Is Leonard Hamilton the Right Guy @ Florida State?

Before I get into this post, yes the playoff preview is coming a week from today. However, today I thought I would get into some college basketball and my thoughts on our coach in particular.

You see it every year from some fan at some school calling for their head coach to be fired. Luckily, at Florida State for football, soccer, girl's basketball, volleyball, and track, that hasn't happened too often, However, for the other sports, it happens all the time. No case represents this more than basketball coach Leonard Hamilton. Every year you hear the calls for his ouster. This year those calls seem to be getting louder and louder. Are they justified though?

As a Wizards fan, I think I have some unique perspective on Coach Hamilton. I followed him as Wizards coach and never wanted him to come to Tallahassee. In fact, after his failure in DC, he was just about the last guy I wanted to see coaching my alma mater. This guy just seemed like a bumbling idiot to me and one that should find a new profession.

Therefore, it is easy to see that I had low expectations for Coach Hamilton. I expected Hamilton to be gone in 3 years and be a complete failure for the Seminoles. There is no doubt that he exceeded my expectations. Hamilton is currently in his 13th season for the Seminoles and this one looks like it could be his worst. The Noles are off to a horrible start, but let's look at the record before this season because this one is still a work in progress.

During his 12 full seasons at FSU, Hamilton holds a 241-157 record.
That record has a (.606) winning percentage overall.
He is 98-98 (.500) in the ACC.
Winning 60% of your games is pretty good, but it is not elite.
He has won a ACC Tournament Championship, and advanced to the NCAA Tournament 4 times.
Under Hamilton, the Noles have averaged an NCAA appearance every 3 years which is not that impressive.
Hamilton's team has maxed out at one Sweet Sixteen appearance in 12 years.

FSU has absolutely had the talent. Nobody questions Hamilton's ability to recruit. He may be the best recruiter in the country vs. what he has done on the basketball court. This team rarely has exceeded expectations. Even with studs like Chris Singleton and Toney Douglas, this team has maxed out at the Sweet Sixteen. The Noles are normally known for fantastic free throw shooting and incredible defense (except this awful season), but terrible clock management. During that one Sweet 16 run, the Final Four was there for the Noles and Hamilton absolutely blew the game against VCU. Terrible offensive strategy and clock management issues have been a major handicap for FSU teams under Hamilton. However, these teams have traditionally played fantastic defense, so it puts fans in a tough spot to evaluate the guy. I keep going back and forth on the guy for example. One year I am stunned by the fact that we won the ACC Title and then disappointed at a way to early exit in the NCAA Tournament with 6 seniors. His in-game strategy is not elite, but it is not poor. He seems to be just on the edge of either deserving his money or being overpaid and needing to go. Therefore, it seems like a great idea to look at that salary number.

Before last season, Hamilton's annual salary was 2.25 million (that is still his salary) and he was the 3rd highest paid coach in the conference. Buzz Williams was just hired for 2.3 million so he was bumped slightly to 4th. However, the fact that he is paid this high shows the value Florida State has placed on him. It seems that his performance is nowhere near that value. Good coach, great recruiter, but 4th best coach in conference?  It seems that this is highly debatable. Let's look at one more stat to see if Hamilton is overvalued or if he should even be the coach.

Forbes lists Hamilton as the 9th most overpaid college hoops coach. He made 1.6 annually following his contract extension in 2009. The list was made before he received another extension in 2013 which raised his salary to 2.25 million. His contract now runs through the 2017 season, so he will have at least until then to prove his value. This extension was likely thought up when he led the Noles to the ACC Championship during the 2011-2012 season. However, it is extremely odd that he received this deal (which at the time made him the 2nd highest paid coach in the ACC) after being bumped in the first round of the NIT. Last year, the Noles lost in the NIT Semifinals. It seems that Hamilton needs to start performing a little better to justify his lofty contract. I would love to see it happen, but have my doubts. I would not renew his contract unless there is serious progress over these next three seasons. Letting him  finish out his contract though seems like the way to go. I am definitely intrigued by this next batch of recruits and hope that they can deliver more success. Whatever happens with Coach Hamilton, GO NOLES!!!!

Oh and have a very blessed and Merry Christmas everyone.

-Noland