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ON GIBSON: Based upon the awesome athletic and basketball skills he displayed during his first season as a Seminole, he is destined to become one of the top players to wear a Florida State uniform during the remaining three seasons of his career...displayed flashes of brilliance in 32 games played as a freshman and with continued hard work and improvement will continue to help the Seminoles become one of the top teams in the nation...blessed with the ability to score points in bunches and is one of the most per minute productive players on the Seminoles' roster...quite often during his freshman season it was a Gibson basket, steal or blocked shot that provided a winning difference for the Seminoles in a given game...one of the Seminoles top field goal shooters who finished his first season with a shooting percentage of nearly .530 percent to rank as one of two Seminoles who shot 50 percent or better from the field during the 2008-09 season...helped lead Florida State into the 2009 NCAA Tournament for the first time since the 1998 season and into the championship game of the 2009 ACC Tournament to mark the first time the Seminoles had advanced to play on championship Sunday at the ACC Tournament...helped Florida State to a 25-10 overall record and a 10-6 record in ACC play during his freshman season...the Seminoles' 25 wins ranks tied for the second most wins in a single season in school history while the 10-6 ACC mark ranks as the third most ACC wins in a single season for the Seminoles since joining the ACC for the 1991-92 season...ranked as the 12th best power forward in the nation and as the 43rd best overall prep prospect in the nation by Rivals.com as a prep senior...a standout in the Alabama vs. Mississippi All-Star game following his senior season with 11 points, 11 rebounds and two blocked shots in leading Alabama to a 101-99 victory over their counterparts from Mississippi...one of the top players in the Charm City Classic in Baltimore as he scored 11 points and pulled down seven rebounds as he played for the U.S. Team against a team of all-stars from Baltimore...shot five-of-seven (.714) from the field and blocked a game high six shots in the game...his six blocked shots established a new single-game record for the Charm City Classic...played with current Seminole teammate Luke Loucks in the game...earned All-Tournament team honors in the Charm City Classic...an All-Star at the Nike Camp following his freshman season of high school...saw his stock soar as a sophomore as Scout.com ranked him among the top five national prospects in his class...a star for the Georgia Blazers AAU team under head coach Tony Adams...earned the award as the Seminoles' Unsung Hero at the annual Seminole Basketball Honors Banquet at the conclusion of the 2008-09 season from the Florida State coaching staff.
AS A FRESHMAN (2009): Averaged 2.3 points (11th on the team), and 1.4 rebounds (eighth) while shooting .528 from the field (second) and blocking 11 shots in 32 games played during his freshman season...was a potent scorer despite playing limited minutes with his points coming in bunches and at very opportune times for the Seminoles...helped lead Florida State to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since the 1998 season and into the championship game of the ACC Tournament for the first time in school history...Florida State finished with a 25-6 record and a 10-6 mark in ACC play...the 25 wins are tied for the second most in school history while the 10 ACC wins rank as the third most in the Seminoles' ACC history...among the Seminoles' three true freshmen, Gibson played in the third highest total number of games (32) behind only Chris Singleton and Luke Loucks who played in all 35 games during the 2008-09 season for the Seminoles...scored his career-high of 11 points against Charleston Southern (Dec. 18) and scored his ACC career-high of six points at Miami (Jan. 21) and in the Seminoles' win at home against Clemson (Feb. 28)...scored two points in his Seminole debut in Florida State's victory on the road against Jacksonville (Nov. 15)...his first career basket came on a turnaround jumper at the 9:01 mark of the first half to give Florida State a 13-11 lead on its way to its 59-57 season-opening victory...the basket grew in importance as the game progressed as the Seminoles won the game by the margin of Gibson's first half basket...three points on three second half free throws as Florida State traveled to play at and won on the road in Philadelphia against La Salle (Nov. 18)...his free throws came during a very productive stretch of the second half and helped the Seminoles climb back into the game after trailing by as many as eight points to gain the 65-61 win...made two free throws at the 12:30 mark to close Florida State's deficit to three at 36-33 and once again closed the Seminoles' deficit to seven