FSU basketball: What does Leonard Hamilton do after this season?

Can Hamilton Turn It Around?

Leonard Hamilton is an ageless wonder, but he’ll be 75 years old this year. The energy and time needed to get this program back to respectability can’t go understated.

It took multiple years with young assistant coaches like Dennis Gates and Charlton Young to make FSU basketball attractive to top blue-chip players when he was 10 years younger.

The state of the program and the age of Hamilton is something the competition will continue to use against FSU. Coincidentally, FSU basketball only has one prep player signed for the 2023 recruiting class.

Maybe the lack of high school recruiting points to his intentions to utilize the transfer portal more. Admittedly, if I were a top recruit, it would be difficult to choose the Noles knowing Hamilton might not be there in the next year or so.

Not to mention his system requires total buy-in and would take multiple years to get everything turned around because nearly the entire roster needs to be flipped.

A part of me wants to allow Hamilton to turn everything around, and he probably deserves the opportunity based on what he has done for FSU basketball. However, at the same time, I know the chances of him doing it next year are extremely low.

I think Hamilton has two years left on his contract and seems to have every intention to return next season. However, multiple blowout losses this season are not making that decision easy. FSU has lost seven of its last eight, with three losses by at least 23 points. FSU will rival Miami Saturday afternoon, a team that beat them by 23 points the last time they played and it wasn’t as close as the final score. What happens if they have another performance like last time?

FSU AD Michael Alford has to answer this question. If he does decide to let Hamilton go after this season, who can he get to replace him? Alford has shown he wants to win at a high level in every sport.

His firing of Mike Martin Jr. after last season and hiring Link Jarrett spoke loud and clear that he’s not afraid to make a move. I trust Michael Alford to make the right move. IF Hamilton returns, I’d have to imagine it would be his last season, and Alford would have a year to figure out what’s possible.

If Hamilton doesn’t return after this season, I’d have to think Alford has already been working on his replacement and has an idea of who he could get as a head coach to turn this program around.