With nation's No. 1 class, Hamilton reflects on FSU's recruiting success
The NCAA announced this week that the 2020-'21 college basketball season will start on Nov. 25. And that's about the only thing anyone truly knows about the upcoming season.
Everything else -- from locations of games to crowd sizes to non-conference schedules -- is up in the air.
With two months until that season starts, Florida State coach Leonard Hamilton doesn't have any idea how many games his team will be play or who exactly will be on the schedule.
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But what has become crystal clear, even in the midst of a global pandemic, is that the Seminoles' head coach is smack dab in the middle of the best run of his entire coaching career.
The Seminoles are coming off the first ACC regular-season championship in school history and trips to the Elite Eight and Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament.
They also currently have the No. 1 recruiting class in the country, led by a trio of perimeter players -- five-star Matthew Cleveland, five-star Bryce McGowens and four-star Jalen Warley -- all of whom have the potential to be McDonald's All-Americans.
Cleveland is the 20th-ranked player in the nation, according to Rivals.com; McGowens is 21st; and Warley is 24th.
The other two commits, four-star John Butler and three-star Naheem McLeod, are 7-foot and 7-3 respectively. And don't let Butler's size fool you -- he is considered more of a perimeter player, similar in style to former FSU star Jonathan Isaac.
It's a staggering amount of talent for a program that has become one of the very best in the nation in recent years. And the fact that so many talented players would commit to FSU knowing they likely won't be dominant scorers, and would be asked to share the ball and share minutes, speaks volumes to what Hamilton and his staff have built in Tallahassee.
During a conversation with the media this week, Hamilton was asked how he's able to convince superstar prep players -- like Isaac, Patrick Williams, current freshman Scottie Barnes and the incoming recruits -- to join his program without being able to guarantee tons of shots and playing time.
"I haven't had one kid that we're recruiting bring that up as an issue," Hamilton said. "Not one. Not in any conversation that we've had. We talk about who we are and what we do."
What they do these days is win a lot. And rotate a lot of players.
They also defend 94 feet, play unselfishly and send guys to the NBA.
As Hamilton pointed out during his Zoom conversation on Wednesday, Florida State very well could have another player who never started a game in college drafted in the first round.
In 2019, Mfiondu Kabengele was selected in the first round by the L.A. Clippers. In the 2020 NBA Draft, which is set for November, Patrick Williams is expected to be taken in the first round as well.
They both were "sixth men" for the Seminoles.
"I think people are accepting that we might not be a blue blood, but this is a new blood way," Hamilton said.
The veteran head coach said FSU's style of play has become a big selling point for players they're recruiting. He said the days of a point guard walking the ball up the court, looking to a coach for a play call, and then trying to throw the ball into the post, are a thing of the past.
His team is trying to run as much as possible, they're guarding full court and trying to take away every passing lane imaginable. And that takes great effort and a large group of players, so the best ones can still be fresh when the game is in the final minutes.
It's a recipe that's not only won a whole bunch of games the last four years, but it's one that is appealing to many of the top players in the country as well.
"It's kind of a new era of basketball," Hamilton said. "People are playing small ball. The dribble-drive, the motion offense. So, the fact that we've been able to get guys moved on to the next level, our system is kind of working.
"I just think basketball is a little different, and I think it's not as much an issue than maybe what it used to be when you could be on the court 35 minutes."
Hamilton mentioned that Isaac averaged less than 30 minutes per game during his one season in Tallahassee. Kabengele averaged less than 25 when he was the Seminoles' leading scorer while also coming off the bench. Neither player, nor current potential lottery pick Devin Vassell, averaged even 13 points per game at FSU.
But as Isaac, Kabengele, Vassell, Williams and 2019 second-round pick Terance Mann proved, you don't have to be a high-volume scorer to garner attention from NBA teams.
The true freshman Barnes is another potential lottery pick that likely won't average 13 points per game for the Seminoles. He doesn't care about scoring 20 points a game, or he wouldn't be at FSU.
These current recruits don't seem to care either, or the Seminoles wouldn't have the No. 1 recruiting class in the country.
"Some coaches are very comfortable playing seven players," Hamilton said. "That's not who we are. And from a recruiting standpoint, I think sometimes the way we play, the fact that we're in the ACC, we've had a certain measure of success, some guys find that attractive.
"We're perfectly comfortable recruiting people who we relate to and who relate to us. There are a lot of good basketball players all over the country, so we just want to find good matches -- guys who fit who we are, and we fit who they want to be a part of."
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