Former Florida State coaches, players react to Leonard Hamilton’s resignation
Florida State announced on Monday that Leonard Hamilton would be resigning at the end of the season, ending a 23-year tenure in Tallahassee for one of the legends of college basketball. Some of the attention will be pointed to Coach Hamilton, he’s always been about his players and his staff.
So, I reached out to some former players and coaches who were under Coach Hamilton over the years and gathered a few more from former players’ social media posts. Here’s what they had to say (quotes will be what they told me directly unless noted otherwise).
Anthony Polite, 2017-2022
“It was a blessing playing for Coach Ham. What he did for me at my time at Florida State and built throughout his years in Tallahassee shows that not only is he one of the best coaches, mentors, and teachers to ever coach the game, but how much he cares about his players. I will forever be grateful to have chosen Florida State and had a chance to play under Hamilton! ‘NOLES WILL MISS YOU”
Charlton Young, Assistant Coach, 2013-2022
I need people to know that J. Leonard Hamilton, I think, is one of the five greatest head coaches and CEOs in the history of our game. I think that what Jackie Robinson did for baseball is what J. Leonard Hamilton did for college basketball. He went to Kentucky as an assistant when it was a predominantly white sport, right after the Adolph Rupp term, and worked for Joe B. Hall. And him going to Kentucky and diversifying that program made everybody else in the country comfortable with recruiting African-American players. So, his place in history is undeniable.
What J. Leonard Hamilton has personally done for my life, my career, and my family, I could never repay him. What I learned from him, especially learning the power of controlling your emotional intelligence. The guy’s amazing. He can never be duplicated, he could never be replaced. He’s the kind of guy that you gotta put his shoes up on the mantle and just dust ’em off, because there will never be another one. Great basketball coach, great strategist, great teacher, great developer, great mentor, great coach, great husband, great father, great man.”
