Stan Jones has been doing this a long time.
He's been an assistant coach with Leonard Hamilton for over 20 years, and during that stretch, the two have experienced plenty of success -- including Sweet 16 runs, Big East and ACC Tournament championships.
But they had never been to an Elite Eight. They had never been a couple of baskets from the Final Four. And, more importantly, as we head into the summer months, they've never been able to recruit after coming off an Elite Eight run.
Not that Florida State hasn't landed its share of big-time players -- the Seminoles had five different players on NBA rosters this past season -- but Jones admits the past few months have been a wee bit different than what he's been accustomed to in the past.
"No question," Jones said. "The brand credibility is much easier to get conversations started and have people express legitimate interest. When they see you play that far into the tournament and they see your guys get drafted, those are the two things they want to hear about in the recruiting process these days."
In truth, Jones says, this current Florida State run started two years before the Elite Eight appearance. In 2015-2016, the Seminoles had one of the best freshman duos in the country with Malik Beasley and Dwayne Bacon. And even though that team didn't make the NCAA Tournament -- it landed on the wrong side of the bubble after some tough losses in the middle of the season -- it had some high-profile players.
One of whom, Beasley, would be drafted in the first round a few months later.
"Malik doesn't get enough credit for being that first one-and-done type guy," Jones said. "For coming in here and giving us credibility. We probably need to start throwing his name out there a bit more. We always talk about 'Bake' (Dwayne Bacon) and Jonathan (Isaac), but Malik was a big part of this run, too."
After Beasley's first-round selection, the Seminoles followed that up with a 26-win season that helped Isaac become an NBA lottery pick.
Then, of course, came last year's Elite Eight run.
So after a stretch in which the Seminoles didn't make the tournament for four straight seasons, there is some real momentum surrounding the program. There is some real momentum on the recruiting trail.
