Leonard Hamilton exclusively told College Hoops Today on Monday that despite Florida State’s struggles this season, he has no plans to retire and will return next year.
“I feel like I have more work to do here at Florida State,” Hamilton said. “I don’t play golf. I don’t hunt. I don’t fish. And I don’t like to travel.”
The Seminoles are just 8-18 this season and have been ravaged by injuries and other issues. Two players who were expected to be integral figures in Florida State’s front court — Cam Fletcher and Brown transfer Jaylan Gainey — were lost for the year due to season-ending knee injuries. Meanwhile, freshman forward Baba Miller was suspended by the NCAA for 16 games for receiving improper travel benefits. Another freshman — Chandler Jackson — had thumb surgery and missed eight weeks of practice.
The Seminoles also got a surprise when John Butler left Florida State last season for the NBA after just one year. Butler went undrafted. Florida State also didn’t return two players — Anthony Polite and Malik Osborne — for their additional years of eligibility due to COVID who would have been starters.
It’s been as challenging of a year as the 74-year old Hamilton has had in his career, but his enthusiasm isn’t wavering. He’s also still got multiple years on his contract.
“When I do retire, I want to have things in place where I feel like I can make more contributions to our society,” Hamilton said. “But I’m not at that point yet. There’s still more work to be done.”
Leftovers
- Florida, Miami finalizing agreement to meet this season in Jacksonville
- CBS Sports Podcast (6/16) — Minnesota’s Niko Medved
- Dayton, Florida State to begin home-and-home series
- Florida/TCU, Wisconsin/Providence to headline 2025 Rady Children’s Invitational
- Texas A&M, Florida State to start neutral site series in Tampa
