Hamilton ‘excited’ for upcoming hoops season
’Noles coach using disappointment of shutdown to grow, fuel preparation
Fresh off claiming its first regular-season ACC championship, the Florida State basketball team appeared poised to make a deep postseason run.
But before the topseeded Seminoles could take the court in Greensboro, North Carolina, for the conference tournament, the coronavirus pandemic brought everything to a halt.
Officials canceled the ACC Tournament and eventually the NCAA Tournament, ending FSU’s season.
“We don’t have a choice and our approach is as disappointing as it was at the end of the season, [but] if this was going to be the biggest challenge we have in life, then we’re going to have a pretty good life,” said longtime FSU coach Leonard Hamilton, nearly four months removed from that moment.
“We’re going to have more games to play and more games to coach. But the potential of playing and having something adverse happens to someone while we’re enjoying the opportunity to play would have paled in comparison to if something had gone wrong at whole other level.
“These are challenges that life gives you and we have to deal with this maturely, handle it, be stronger in our character as a result of it and move on and try to make the best of the situation that we have.”
Hamilton, his staff and players have been in selfisolation in their homes. They talk regularly via phone call and videoconferencing, waiting until they can return to campus and begin team preparation for the 2020-21 season.
“I’m excited about the upcoming season,” Hamilton said. “I’m disappointed we didn’t get to play last year. We’re going to let that disappointment fuel our energy as we move on to the next phase.”
Hamilton spoke with the Orlando Sentinel about a variety of topics. Below are highlights of the conversation:
Orlando Sentinel: What are your expectations for this team?
Leonard Hamilton: “We haven’t spent that much time with our players and we haven’t been around to see what the effect of this is going to be. Our players are adjusting, they’re listening and responding, but I’m sure I won’t be able to answer that until sometime later in the fall.”
OS: Are you excited to get back on the court with your players?
Hamilton:
“Those people who have been around me and know me, we enjoy what we do. We try to avoid having highs and lows. We try to be a very matter-of-fact approach.
“I’m sure everyone is excited; we’re just trying to keep it in perspective. Every day is a day for us to get better, and I’m sure our guys have been consistently following that approach in a businesslike matter. And I’m sure they’ll respond appropriately under these circumstances.”
OS: How crucial is it to develop leadership among those veterans on your team?
Hamilton: “Each time we have players move on, we have different players step up and fill those roles. We have a lot of veterans returning and I expect all of them — RaiQuan Gray, M.J. [Walker], Wyatt Wilkes, Malik [Osborne], Balsa
Koprivica and RayQuan Evans — to come back and pick up where some of the other guys left off.
“Every year, we seem to have a new set of guys step up and seize those roles and propel us to the next level, and I expect that bunch to give us the leadership that it takes to keep this ball rolling.”
OS: Chemistry has been a crucial part of the success of your teams. Are you concerned the extended layoff during the pandemic will make it difficult for this team to bond effectively?
Hamilton: “When you’re a family and you’ve built a family culture, that’s not easy to disrupt, and I think that’s what we have. We have a culture that we care about one another. We share the ball, we share playing time and we cheer for one another, and that’s in March before the not going to change.”
OS: Do you believe the season will start on time or is a move to the spring most likely?
Hamilton: “I feel that we’ll be mature enough to adjust to whatever the situation is and I think the worst thing you do is to start speculating and speaking about scenarios that you don’t have any control over.
“The effect of the pandemic is going to dictate how we respond, and right now there’s a lot of moving parts as relates to what we should do and what we shouldn’t do. Right here in Florida, it’s getting worse every day . ... Every time I turn around, it’s obvious that we have challenges that we have to overcome.
“Whatever it is, we have to be mature enough to manage it because the whole country is dealing with the same situation.”