FSU basketball: Why Leonard Hamilton deserves props, not criticism

By Kelvin Hunt | Mar 30, 2021

SUNRISE, FLORIDA - DECEMBER 21: Head coach Leonard Hamilton of the Florida State Seminoles looks on against the South Florida Bulls during the second half of the Orange Bowl Basketball Classic at BB&T Center on December 21, 2019 in Sunrise, Florida. (Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images) /

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FSU Had A Young Team

FSU basketball returned one starter from the 2019-20 team who averaged over 20 minutes per game.

That was MJ Walker, and he battled injuries most of the season and saw his play was worse throughout the year.

Malik Osborne averaged 19 minutes last year and wasn’t a starter in 2020-21. RaiQuan Gray and Anthony Polite averaged 19 minutes, with Balsa Koprivica averaging 10 minutes last season.

RayQuan Evans averaged 11 minutes in 2019-20. The loss of Devin Vassell, Patrick Williams, and Trent Forrest to the NBA can’t go unstated.

If Vassell and Williams returned in 2020-21, the Noles would have been favorites to win the ACC and Final Four contenders.

However, that wasn’t the case, and Hamilton had to work with one starter returning, with several new players as starters.

The beauty of it is we saw the development of Gray, Polite, and Koprivica from last season until now, and they are much better players who will play important roles should they return in 2021-22.

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