Florida State Seminoles guard Anthony Polite to declare for 2022 NBA draft

Florida State Seminoles guard Anthony Polite will be declaring for the 2022 NBA draft, he told Jon Rothstein of CBS Sports on Tuesday. Polite would still have an extra year of eligibility remaining but will be forgoing it in favor of the professional ranks.

Joining the program during the 2017 season, Polite was classified as a redshirt senior this year. Thanks to the COVID-19 eligibility rules, the guard could have returned to Tallahassee for an additional run with head coach Leonard Hamilton.

Instead, Polite will be leaving off the backs of averaging 9.9 points per game in 24 games. He shot 42.9% from the field and just over 32% from the three-point line. Polite was the third-leading scorer for the Seminoles this season as the team finished with a 10-10 record in ACC play.

While the guard was not able to win any individual awards while in school, he was a member of the 2020 ACC regular championship team. COVID-19 ended up canceling the conference tournament and eventually, the NCAA Tournament before the Seminoles could prove how far they were going to go in the postseason.

Polite played his best season as a redshirt junior, averaging double figures in the scoring department with 10.1 points per game. Splitting time as a starter and coming off the bench for Hamilton, the guard was one of the best shooters on the team in 2020-2021, making 50% of his shots. He scored 22 points against the Colorado Buffaloes in the NCAA Tournament Round of 32, as the Seminoles made the Sweet Sixteen that season.

Now, Polite will be testing the NBA waters, with the hope of getting drafted. A Seminoles player has been selected in five out of the last six drafts, including three in a row. Three players were taken during the 2021 draft, tied for the most in program history. Polite will be hoping to be the next Florida State guy whose name is called at the podium.

Polite was a three-star prospect according to the On3 Consensus, a complete and equally weighted industry-generated average that utilizes all four major recruiting services. Coming out of St Andrew’s School in Boca Raton, FL, Polite was the No. 36 shooting guard in the country and No. 15 player in the state of Florida. Programs such as the Memphis Tigers, Miami Hurricanes, Texas Tech Red Raiders, and Pittsburgh Panthers were on the offer sheet before Florida State eventually won out.