Over the years, we’ve noticed that at the end of their careers, great coaches often fall off their historical standard. Mike Krzyzewski is a great exception to that, mostly because he was dedicated to learning, but typically, it does happen. Our theory is that they stop growing and keep relying on the same things and then the game ultimately passes them by.
Just look around: Jim Boeheim. Gene Keady. Bob Knight, although for more than one reason.
And now, Leonard Hamilton.
Hamilton arrived in Tallahassee
in 2002-03 with a reputation for program building. He did a solid job at FSU in his early years but really hit his stride in the last decade. From the 2016-17 season through 2019-20, Hamilton turned in 26-9, 23-12, 29-8 and 26-5.
That last season was the year Covid struck and forced the cancellation of the NCAA tournament.
One other notable thing happened that year: Dennis Gates left Hamilton’s staff to become the head coach of Cleveland State. Now at Missouri, Gates is recruiting very well and while his second year was a disappointment, in his first and third seasons, he won 47 and lost 22. He also has recruited at a very high level, and this season has persuaded two five-star players to choose Mizzou. We’re not saying he was responsible for Florida State’s success in the last decade, but he didn’t learn how to recruit when he got to Missouri, either.
In the post-Covid era, Hamilton has finished 18-7, 17-14, 9-3, 17-16 and 17-15. Coincidentally or not, FSU hasn’t gone to the post season since Gates left.
Hamilton, now 77, announced his planned retirement last February and Florida State ultimately opted to hire his former player, Luke Loucks. He’s the fourth new ACC coach for next season, along with Jai Lucas (Miami), Will Wade (NC State) and Ryan Odom (Virginia).
Loucks, who is just 35 and who has a passing resemblance to Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelenskyy, says that Hamilton was the one who suggested that he might have a future in coaching and he started his career in the NBA, having stints with Golden State and most recently Sacramento, where he was the defensive coordinator.
Like Jon Scheyer (Duke), Hubert Davis (UNC) and Adrian Autry (Syracuse), Loucks will be coaching at his alma mater. And not only is he a grad, but his father was a football walk-on while two uncles also passed through Tallahassee while in school. So did his sister and his wife, Stevi, who swam for the ‘Noles.
So clearly he’s got deep roots there. What are his odds of success?
On the one hand, even he acknowledges that FSU is a tough place to win. But on the other, this is a guy wh0 seems to have significant people skills, and that’s going to help.
Hamilton obviously recognized it, and so did Mike Brown, who was the head coach for Sacramento when Loucks was there. Brown calls him a “connector,” and he says that a connector is going to succeed in any endeavor because of his people skills.
As far as the rest goes – organization, X’s and O’s, recruiting and so forth – we’ll have to wait and see. But he does seem like a solid choice and he certainly knows his program well, having played there.
In today’s game, losing your entire roster is routine and all but guaranteed after a coaching change, and that’s what Loucks had to deal with after he took the job: only AJ Swinton and Alier Maluk return. Both sophomores now, neither had a particularly big impact as freshmen.
The 6-11 Maluk got 11 mpg and averaged 2.7 ppg and grabbed 2.0 rpg. For his part, the 6-6 Swinton got 10.5 mpg and managed 2.8 ppg and 1.4 rebounds.
From the portal Loucks landed 6-3 sophomore Martin Somerville from UMass Lowell (13.6 ppg), 6-4 senior Robert McCray from Jacksonville (16.2 ppg), 6-7 senior Lajae Jones from St. Bonaventure (10.8 ppg), 6-5 senior Kobe MaGee from Drexel (14 ppg), 6-10 senior Chauncey Wiggins from Clemson (8.3 ppg), 6-9 senior Alex Steen from Florida Southern (17.9 ppg) and 6-11 junior Shahid Muhammad from UMass (3.5 ppg).
Somerville was the Rookie of the Year in the America East and he pulled heavy minutes (31.6) and averaged 13.6 points, 3.7 assists, 2.9 rebounds, and 1.5 steals per game. Expect him to start at point.
McCray started off at Wake Forest but didn’t play much. He established himself at Jacksonville and emerged as a solid guard. Can he have a big influence with the ‘Noles? Guess we’ll see.
Jones has wandered a bit, starting at Tarleton State for the rather unpleasant Billie Gillispie. He wisely left and took a detour to Barton Community College before going to St. Bonaventure. He shot reasonably well, hitting 45.6 percent overall and 38.9 percent on his threes. A native of Jackonsville, when he committed he tweeted “coming home.”
MaGee is an even better shooter, having hit 47.2 percent overall and 43.9 percent on his threes. He chose FSU over Wake Forest. He’s reportedly a good defender too.
Wiggins is still fairly slim at 216 but he certainly had his moments at Clemson. He’s a decent but not great shooter (43.8 percent overall and 36.5 percent from deep). He’s agile and is occasionally dangerous but in three years he never showed signs of greatness. Maybe a fresh start will help.
Steen managed 17.9 ppg, 11.5 rpg and 2.6 blocks in D-II last season, but how will he do in the ACC? We can’t know, but we do know that Kentucky, Tennessee, Alabama, Louisville and others were after him, so presumably he can make the leap.
Muhammad is not going to be a major factor offensively, but he did block 1.5 shots a game at UMass. Will Loucks continue Hamilton’s obsession with big guys who are just…big? We don’t know a lot about Muhammad, but it does fit Hamilton’s predilection.
Four freshmen joined the ‘Noles: 6-2 Cameron Miles, 6-8 Thomas Bassong, Egor Ryzhov, a 6-11 Russian and 6-2 Spaniard Maximo Garcia-Plato.
Miles is a promising guard who comes from a basketball family as his father and stepfather both played college ball. He could become a solid point guard.
Bassong is a French kid who played in the Overtime Elite league last season. He has a 7-3 wingspan and is reportedly a promising defender.
We don’t know what the deal is with Ryzhov, but he sounds like he could become a good player too. However, he’s not currently listed on the roster, so presumably, he’s not currently on the team or maybe the NCAA hasn’t cleared him yet or something like that.
Finally, a cool walk-on: 6-1 freshmanXavier Osceola. Yes, that’s really his last name, and not by coincidence: we’re guessing he’s the first Seminole to actually play for the Seminoles. He’s bound to be a crowd favorite.
Usually we have some idea of what to expect, but the roster is almost entirely new, and the coach has nothing for us to go on, at least in terms of his record.
So we’re going on a hunch here.
People seem to think very highly of Luke Loucks, including some of his new players. He knows his school, he knows the gym, he knows the locker room and probably the janitors.
We are going to assume he got the best players he could and that they respond to his coaching. It’s possible that an injection of youthful coaching could help Florida State.
There will probably be some growing pains, but from here, it looks like FSU basketball is in good hands. However, like a lot of teams, the ‘Noles could improve on the court and still not move up in the standings due to a much tougher conference than we saw last season.
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