Clark column: FSU, Hamilton show toughness in 81-80 win over UNC
I don’t know how good this Florida State basketball team is going to be.
It has moments where it looks like one of the best in school history. It has others where it makes you shake your head and throw your hands to the sky.
But on Wednesday night what stood out the most, what I thought was the most important development in the 81-80 victory over No. 12 North Carolina, was just how tough the Seminoles were down the stretch.
After getting obliterated by Duke on the glass in that thriller up in Durham last Saturday, Florida State grabbed every critical rebound it needed in the one-point win over the defending national champs.
I know the end was ugly. But don’t let the crazy turnovers and the missed free throws overshadow just how good FSU was on the defensive end late in the game. And unlike Saturday’s 100-93 loss, when it mattered most on Wednesday, FSU was able to come down with the tough rebounds.
That’s a big takeaway from the Seminoles’ victory over North Carolina. Because sometimes the shots aren’t going to fall. Sometimes you can’t just expect to rain 3s on everyone you play. You have to get stops late in games -- FSU couldn’t do that against Oklahoma State or Duke down the stretch.
On Wednesday night it did.
The Seminoles showed they had some stones in the final few defensive possessions. That’s something to build on.
Hey, so speaking of stones.
I always knew Leonard Hamilton was a tough guy. You don’t come from where he came from, from the era he grew up in, and become a successful college basketball coach without having some serious toughness about you.
But what he managed to do on Wednesday was remarkable even for him.
Hamilton missed Tuesday’s practice because he was suffering from my all-time biggest fear -- aside from airplanes, tornadoes and clowns: Kidney stones. (By the way, I have way too many fears it would appear. I might need to go see someone about my anxiety, but that’s a different column for a different day -- and probably for a different website.)
Kidney stones, though, are said to be just about the most excruciating pain there is. I mean, the stories you hear from people who've had them make you want to cover your ears and scream “la-la-la-la-la” while they talk. I legitimately squirm every time I think about what it must feel like to pass one.
I’m squirming right now writing about it. It’s legitimately terrifying.
But after what Hamilton did on Wednesday, coaching an ACC basketball game on the same day he had kidney stones surgery ... well, he could certainly lay claim to being the toughest person in the Donald L. Tucker Center.
North Carolina head coach Roy Williams was “under the weather” on Wednesday and because of that, his sports information director requested we keep the post-game press conference as short as possible.
As Williams got up to leave, after just about three minutes of answering questions, he said in a raspy voice: “As bad as I feel, at least I didn’t have surgery this morning. Leonard had surgery, so he’s tougher than me.”
Hamilton walked slower than normal into his postgame press conference on Wednesday. But other than that, he was his typical self afterward.
It wasn’t until I asked him about it midway through the Q&A session that he even talked about the surgery.
“We were able to come away with a victory,” Hamilton said with a big smile. “That’s the most important thing. … The last 36 hours have been a little tough on me, but I’ve had tougher things that I’ve had to overcome. Maybe not quite as painful.”
I then asked him if he ever contemplated not coaching Wednesday night.
He chuckled at the mere thought of missing the game for some stupid, little stones.
“That was not going to happen,” Hamilton said flatly. “Kidney stones are not very enjoyable. They create some pain for you. But that’s OK. This made the pain worth it.”
PHOTO GALLERY: Check out these photos from Wednesday's win
Two things I would have done Wednesday if I was Hamilton: First and foremost, I would have been drugged up like Jim Morrison. To the point where I would’ve seen dragons at midcourt and leprechauns dancing on the backboard.
And secondly, I would have made sure my players knew how much pain I was in. Before the game. During the game. At every timeout.
“Seriously, man? You’re not going to rebound? You’re tired?! I’m 69 years old. I just had surgery THIS morning. I just went through a hell you can’t even imagine. I’m about to pass out from the pain. And yet you can’t even contest a jump shot?
"You need to quit feeling sorry for yourself and start feeling sorry for me. Because I deserve it! Now, go out there and show me YOU’VE got some stones, too!”
I mean, I would’ve made it our rallying cry. Something to get the kids fired up!
But, oddly, Hamilton went a different route than Corey Clark.
Hamilton didn’t tell his team about it at all.
The first time C.J. Walker heard about Hamilton’s surgery was when I told him about it after the game.
“I had no clue,” Walker said. “I mean, that just shows you how determined Coach Ham is. He takes a different focus to the game. His approach is different. You see the look on his face every game. He’s serious. But I did not know that.
“I mean, it just shows that he cares for us. He cares for the fans. He cares for Florida State. That means a lot. That kind of shocks me, because I didn’t even know.”
Walker also admitted he didn’t know anything about the pain associated with kidney stones.
For his sake, I hope he didn’t Google it after the interview was over. Nobody needs those images seared into their brain.
As for Hamilton’s team, we still don’t know how good it’s going to be.
But it just beat North Carolina for the first time since the ACC Championship win in 2012.
And it did so by getting stops when it absolutely had to, and by showing toughness down the stretch.
Just like the coach.
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Chat with other FSU fans about the win on the Seminole hoops board