"There are a lot of people who think that Florida State has tremendous potential. And I just happen to be one of them," new Seminole head coach Leonard Hamilton said. "So I don't feel like I'm Sherlock Holmes, where I just discover something that not a whole lot of people have been thinking over the years."
Well he might not be a detective, but the coach who was last seen at the helm of the Washington Wizards is certainly a handyman. And so Hamilton, who resurrected Oklahoma State and then Miami before heading to the NBA, accepts the task of overhauling a program haunted by the shadow of a football team constantly on top, looking down at the cellar dwellers on the hardwood.
With a practice facility resembling anything but a basement, though, the 'Noles have a new home for their family, which welcomes in a new disciplinarian with a new vision. After a year chock-full of locker room tension that saw Florida State go 4-12 in the ACC, Hamilton has implemented the same intense scheme in Tallahassee that he used to turn over other programs with rigorous focus on fundamentals and being what the coach calls "a darn good defensive team."
And while Hamilton realizes the daunting demands of overhaul on his players, the talented but unpolished Seminole roster has embraced the drive they see in their new boss.
"You want to be the best," junior forward Michael Joiner said. "You want to give it all that you've got every time that you step on the court just because you represent him."
Joiner has been the first to the practice center each morning because he knows the turnaround starts with him. The 6-foot-7 high flyer comes into the season as FSU's returning leader in statistical categories--not to mention starts, where the next highest total is five.
If the Seminoles can establish a satisfactory post game, Joiner will be able to move to the wing, where he could flourish in Hamilton's system. But if senior center Trevor Harvey fails to stabilize into a steady offensive stalwart rather than the energy player he was, Joiner might be forced to the four.
Replacing the standout backcourt of Monte Cummings and Delvon Arrington, who gave the Seminoles some of their only respect last year, might be Hamilton's most daunting task in the immediate future of his long-term plan. Meanwhile, JUCO transfer Nate Johnson looks to have grabbed a starting spot in the ACC's most pivotal position: point guard.
So while the team may take quite some time to integrate Hamilton's new scheme, Mr. Fix-It has floor one of his new projects underway.
"It's kind of hard being in the shadow of a great football team, but I really believe and I really trust his judgment with everything that he does," Joiner said of Hamilton. "Yes, Florida State will be a team in the years to come that you will see be up there with the Dukes and the Marylands, all the great teams that are in my league right now."
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