2003 Top 50 List: No
Dan Collins List: No
Bob Sura’s freshman year was Florida State’s first year in the ACC. They had been a pretty good program in the old Metro conference, but nobody expected much from them coming into the big, bad ACC. The schedule didn’t do them any favors; their first ACC game was in Chapel Hill against fifth-ranked UNC, and to make matters worse, FSU was shorthanded, with Douglas Edwards suspended. No problem. All they did was breeze in and dominate the Tar Heels in the game that drew the infamous “wine-and-cheese crowd” comment from Sam Cassell. Sura fit into that team perfectly. He had that Eminem swagger right from the start. He had a tremendous year and was voted Rookie of the Year over James Forrest of Georgia Tech.
In 1993, everyone was back, and expectations were high. The Seminoles didn’t disappoint, finishing 12-4 in the ACC and making a run to the Elite Eight, where they were destroyed by Jamal Mashburn and Kentucky. You could see that kind of beatdown coming; they were one of those teams that tried to outscore you, and that only takes you so far, but it sure was fun to watch. Sura, Edwards, and Cassell were all great, and all three made second team All-ACC.
That was the end of the glory days for the Pat Kennedy Seminoles. The next year, Edwards and Cassell were gone, and the Seminoles fell all the way to 6-10 in the ACC. But individually, Sura had a tremendous year as the focal point of the offense. He was the third-leading vote getter behind Grant Hill and Randolph Childress for first team All-ACC. In 1995, Sura’s scoring and FG% were down a bit. You get the sense that the roster had been thinned out so much at that point that defenses were really able to key on him. It was also the year of Stackhouse/Duncan/Smith/Wallace, and Sura found himself back on second team All-ACC. He went on to have a fine NBA career.
Since 1993, there have been only 4 seasons in which an ACC player averaged 15+ points, 5+ rebounds, and 5+ assists. Greivis Vasquez did it twice, in 2008 and 2009; Grant Hill did it in 1994; and Sura in 1995.
Sura, Julius Hodge, and Danny Ferry are the only ACC players with 2000 points, 700 rebounds, and 400 assists.
All-Time ACC Seven-Letter Name Team:
Random fact: there have been 64 players in ACC history who played 4,000+ career minutes. Sura (and Duane Ferrell) had 3,999.
Lol at the 7-letter name team. Seems like something straight out of the old Barry Jacobs Fan Guide. (That’s a compliment)