FSU basketball completed its regular season finale with an upset win over SMU to get Leonard Hamilton his 200th ACC win. Saturday was about celebrating Coach Hamilton's legendary career and sending him out on a high note.
FSU fans have wondered how long it would take the FSU administration to announce the new head coach, and the odds-on favorite was former FSU player Luke Loucks from the jump.
FSU wasted no time announcing him as the next head coach of FSU basketball on Sunday afternoon:
It’s official ✍️ Luke Loucks is the next Head Coach of Florida State Basketball 🍢🏀
— Florida State Men’s Basketball (@FSUHoops) March 9, 2025
Full Story: https://t.co/mH61e3Se7f pic.twitter.com/WB81mdKGNu
The reactions from fans and others began to pour in immediately, and some have been on the bandwagon since it was clear he was the frontrunner:
So pumped for @lukeloucks and family to be back in Tallahassee! @FSUHoops got a top notch man and family!
— Dean Inserra (@deaninserra) March 9, 2025
Bring the ACC championship back to Tally 🙏
— sands (@BiscayneBuIIies) March 9, 2025
Luke Loucks is going to crush it at FSU. https://t.co/VUv6NKNQpg
— Mike O'Donnell (@MOD4three) March 7, 2025
Luke Loucks was my era of FSU basketball I am DOWN https://t.co/xePxzAQXoo
— LeBron da GOAT (@Nole352) February 4, 2025
I look forward to seeing you back in Tallahassee coach. There is no one else better suited to replace the legend.
— Greg (@haber540) March 9, 2025
Big Shoes to fill but I’m sure @lukeloucks up for it 🍢🍢good luck kiddo! https://t.co/voxwtQJLaM
— Pete the Greek (@PDourvetakis) March 9, 2025
See you soon, @lukeloucks 🛫#GoNoles pic.twitter.com/HFfLbs4Pzi
— FSU Seminoles (@Seminoles) March 9, 2025
Thoughts
The majority of the reactions seem to favor the hire. Loucks is a former player who's only 34 years old. It's a stark contrast to Hamilton, who will be 77 later this year(but only looked like he was 47 to his credit). Loucks has ties to the program as a former player and reportedly stayed in contact with Leonard Hamilton after completing his FSU career.
Loucks appears to be a star coach on the rise, but there are some question marks with the hire. He's never been head coach at any level and has never coached in college. Can he recruit well enough to keep FSU competitive? Will quality coaches come to work for a guy with a limited resume? Will he get enough financial support on the NIL front to compete for quality players?
FSU has some talent on the roster. Will the Loucks hire be enough to keep them? Who can he attract from the transfer portal? Loucks is reportedly looking to hire a general manager, which would be a wise move to help navigate the NIL world.
He has reportedly signed a five-year deal, which ironically is about the same length of time FSU will remain in the ACC. If it doesn't work out, a new hire as FSU potentially transitions out of the ACC would be perfect timing. Welcome home Coach Loucks, I'm excited to see what you can accomplish in Tallahassee.