For many NBA players, All-Star weekend is an opportunity to spend time with their families back home or to hang out and party in whatever big city is hosting that year's event.

For several former Florida State Seminoles, 2020 All-Star weekend was a chance to get back to Tallahassee to visit with their former coaches and teammates and to soak up the success of the program they helped put back on the map.

The first wave of players featured Mfiondu Kabengele and Terance Mann of the L.A. Clippers, Dwayne Bacon of the Charlotte Hornets, Christ Koumadje and Phil Cofer of the NBA's G League, and others. They were all in town for the weekend and watched the Seminoles knock off visiting Syracuse on Saturday.

Then on Tuesday night when the Seminoles hosted Pittsburgh, Malik Beasley of the Minnesota Timberwolves was in attendance with his family.

The first "one-and-done" player in school history -- Beasley was selected in the first round of the 2016 draft after his freshman year -- even was honored with a special ceremony at midcourt.

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"That was overwhelming to me," Florida State coach Leonard Hamilton said of the impromptu reunion. "To have that many guys, that are playing basketball for a living, want to take a moment of their schedule and come back and spend it here in Tallahassee -- with the fans and their teammates and the coaching staff. I mean, I was just overwhelmed and almost moved to tears to think about how far the program has come, in terms of guys on All-Star weekend spending their time here in Tallahassee.

"Hanging out with their former teammates ... and their coaches. I think that speaks volumes about where we are. And how far the program has come."

While Florida State has enjoyed plenty of success through the decades, this current run is about as good as it gets. The Seminoles are on their way to a fourth consecutive appearance in the NCAA Tournament, they have made trips to the Elite Eight and the Sweet 16, and they have been ranked in the top 10 during three of the past four seasons.

The 2019-20 team is currently ranked No. 8 and has been in the top 10 for seven straight weeks.

After watching them interact this week, Hamilton said he thinks the current Seminoles and the former players share a common appreciation for each other.

"I think that these guys (former players) are proud of what they've accomplished, and the guys on the team feel honored to be representing them and want to keep what they started going," the veteran head coach said. "So it's kind of bridging the groups. The guys are always watching us play, and our players are always watching them play. So that's a very positive sign that you like to see develop."

The visits also provided an opportunity for the current players to glean important information and perspective about what to expect at the next level.

Before practice on Monday, senior Trent Forrest, sophomore Devin Vassell and freshman Patrick Williams each took turns hitting up Bacon and Mann with a questions about life in the NBA.

There were several similar conversations throughout the week.

"Just asking questions about the difference in the game ... the adjustment from college to the NBA," Williams said. "They were talking about the speed of the game. They were saying that the hardest part of the adjustment is defense (because of different rules in that league). ...

"It's definitely good to have them here. Just to be able to pick their brain about -- not only the NBA -- but what they did here to be successful."

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