FSU’s Douglas on stretch drive
Florida State’s Toney Douglas didn’t like hot weather or getting roughed up by his older brother when growing up in suburban Atlanta, so he decided to play indoors.
The older sibling, Harry Douglas, went on to star in football at Louisville and is now with the NFL’s Atlanta Falcons.
Toney Douglas, who is 18 months younger, gave up football after his freshman year in high school and a promising baseball career for his first passion: Basketball.
“I like a lot of action,” Douglas said during a rubdown in the Florida State training room. “That’s why I fell in love with it.”
Douglas, who may not be well known outside the southeastern United States, is feared by Atlantic Coast Conference opponents and coaches as he leads the No. 22-ranked Seminoles into a Friday quarterfinal game against the winner of the Clemson-Georgia Tech game.
“A total player,” said Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski, who described the Seminole senior as one of the top ACC players in recent years.
“He impacts every possession of every game,” Krzyzewski said. “He has an impact on every play in the game because he defends the ball better than anybody. And he can handle it and shoot it.”
Especially in the second half when Douglas has averaged 15.2 points in ACC play in the final 20 minutes of each game, scorching North Carolina for 25 in the final half.
Douglas led the league in scoring in conference games, averaging 23.1 points, scoring 20 or more points in 13 of 16 ACC contests.
“He lets the game come to him, and then he takes over” said Oliver Purnell, who watched Douglas lead the Seminoles to a pair of regular season wins over his 17th-ranked Clemson team.
In Tallahassee they call it TDT, Toney Douglas Time.
It’s something Douglas has worked on since he was 3 years old, competing to keep up with his big brother.
“Harry always used to run into the house and say, ‘I beat Toney 130-40,'” the boys’ dad, Harry Douglas Sr. said. “Toney would run into the house right behind him crying and say, ‘dad, Harry’s cheating.’ I’d say, ‘Toney, he’s just trying to make you better.'”
Toney Douglas still recalls the first time he beat Harry in a best-of-five backyard game of 21.
“I was like 10 and Harry begged me not run into the house to tell mom and dad,” Douglas said.
Douglas’ parents always had the boys on the same teams, pitting Toney against other kids at least two years older.
Douglas, who is halfway through a masters degree program in sports management, returned to Florida State as one of just two returning starters on a team otherwise comprised of a half dozen new players, including five freshmen.
With Florida State 23-8 and 10-6 in the ACC, there’s little doubt Douglas has achieved his goal, earning first-team all-conference honors as well as a member of the league’s top defensive five.