at the 11:26 mark as he made one of two shots from the free throw line...his three free throws came in a span of 1:04 and began a 34-25 game ending run over the course of the second half that saw the Seminoles take their winning lead of the game on a jumper by Jordan DeMercy with 28 seconds remaining in the win...displayed his scoring abilities early during his freshman season as he totaled his career-high of 11 points in the Seminoles' victory over Charleston Southern ...he was nearly perfect from the field (three of four) and from the free throw line (five of six) as he helped Florida State to the 71-48 victory over the Buccaneers...his 11 points ranked him second in scoring on the team (behind ACC All-Freshman selection Solomon Alabi's 16 points) and third in the game among high scorers...played his career-high of 17 minutes in the win over the Buccaneers...averaged 2.5 points and 2.0 rebounds in four games of the Global Sports Classic as the Seminoles won the championship of the event...averaged nearly eight minutes played per game in victories over Coastal Carolina (four minutes of play in Florida State's 82-70 victory), Western Illinois (three points and four rebounds in the Seminoles' 67-55 win), Cincinnati (four points and two rebounds in the Seminoles' 58-47 victory) and Cal (three points and two rebounds in the Seminoles' 80-77 championship game clinching victory over the Bears)...had two blocked shots in the event (one against Cincinnati and one against Cal) as Florida State blocked 17 shots in the four game event...his four points against Cincinnati came on one field goal each in the both halves and helped the Seminoles gain the win over the Big East Bearcats...three points against Cal proved to be the game-winning margin for the Seminoles in the 80-77 win over the Pac-10 Bears...scored on an old fashioned 3-point play with 6:59 left in the first half to bring the Seminoles within one at 17-16...his three-point play began a 17-6 half ending run that allowed Florida State to take a 32-23 (plus nine) halftime lead after trailing by as many as six in the first half...Florida State did not relinquish the lead during the second half and won by the margin of Gibson's three points...a key first half basket against Georgia State on the road helped Florida State to the 62-57 win over the Panthers in Atlanta (Dec. 13)...a lay-up gave Florida State a 26-19 lead at the 5:08 mark of the first half...his basket proved monumental as the Panthers cut the Seminoles lead to as little as one late in the second half before Florida State regained control of the game and gained the win...averaged 1.9 points and 0.9 rebounds and shot .533 from the field in 11 games against teams that played in the NCAA Tournament...averaged 1.9 points and 0.7 rebounds and shot .600 from the field in seven games against teams that played in the NIT...(vs. Boston College): scored zero points and pulled down zero rebounds against NCAA Tournament participant Boston College in the Seminoles' only game against the Eagles during the 2008-09 season...earned two minutes of play in the first half as the Seminoles fell on the road, 72-67, in Chestnut Hill (Feb. 24)...(vs. Clemson): averaged 4.0 points and 0.5 rebounds in two games against NCAA Tournament participant Clemson during the 2008-09 regular season...he was nearly perfect from the field (.800 percent) as he made four of five shots as Florida State earned two victories over the Tigers who were ranked in the nation's top 15 during both games...scored two points in five minutes of playing time in the Seminoles' monumental come-from-behind victory over the No. 10/10 ranked Tigers on the road in Clemson...the Seminoles trailed by as many as 19 points midway through the second half in recovering for the season-changing 65-61 win (Feb. 7)...a lay-up with 6:19 remaining in the game drew the Seminoles to within nine at 57-48...Florida State was on their way to cutting a 19-point deficit with 14:45 left to a four-point advantage at the conclusion of the game...Gibson's basket helped Florida State get as close on the scoreboard to the Tigers as they had been in the entire second half up to that point...with his basket making the score 57-48, the Seminoles outscored the Tigers17-4 from that point on to win the game...totaled an ACC career-high tying six points on a perfect three of three shooting from the field in the Seminoles 73-66 victory over Clemson in Tallahassee (Feb. 28)...all three field goals came in the first half of the win and helped Florida State extend its lead to where it eventually led 39-27 at the half...a pair of jumpers at the 3:43 and 2:11 marks pushed Florida State's lead to 13 at 33-20...once again his scoring output proved crucial as Clemson crept back in to the game and trailed by as little as three with 3:30 remaining in the contest...his six points came in six minutes of play for the stellar freshman...