The Florida State men’s basketball team returns home to face Clemson tonight, fresh off a shellacking from North Carolina in Chapel Hill over the weekend.
For anyone who has followed FSU (13-11, 6-8 ACC) this season, it’s no secret that the Seminoles have dealt with significant injury issues. Missing four of the team’s top five scorers during stretches has certainly played a part in FSU’s current six-game losing streak.
But in a lopsided loss to UNC, a game in which the ’Noles trailed 18-0 early and 62-24 at halftime, FSU men’s basketball head coach Leonard Hamilton was bothered not just by the missed shots and mental mistakes on defense. When he and his staff watched the film, they also noticed a lack of effort in certain situations -- which is obviously unacceptable.
“The things that we have been accustomed to doing, we didn’t execute them. And it always starts with your effort," Hamilton said. "A lot of those things. The guy getting ready to shoot, you just have to get there quickly. You’ve got to contest.
"If you are inside and you’ve got to rebound, you have to be aggressive and get off your feet. We just seemed to be a step slow. Hopefully, we will redeem ourselves coming up at home against Clemson.”
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The Tigers enter the Tucker Center at 12-13 overall and just 4-10 in the ACC. They are riding a four-game losing streak themselves since defeating FSU, 75-69, on Feb. 2.
While the ’Noles are shorthanded, Hamilton explained that the players can't allow that to become an excuse.
“You can’t point fingers, you can’t blame anyone, you have to look yourself in the mirror and ask, ‘What part am I contributing? What could I do better? How could I make it easier for my teammates?’” Hamilton said. “As opposed to trying to take it all on themselves on an individual. But you have to be able to realistically evaluate each individual. Then as a team, we have to all come together. This is the frame of mind we have to be in.”
FSU was already without key seniors Malik Osborne and Anthony Polite as well as emerging first-year center Naheem McLeod due to surgeries. The sour injury luck only compounded when leading scorer Caleb Mills exited the UNC loss early on in the first half with a foot ailment.
Mills’ status is currently up in the air for tonight's game vs. Clemson.
“As I look at this game coming up, that means that Harrison [Prieto] and Justin [Lindner] will probably be forced into the rotation a little bit more if Caleb is not available," Hamilton said. "It seems as though with each game, we have gone into it with different lineups, different rotations. But that is part of the journey we are on this particular year. And for me personally, every available waking moment, I am trying to evaluate how we avoid being in these situations.”
Hamilton said he addressed the team’s lackluster effort against UNC, which ended up a 94-74 final, in a team film session and practice on Sunday.
“I think what you have to do is be honest. When you start trying to physiologically figure out what buttons to push, then you compromise the reality of the situation,” Hamilton said. “You preface your conversations in that we are not having a pity party. We are not blaming anyone. But we need maximum effort in order for everyone to be successful and here is why.”
FSU and Clemson tip off at 7 p.m. ET on Bally Sports and ACC Network Extra. After that, the ’Noles embark on a three-game road trip, their final of the season, beginning Saturday at Duke.
As bleak as things have been the past few weeks, with all of the injuries and losses, Hamilton said he is trying to keep in perspective that some of the younger players could benefit by being forced into action.
“This experience that they are getting is valuable," he said. "They need to go back and say, ‘I can do better here. I can be a little stronger here.’”
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