Leonard Hamilton is one of the most successful coaches in college basketball and a trailblazer in the sport. The head coach at Florida State University, Hamilton is the Seminoles’ all-time winningest coach and the 5th winningest coach in ACC history. This season he won ACC Coach of the Year honors and led Florida State to the #4 ranking in the country and the ACC regular season championship. On this episode, Hamilton shares the moment where he thought he gave up coaching for good, the hurdles he had to overcome, and how he built a reputation as a program rebuilder.
Note: this conversation is updated with Coach Hamilton’s thoughts after the cancelation of the NCAA tournament, where Florida State was expected to be a top seed.
Follow Coach Hamilton: Twitter
Show Notes
- The message he shared with his team after the cancelation of the ACC Tournament moments before tipoff (2:16)
- Not having the opportunity to compete for a NCAA championship (6:21)
- Finding his purpose in coaching (9:07)
- Growing up in the era of segregation in the south (15:07)
- The work ethic his father instilled in him at an early age (19:02)
- Getting his start in coaching as a graduate assistant at Austin Peay (23:10)
- The moment Leonard Hamilton walked away from coaching and took a job in sales (28:23)
- How his persistence landed a job as assistant coach at University of Kentucky (31:13)
- How he built a reputation as coach who could rebuild a program (38:03)
- His approach to recruiting (43:01)
- Creating a culture of accountability (47:59)
- Developing selflessness inside of the team culture (49:12)
- The importance of self-evaluation as a leader (52:38)
- Give people the opportunity to learn and grow (53:15)
Resources / People Mentioned
- Leonard Hamilton bio
- Florida State Men’s Basketball
- FSU’s Leonard Hamilton Wins ACC Coach of the Year
- NCAA cancels tournament due to coronavirus concerns
- Lake Kelly, Austin Peay
- Danny Odums, Austin Peay
- Fly Williams, Austin Peay
- Dow Chemical
- Joe Hall, University of Kentucky
- Oklahoma State basketball
- Miami basketball
- Stan Jones, Florida State
- Charlton “C.Y.” Young, Florida State
- Steve Smith, Florida State
- John Thompson, Georgetown
Recommended For You
Did you enjoy this episode? Then listen to:
- Dabo Swinney on Leading from the Heart
- Tom Izzo on Maximizing Your Team’s Potential
- Herm Edwards on You Play to Win the Game
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