(vs. Duke): averaged 0.7 points and 0.7 rebounds in three games played against ACC Tournament champion and NCAA Tournament participant Duke...totaled zero points and rebounds as the Seminoles began their ACC schedule at home against the Blue Devils...Duke took a 66-58 win at the Donald L. Tucker Center in Tallahassee (Jan. 10)...scored one point in two minutes of playing time as the Seminoles traveled to play at Duke in Cameron Indoor Stadium...the Blue Devils recovered from a late deficit to take the 84-81 win (March 3)...made one of two free throws with four seconds remaining in the first half to give the Seminoles a 40-34 advantage at the break...scored one point in three minutes of play against the Blue Devils in the ACC Tournament championship game...the Blue Devils defeated Florida State, 79-69, to claim the league title (march 15)...the Seminoles were playing on Championship Sunday in the ACC Tournament for the first time in school history...made one of two free throws with 29 seconds left in the first half to bring Florida State to within 35-21...he also pulled down two rebounds in the championship game appearance for the Seminoles...(vs. Georgia Tech):averaged 2.0 points and 1.0 rebound in two games against Georgia Tech during the 2008-09 season...Florida State defeated the Yellow Jackets during the regular season in Tallahassee and in the semifinals of the ACC Tournament at the Georgia Dome...the victory over the Yellow Jackets in the ACC Tournament vaulted the Seminoles into the semifinals of the ACC Tournament for only the second time in school history...scored zero points and pulled down three rebounds in three minutes of play in the Seminoles' 68-52 victory over Georgia Tech in Tallahassee (Feb. 5)...scored four points and pulled down two rebounds in eight minutes of playing time as Florida State defeated Georgia Tech, 64-62, in the semifinals of the ACC Tournament (March 13)...two points in each half with his four total points once again turning out to be the Seminoles' margin of victory over the Yellow Jackets...gave Florida State a 17-15 lead at the 7:02 mark of the first half on a jumper and gave the Seminoles a 49-41 advantage with 12:43 left in the game...the game was a see-saw contest with the Seminoles taking the final lead of the game with 7.7 seconds remaining on a lay-up and a free throw by Derwin Kitchen...Georgia Tech had pushed the game to the limit on jumper by Zach Peacock to give Georgia Tech a 62-61 lead with 29 seconds left in the game...that lead for the Yellow Jackets was their first since scoring the first basket of the game and taking a 2-0 lead only 28 seconds into the game...(vs. Maryland): did not play in the Seminoles only game of the season against NCAA Tournament participant Maryland...Florida State defeated the Terps, 76-73, in overtime in a game played in Tallahassee (Jan. 17)...(vs. Miami): averaged 3.0 points and 0.5 rebounds in two games against NIT participant Miami during the 2008-09 regular season...shot the basketball well against the Hurricanes as he made three of four field goal attempts (.750) as the in-state rivals split the two game series with both teams winning on its home court...scored six points on a perfect three of three shooting night from the field as the Seminoles traveled to play at Miami...despite Gibson's six points the Hurricanes pulled away late in the game for the 75-69 win in Coral Gables (Jan. 21)....scored three baskets as the Seminoles enjoyed a bit of prosperity early in the first half and built as much as a 12-point lead...he scored on a jumper at the 9:41 mark to put Florida State up , 18-6, on a thunderous dunk at the 7:51 mark to feed the Seminoles lead and make the score 20-8 and on a lay-up at the 5:15 mark to put the Seminoles up 23-16...his six points all came in eight minutes of play in the first half of the game...scored zero points in only one minute of playing time as the Seminoles defeated the Hurricanes, 80-67, in Tallahassee (Feb. 18)...(vs. North Carolina): averaged 1.0 point and 1.0 rebound in two games against NCAA National Champion North Carolina...the Seminoles played the highly ranked Tar Heels to a three point loss on a buzzer beating shot in the regular season in Tallahassee and defeated the no. 1 ranked Tar Heels in the semifinals of the ACC Tournament at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta...scored two points and pulled down two rebounds against North Carolina during the regular season meeting of the two teams in the Tallahassee...the Tar Heels needed a buzzer-beating, half court shot by All-American guard Ty Lawson to give North Carolina the 80-77 win...Gibson's only basket of the game against the Tar Heels came at the 13:00 mark of the first half and gave the Seminoles an 11-9 lead...the Seminoles scored the first basket of the game and held the lead until there was under three minutes remaining in the half...Florida State then led by as much as five in the