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Florida State basketball head coach Leonard Hamilton announced on Monday that he will be retiring after the conclusion of this season. Hamilton has been with the Seminoles for 23 seasons now, but after this year, he is calling it a career. Florida State will have a coaching search on its hands, and one person to watch is Sacramento Kings assistant Luke Loucks. Loucks played for the Seminoles in college and has done a good job coaching in the NBA so far.
“Look for former Florida State player and current Sacramento Kings assistant Luke Loucks to be heavily involved in the conversations to replace Leonard Hamilton, source told @TheFieldOf68,” Jeff Goodman said in a post. “Loucks, 34, played for the Seminoles from 2008-12, and is considered a rising star as an NBA assistant. He was also with Golden State in a player development role.”
Luke Loucks played for Leonard Hamilton during his college days, and now there is a chance that he could be replacing him as the head coach of the Florida State basketball program.
Hamilton will finish out the remainder of this season, and he had a message to share regarding this big decision.
“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. “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.”
The Florida State basketball program has had a lot of success under Hamilton. They won the ACC Tournament in 2020 and the ACC regular season title in 2020, and Hamilton has led the team on multiple deep runs in the NCAA Tournament as well.
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“My family and I truly love this place, this institution, and its people,” he continued. “I'm very fortunate to be able to have given this job my all with no regrets. Every head coach inherits a legacy and is obligated to leave the job better than they inherited it. I'm very proud of what we have been able to accomplish here over the last 23 seasons. We were a consistent contender, and we created success for our players during their time here. So many of them have gone on to be successful in life. I hope that it will be remembered as my legacy. I look forward to working with our administration during this transition and being as helpful as possible through this process.”
Florida State athletic director Michael Alford also shared a statement regarding Hamilton's decision to retire.
“Leonard Hamilton's personal character and integrity, and his leadership, set a tremendous standard for all of FSU Athletics,” Alford said. “Few people have been as important in building the positive reputation of Seminole Athletics as he. FSU’s stature as one of the leading brands in college sports has been possible, in part, to his leadership of our men’s basketball program. He steadily developed a culture of excellence that reflects his personal values: commitment to academic success, competitive success, community service, leadership, and ongoing personal excellence. The success of the men who have been part of our basketball program is proof of that legacy.”
The Florida State basketball program will now begin a national search for their next head coach, and Luke Loucks could be a potential candidate for the opening.
