On Monday afternoon, Florida State head men’s basketball coach Leonard Hamilton announced that he was stepping down at the end of this season after 23 years as the Seminoles’ head coach.
His decision will end a remarkable run at a school traditionally known as a football powerhouse, but which also became a place with a nationally recognized and respected basketball program thanks to Hamilton.
“I am deeply thankful for the tremendous support of our fans, alumni, and everyone associated with Florida State throughout my time here,” Hamilton said in a statement.
The 76-year-old coach has many accolades on his resume, particularly at FSU, where he became the program’s all-time winningest coach. He’s coached in 746 games for the Seminoles and currently has a record of 456-290.
In over two decades at FSU, he’s only had 3 losing seasons, one of which came in his first season with the program in 2002. He also led the team to 8 NCAA Tournament appearances; it should have been 9 but the Pandemic ended the season before the tournament, and the Seminoles were 26-5 at that point.
Hamilton’s head coaching career began in 1986 at Oklahoma State. He spent four years with the Cowboys, going 56-63.
He then moved to Miami to lead the then-independent Miami Hurricanes. In his second season, the team joined the Big East and in 10 years, he led the Canes to a 144-147 overall record, including 3 NCAA Tournament appearances and 1 Big East regular season championship.
He left after the 1999-2000 season to coach the NBA’s Washington Wizards but returned to the college sidelines in 2002 as the head coach of the Seminoles, where he’s been ever since.
Hamilton is proud of his career, and even prouder of the young men who played for him.
“I am proud of the quality of the young men that it was my privilege to lead, for their faith in this program and in their belief in the philosophy that we tried to instill in them over the years. I have been blessed beyond words for the opportunity and the experience we’ve had here,” said Hamilton.
He coached at FSU during the era of the legendary Bobby Bowden. And while the football program got the largest share of attention, basketball held its own.
While the past three seasons have been disappointing for the Seminoles, this year showed promise. They started 13-5 but have lost the last 4, so they have work to do.
