many eyes will be on Maluk and Nitu who are at the very beginning of the collegiate careers.

Saturday’s game against Mustangs is set to tip-off at 4:00 p.m. and will be televised on ESPNU.

“Alier and Christian are prime examples of how our system at Florida State has worked since we arrived in 2002,” said Hamilton, who leaves the Seminole program as the winningest coach in school history. “Both players came in as freshmen, worked hard to learn our system, and are now important parts of our rotation. Our system has worked that way for years; it’s how we’ve won championships and advanced deep into the NCAA Tournament during our time at Florida State.”

Maluk and Nitu illustrated how much they have learned and how far they have both come in Florida State’s game at Virginia on March 4.

The pair played a combined total of 39 minutes, scored 16 points, pulled down seven rebounds, and combined for one steal and one blocked shot. They made eight of nine shots from the floor and were both on the floor together late in the game against the Cavaliers.

Maluk, who has been a member of the Seminoles’ starting five in the past two games against Duke and Virginia, has scored 21 points in his last four games as compared to 59 total points in the first 25 games of the season. During the last four games, he is shooting .818 percent from the field and .750 from the free throw line – statistics that are well above his numbers for the first 25 games of his career.

“My teammates have supported me throughout the whole process,” said Maluk. “I’m focused on gaining strength throughout my body and learning to use my left hand to my advantage.”

While Maluk’s statistics have been steady throughout his first-year experience, his game began to take off when the calendar turned to February. At that time, he had played in 21 games (including nine ACC games ) and scored five or more points four times with six points coming in victories over Tarleton State and Hofstra. His defense  was also steady as he was among the team leaders in rebounds and blocked shots.

“it was right around our game against Boston College that I started to understand how to time my movements,” said Maluk.

Nitu followed a similar path to his current role in the Seminoles’ rotation.

The Canadian has played in 22 of the Seminoles’ 30 games and has realized an upswing in all of his statistical numbers in recent games. He’s averaging 4.0 points and 2.87 rebounds while shooting .667 percent from the field in the last three games. Nitu has played an average of 12.7 minutes per game in the last three games against North Carolina, Duke and Virginia, as compared to 6.0 minutes played in the first 22 games of his career.

He was a perfect four of four from the field and scored eight points in Florida State’s game against Virginia.

Nitu learned quickly that the Florida State system works if you follow process and listen to the coaching staff and the older, more experienced members of the team.

“I’ve focused a lot on staying disciplined with my routine,” said Nitu. “Mentally, I watch a ton of film, not just on our opponents but also on myself to see where I can improve. Physically, I make sure I’m consistent in the weightroom and prioritize recovery. I knew coming in as a freshman, I’d need to earn every minute, so I just tried to stay ready and trust the process.”

It was at the beginning of February that everything seemed to click for Nitu.

“There was this one practice where we were running a scrimmage, and I made a couple of big plays back-to-back,” said Nitu. “I hit a tough shot and then got a stop on defense. The coaches were fired up, and my teammates were hyped too. That was a moment where I felt, ‘Yeah, I can do this.’ That was the moment that really boosted my confidence.”

As Nitu continues to work on improving his defensive abilities and his decision making, he has learned that every possession matters and that he wants to be a difference maker on each trip up the court.

 

“I want to make sure I’m not a liability on defense and that I’m making smart plays that help the team,” said Nitu. “The coaching staff has emphasized the importance of consistency, so that’s been a big part of my focus too.”

 

Maluk and Nitu – two players who are no longer freshmen.