FSU’s Leonard Hamilton to Step Down After Season

Legendary coach Leonard Hamilton announced that he will step down as head coach after the season, ending a 23-year run with Florida State. The 76-year-old coach may have caught some people off guard with the announcement, as Florida State has been performing better this season than in years past. However, the 37-year-old college coach deserves retirement after all he did for the Seminoles and will retire as a legend.

FSU’s Leonard Hamilton to Step Down After Season

A Long and Storied Career

Hamilton began his career at Oklahoma State, going 56-63 from 1986-1990. He never made the tournament while coaching the Cowboys but led them to a nine-win improvement from his first to last years at the school. Following his time at Oklahoma State, he took over for Miami (FL), struggling to find his footing in the early years but reaching the NCAA Tournament in each of his last three seasons there. He finished with a 144-147 record from 1990-2000 at Miami.

After a brief coaching hiatus, he took over Florida State in 2002. Once again, he struggled to find success early on in Tallahassee. However, over the course of thirteen seasons, he led the Seminoles to eight NCAA Tournament appearances, including an ACC Tournament Championship and a regular season championship (the regular season championship occurred in 2020 and would have resulted in another tournament appearance). He currently has 456 wins as coach of the Seminoles with the opportunity to add to his total before March. Leonard Hamilton will step down as the winningest coach in Florida State basketball history.

A Continuing Trend

In recent years, the ACC has seen many of its beloved coaches end their careers. Mike Krzyzewski, Roy Williams, and Jim Boeheim all left in recent seasons after bringing at least one national championship to their respective schools. Tony Bennett, the longtime coach of Virginia, stepped down suddenly before the season began. He cited the changing landscape of college basketball as the primary reason for his departure and retirement. Jim Larranaga stepped down after his long career as coach of the Miami Hurricanes in December, also citing the changing landscape of college basketball.

Leonard Hamilton will step down and join the list at the end of the season. College basketball continues to be a popular sport, but it is impossible to notice the loss of legendary coaches. Hamilton will be missed by the Seminoles, just as Duke, North Carolina, Syracuse, and Miami all missed their coaches. The powerhouse ACC basketball conference is no more, and the legendary coaches are leaving with it.

The End of an Era

As we embark on a new era of college basketball, teams like Louisville will continue to rapidly build their programs into contention. Florida State has struggled, but so have most of the older coaches who thrived on recruiting out of high school. Whatever the reasons may be, the era of long-standing dynasties and legendary coaches may be over in college basketball. However, the mark they left on college basketball will never be forgotten. Regardless of how it ended, Leonard Hamilton will step down from Florida State as its greatest coach in program history. He will leave as one of the more successful coaches in basketball history. That’s all that matters.