second half before Lawson's heroics won the game for the Tar Heels...zero points but one blocked shot in six minutes of playing time in the Seminoles' thrilling 73-70 victory over No. 1 ranked North Carolina in the semifinals of the ACC Tournament (March 14)...his blocked shot came on an attempted lay-up by Deon Thompson and kept the Seminoles within striking rage...his blocked shot came with the Tar Heels up 12-8 at the 13:14 mark and limited the Tar Heels chance to increase their lead...North Carolina led by only 32-29 at the intermission before the Seminoles outscored the Tar Heels 44-38 to take the lead and gain the monumental victory...the Seminoles' victory over the Tar Heels sent Florida State into the championship game of the ACC Tournament for the first time in school history, was the third ever victory over the nation's No. 1 ranked team in school history, was the first ever victory in school history over North Carolina in the ACC Tournament...(vs. NC State): scored two points and earned one steal in the Seminoles only game of the season against NC State...the Seminoles went on the road and with Gibson's help in his first career ACC road game defeated the Wolfpack, 78-65, in Raleigh (Jan. 13)...a productive first half with two points and a steal to help the Seminoles to as much as a 12-point lead during the first 20 minutes and a 35-32 lead at halftime...accounted directly for four Seminole points in a span of 1:02 with a steal that led directly to a Derwin Kitchen lay-up and a 26-16 Florida State lead at the 4:13 mark of the first half and a jumper at the 3:11 mark to put Florida State up 30-18...(vs. Virginia): averaged 2.0 points and 2.5 rebounds in two games against Virginia during the 2008-09 regular season...he shot .500 percent (two of four) from the field in the two game series sweep as the Seminoles won in Charlottesville and in Tallahassee...scored four points to go along with two rebounds and one steal as Florida State defeated Virginia, 73-62, in Charlottesville (Jan. 24)...totaled two points in both halves as the Seminoles led the game wire-to-wire in earning the victory...a first half jumper at the 7:19 mark gave Florida State a 26-9 (plus 19) lead while a second half lay-up once again lifted the Seminoles to a 19-point lead (50-31) with 12:11 left in the game...totaled four points in seven minutes of play in the win on the road that improved the Seminoles' lead to 16-4 overall and 3-2 in the ACC...totaled zero points and his ACC career-high of three rebounds as the Seminoles defeated Virginia, 68-57, in Tallahassee (Feb. 10)...all three rebounds came in three minutes of play in the first half and helped Florida State pull to within 22-20 at halftime after the Cavaliers had taken as much as a four point lead...the Seminoles took control of the game with under seven minutes to play in gaining their 19th win of the season...(vs. Virginia Tech): averaged 1.0 point and 0.5 rebounds in two games against NIT participant Virginia Tech...scored zero points but had one huge blocked shot as the Seminoles won, 67-65, in Blacksburg (Feb. 21)...blocked a lay-up attempt by Hank Thorns with 10 minutes remaining in the game and the Hokies holding a 49-47 lead...instead of the home team holding a new four-point lead, the Seminoles tied the game at 51-51 less than two minutes later and took the lead with just over five minutes remaining...the Seminoles won the game on a buzzer bearing jumper in the lane by Toney Douglas for the two-point victory....Gibson's blocked shot to take a potential two points off the scoreboard for Virginia Tech once again stood out as one of the biggest plays of the game and the season...the win improved Florida State's record to 21-6 overall and 8-4 in ACC play...scored two points in six minutes of play as Florida State won, 63-53, at home in Tallahassee (March 8)...the victory helped Toney Douglas, Uche Echefu and Brian Hoff celebrate Senior Day at the Donald L. Tucker Center...his first half basket gave Florida State a 12-7 lead with 10:53 remaining until halftime as Florida State led wire-to-wire in the victory...the win over the Hokies concluded one of the most successful regular seasons in school history with a 23-8 overall record and a 10-6 mark in ACC play....the 10-6 conference record earned the Seminoles a fourth place finish in the ACC standings and a bye in the first round of the ACC Tournament...(vs. Wake Forest): totaled zero points and one rebound in six minutes of play in the Seminoles only game of the season against NCAA Tournament participant Wake Forest...the Demon Deacons defeated the Seminoles, 86-63, in Winston-Salem (Feb. 14)...