'He broke our hoop on Day One' ... 7-foot freshman Marcis Ponder already making noise at FSU
He has only been on campus for a few weeks, but Florida State freshman center Marcis Ponder is already making noise.
During an appearance on the popular sports podcast, “Pardon My Take,” FSU men’s basketball coach Luke Loucks explained that the massive big man already yanked down a rim in his first summer workout.
“He broke our hoop on Day One,” Loucks said. “I walk in our practice facility, the hoop is sideways. Like, ‘What happened?’ Marcis’ first workout.”
According to Loucks, Ponder has measured in at 7-feet tall (with shoes) and 309 pounds. The Florida State head coach said they are working to get him down to 285.
“We’ve gotta chisel him up a little bit, but this kid is an animal, the way he works and his competitive nature,” Loucks said. “I think from Day One, he’s gonna be able to step in with a huge impact.”
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According to Rivals, Ponder is the 43rd-ranked player in the 2026 class and the seventh-best center. He was also the third-ranked player in Virginia.
Warchant previously reported that Ponder was likely to start at center as a freshman for the Seminoles. Loucks did not downplay the big man’s talents at all, but he did say he has to learn a thing or two.
“I told him, ‘We’ve gotta teach you how to dunk. You can’t be swinging on our hoops,'” Loucks said. “… He was in my office right before I flew out for this and I told him, ‘Mars, we’ve gotta teach you how to dunk like Shaq (Shaquille O’Neal). You know, he would do the swing, but those are just the highlights. He wasn’t doing that every time. … We need our rims.”
Loucks was in Chicago to share Florida State’s banner from the canceled 2020 NCAA Tournament. The Seminoles hung it for a period of time, but when the podcast hosts asked about it during an interview with former FSU golfer Brooks Koepka, Loucks offered to give it to the show.
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