Florida State men's basketball: Leonard Hamilton not looking to reinvent system as losses pile up

Carter Karels
Tallahassee Democrat

As the losses keep piling up for the Florida State men’s basketball team, coach Leonard Hamilton continues to be faced with the same question.

Is it time for a major adjustment?

Hamilton helped bring the Seminoles to national prominence with his distinct system, which emphasizes relentless effort in multiple ways like switching at every position on defense and defending all 94 feet of the court.

Through eight games, though, FSU (1-7) has woefully struggled to effectively play that style of basketball. 

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The Seminoles rank poorly in most statistical categories, including No. 239 in field goal percentage defense (43.9%), No. 306 nationally in scoring defense (75.4 points allowed per game) and No. 338 in rebound margin (-7.1).

But throughout the worst stretch of his 21 seasons atop FSU’s program, Hamilton has perpetually rejected the notion that this team needs to significantly change its style of play. Even if that change was only temporary.

“To change too much, for instance playing zone defense, well, Syracuse, that is how they built their program. We have not built our program that way,” Hamilton said in a press conference Tuesday. “So what we’ve got to continue to do is, we’ve got to keep working not only for this season but for the future of our program.

“When you start making those drastic changes, are you taking a step backward or are you still developing and moving forward?”

Some of the Seminoles’ shortcomings have been out of Hamilton’s control.

They were plagued by injuries to start the season. At one point, they only had seven scholarship players available. Most of the previously unavailable players are back, but FSU is still without two important players in Brown transfer Jaylan Gainey (season-ending injury) and freshman Baba Miller (16-game suspension).

Still, the Seminoles are past the point of blaming their poor play on injuries.

“An excuse is not what we need right now,” Hamilton said. “What we need is, can you keep a positive attitude, keep working hard and keep improving against some challenging circumstances?”

To come out with a victory, FSU will likely need a lot to go right when hosting No. 5 Purdue (6-0) in the Donald L. Tucker Civic Center at 7:15 p.m. Wednesday (TV: ESPN2).

After capturing their first win of the season over Mercer last Monday, the Seminoles sputtered again. They went 0-3 in the ESPN Events Invitational in Orlando over the weekend, falling to Siena (80-63), Stanford (70-60) and Nebraska (75-58).

“Everyone wants to win,” Hamilton said. “So whenever you have a bunch of losses – and we have not been accustomed to that here in a long, long time at Florida State – you have a tendency, human nature, (to think), ‘What is wrong? What can we do better?’ …

“But we have a lot of things to look at, we evaluate and we are constantly telling them, ‘Let’s be the ones who work our way out of this situation that none of us planned to be in.”

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Florida State men's basketball guard Caleb Mills brings the ball up the court in a loss to Siena.

Purdue might be nation’s best team

The Boilermakers should present a lot of problems for the Seminoles.

Their dominant wins over then-No. 6 Gonzaga (84-66) and then-No. 8 Duke (75-56) solidified them as one of the best teams in the country. They might even be the best team. They received the third-most first place votes (eight) in the latest AP Poll.

Purdue throws teams off with its deliberate pace, averaging only 5.86 fast-break points per game (321st) and 64.4 possessions per 40 minutes (323th). The Boilermakers have held opponents to 23.1% shooting from three-point range (4th) and 37.3% from the floor overall (27th).

After Purdue, FSU will face another infamously slow-paced team in No. 3 Virginia (5-0) on the road at 2 p.m. Saturday (TV: ESPN2). The Cavaliers come in at 362nd in possessions per 40 minutes (60.4) and have defeated No. 6 Baylor (86-79) and No. 16 Illinois (70-61).

“There is no doubt that any time you play against great competition, you learn a lot about how to compete against that level of competition,” Hamilton said. “We have not shown at this particular point that we are at that level. We’ve had a couple good halves, but we have not put together a full 40 minutes of game. 

“So against this level of competition, you don’t have any room for error. You’ve got to be on point.”

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Purdue center Zach Edey dunks against Gonzaga guard Hunter Sallis, right, during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game in the Phil Knight Legacy tournament Friday, Nov. 25, 2022, in Portland, Ore. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer)

Player to watch: Zach Edey

FSU will look to slow down Purdue center Zach Edey.

Edey, who is the tallest player in Big Ten history at 7-foot-4, ties for ninth nationally in points per game (21.7) while ranking No. 4 in rebounds per game (12) and No. 21 in blocks per game (2.33). His five double-doubles are tied for the second-most in the country.

“Once he gets it in the lane, he does not have to be a dunker,” Hamilton said. “He can just turn and flick it into the basket. Now, he’s not Kareem Abdul-Jabbar from the distance. But I will say this, he is almost as accurate when he catches the ball in the lane as Kareem was within his skill set. 

“And you have to keep a body on him, or else he is going to dunk on you. So you play behind him and let him shoot 60 or 70%, because when he catches it, there is not much you can do. 

“And if you get in front, with the amount of shooters they have on the perimeter, it’s hard to help off like you would like to because they spread their shooters.”

GAME INFORMATION

Who: FSU (1-7) vs. No. 5 Purdue (6-0)

When/Where: Wednesday, 7:15 p.m.; Donald L. Tucker Civic Center

TV/Radio: ESPN2/101.5 FM

Reach Carter Karels at ckarels@gannett.com or follow him on Twitter @CarterKarels. You can also follow our coverage on Facebook (NoleSports) and Instagram (tlhnolesports).

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