(in three games during the ACC Tournament): averaged 1.7 points and 1.3 rebounds in three games during the ACC Tournament as Florida State advanced to the championship game for the first time in school history...shot .667 from the field (two of three) and was one of five Florida State players with at least one blocked shot in the Seminoles' three-game march in the event...scored four points and pulled down two rebounds in the Seminoles' victory over Georgia Tech in the quarterfinals...totaled one blocked shot in six minutes of play in the Seminoles' win over No. 1 North Carolina in the semifinals of the event...Florida State's victory over the No. 1 ranked Tar Heels propelled the Seminoles into the ACC Championship game for the first time in school history....totaled one point and two rebounds in the ACC Championship game against Duke...(vs. Wisconsin in the NCAA Tournament): scored six points and pulled down one rebound against Wisconsin in the first round of the NCAA Tournament...the Badgers rallied from a first half deficit to force overtime and defeated Florida State, 61-59, to gain the victory...the game was played at the Taco Bell Arena in Boise, Idaho and was the first NCAA Tournament game for the Seminoles since the 1998 season...the Seminoles were the No. 5 seed in the East Region of the Tournament...helped Florida State take a 31-19 halftime lead with his spectacular athletic ability in the first half ...in less than a two minute span late in the first half he scored on a free throw and a dunk for three total points and had two rebounds and one blocked shot to help the Seminoles to a 20-17 advantage with 4:09 remaining until halftime...Gibson's energy on both the offensive and defensive ends of the court fed the Seminoles to outscore the Badgers 11-0 to close out the half and give Florida State the 12 point advantage at halftime...(vs. Florida): scored one point in two minutes of playing time in the Seminoles' only game of the season against NIT participant Florida...the Seminoles claimed one of four wins over a ranked team during the 2008-09 season with a 57-55 win over the No. 21/24 Gators...his one point came on a free throw with 9:57 left in the first half and gave the Seminoles a 12-7 advantage...his point was instrumental in the Seminoles holding, losing and regaining the lead late in the game to gain their third consecutive win over their in-state rivals.
AT NORTHVIEW: Graduated from Northview High School in Dothan, Ala., in 2008...averaged a near double-double of 20.6 points, 9.8 rebounds and 2.4 assists as a senior...ranked No. 7 in the state in the final Class 6A rankings during his junior senior year...led his team to the Elite Eight of the state championship tournament in his final season as a Cougar...opened his senior season with a 21-point performance against Barbour County and added 25 points, six rebounds and three blocked shots in the Cougars' home opener during his senior season - a 74-40 victory over Rehobeth...totaled 21 points in Northview's 60-55 win over Seminole County as a senior...named to the all-tournament team in leading Northview to the Dothan area championship as a senior in 2008...scored 18 points (including 17 in the second half) to lead the Cougars to the area title game...a triple-double of 34 points, 13 rebounds and 12 blocked shots in leading Northview over Enterprise during his senior season...totaled a near triple-double of 10 points, seven rebounds and an incredible 14 blocked shots in leading Northview to a 70-55 victory over Dothan early in his senior season...a double-double of 25 points and 11 rebounds to lead Northview past Houston County in the championship game of the 2007 Downtown Hoops Classic...named the MVP of the Downtown Hoops Classic...led all scorers with 19 points in leading Northview over the Dothan Cougars in the semifinals of the tournament...scored 23 points against Dale County in the quarterfinals to open the Downtown Hoops Classic...a near triple-double of 20 points, 12 rebounds and eight blocked shots in a 74-56 victory over Andalusia...missed most of his junior season as he broke his wrist in the third game of the year...earned Super 12 honors from the Dothan Eagle as a sophomore as he averaged 16.5 points and 7.0 rebounds in leading the Cougars to a 20-11 record and the Class 6A sub-regionals...began to display his athleticism and perimeter skills as a sophomore as he led Northview to the state championship tournament...averaged 16.4 points and 8.0 rebounds per game for his entire four-year high school career... named to the All-Tournament team at the Choo-Choo Challenge, the Enterprise Tournament, the ACC Super Showcase and the Memorial Day Classic in 2007.
PERSONAL: Born Nov. 3, 1988...Xavier is the son of Kimberly Gibson and Cletis Hoslton...A brother, Jacquez, played on the same high school team as Xavier in the final two seasons of his outstanding prep career...is a cousin of Florida State assistant football coach Lawrence Dawsey...an uncle, Terrance Gibson, played basketball at Cincinnati in 1992...enjoys working on cars...selected Florida State over Florida, Alabama, Georgia Tech and West Virginia.
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