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Malique Ewin injury update: Leonard Hamilton offers initial diagnosis on Florida State forward

Barkley-Truaxby:Barkley Truax•about 19 hours•

BarkleyTruax

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Florida State Seminoles forward Malique Ewin (12) dunks against the Miami Hurricanes at Watsco Center. (Sam Navarro-Imagn Images)

During the second-half of Florida State‘s 96-85 loss to North Carolina on Monday night, Seminoles big man Malique Ewin suffered what appeared to be an ankle or lower leg injury. He tried to return for a brief moment, but was ultimately held out for the remainder of the game..

After the game, Florida State head coach Leonard Hamilton updated the status of the 6-foot-11 junior, including the next expected steps for Ewin on his road to recovery.

“He didn’t turn his ankle. I can’t give you a real assessment. Some soreness in his foot, so I’m sure they’ll have an MRI and I’ll know more tomorrow,” Hamilton said. “He tried to go back in. He thought he could play but obviously, when he started running up and down the court and he felt some pain. We didn’t need to have him out there playing in pain. But he came out there, which I thought was good.”

Ewin averages 14.4 points and leads the team with 8.0 rebounds for Florida State this season. He’s started in all 27 of the matchups he’s appeared in for the Seminoles to this point.

He began his career at Ole Miss in 2022, but saw action in just 14 games before opting to go the JUCO route as a sophomore. Ewin quickly became a top player at his level, leading to his commitment to Florida State for the 2024-25 season and has been an important piece to Florida State’s efforts.

However, Ewin scored just four points on 2 of 3 shooting Monday night before leaving the game with injury.

“In those situations, someone has to step up,” Hamilton said.

Without him, it was Jamir Watkins who made the greatest impact for FSU. Scoring 26 points, he was one of two Florida State players to score in double figures during the losing effort. Sophomore forward Jerry Deng came off the bench to score 16 points against the Tar Heels — a season high for the Hampton transfer.

The loss drops Florida State to 16-12 overall ahead of this weekend’s road trip to No. 2 Duke to play the Blue Devils on Saturday night. Whether Ewin is available for the ACC showdown remains to be seen, but will likely be updated throughout the week.

Tip-off between the Seminoles and Blue Devils is set for March 1 at 7 p.m. ET and will air live on the ACC Network.