Julian Vaughn appeared lost for most of his freshman season. Early in the year, prior to a two-week medical leave, Vaughn resembled many newcomers to the college game: dazed and confused on the court.

Vaughn often glanced to the bench for guidance when he was supposed to be in one place but ended up somewhere else. He rarely looked for his shot, and when he did, he usually seemed apprehensive and unsure of himself.

Adding to the normal growing pains of a first-year player, Vaughn also tired easily, which prompted a trip to the Cleveland Clinic for a round of tests on his heart. Once he returned, Vaughn slowly got in better shape. He also started to flash signs of becoming the player FSU recruited heavily out of Oak Hill (Va.) Academy.

The one snapshot that sticks in my head from Vaughn’s freshman season – his only season at Florida State as it turns out – came in the Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament when he posted up North Carolina’s Tyler Hansbrough, the NCAA Division I Player of the Year, and scored on a baby hook.

Vaughn looked confident. He looked energized. He finally looked like he belonged. For the first time, you thought Vaughn might be a big-time player one day.

Maybe he still will, but it won’t be for the Seminoles, and that’s too bad since it would have been fun to at least see the 6-foot-10 Vaughn, who has a 7-4 wingspan, and 7-1 center Solomon Alabi play together for a couple of years.

The good news for FSU fans is that while Vaughn’s departure leaves a hole inside, two other 6-10 players are coming in this fall: Xavier Gibson, a power forward from Dothan (Ala.) Northview, and Chris Singleton, a small forward from Dunwoody (Ga.).

Singleton is the star of FSU coach Leonard Hamilton’s latest recruiting class, but it’s Gibson who is more suited to replace whatever potential the Noles lost in Vaughn’s exit.

Regardless, if Alabi is fully recovered from the fractured leg that kept him sidelined most of last season, and Uche Echefu and Ryan Reid continue to improve, the Noles should be fine without Vaughn.

It’s just too bad we didn’t get to see if that jump hook over Hansbrough was the real deal, or just a highlight moment.