Leonard Hamilton frustrated by FSU's lack of leadership
Leonard Hamilton has lamented Florida State’s consistency throughout the season, and he reiterated that on Monday: “We’ve been consistently inconsistent.”
This point goes beyond the struggles of December (2-4) to the highs of January (6-2) and now a frustrating loss to the ACC’s worst team, 101-92 at Louisville on Saturday. But when asked by the Osceola about leadership and particularly which players’ voices and actions were evident in difficult moments, Hamilton didn’t hold back.
“We have not had that type of leadership that we really feel like we needed basically the entire year,” Hamilton said. “We have a bunch of guys on the team that they’re laid-back guys, their personalities are somewhat quiet. We have struggled with identifying who those leaders are. For the most part, as a staff, we’ve been trying to be the leaders.
“Leaders have not emerged to the point where I feel like one particular person seems to be the personality that drives the team.”
This is a departure from the norm for FSU, which has featured plenty of leaders on NCAA Tournament teams like Trent Forrest, Terance Mann, Raiquan Gray and Devin Vassell to Malik Osborne and Anthony Polite in recent years. Even the loss of a few scout-team veterans like Justin Lindner and Harrison Prieto, who took freshmen under their wings, has been tough to replace.
Hamilton said he and the staff have done what they can to motivate. They have also brought in guest speakers. And they use “every psychological motivating tool available.”
There have been clear positives with wins over teams viewed favorably by KenPom’s metrics: No. 22 Colorado in November, No. 31 Wake Forest in January and a rivalry victory over No. 66 Miami later in the month. FSU also fought a potential Final Four team, North Carolina, before losing steam in the second half of a December road loss as well as a home defeat to the Tar Heels that went down to the final minutes on Jan. 27.
There have also been losses to three teams rated below 100, from No. 114 South Florida to No. 167 Lipscomb and now No. 179 Louisville. The season has been, in a word, inconsistent.
“We’ve had moments where we’ve responded very, very well,” Hamilton said. “And then we’ve had moments where we seem to be not responding appropriately. Hopefully that’s behind us. It seems like any time our backs are against the wall, we seem to find a way to dig out.”
FSU did that after the Lipscomb defeat on Dec. 30, rattling off five straight ACC wins. Now, after a loss to Louisville, FSU (12-9, 6-4 ACC) will need to bring that fire in a road game against Boston College (13-8, 4-6) on Tuesday at 7 p.m. if the Seminoles are seeking to salvage what’s left in the final 10 regular-season games.
“We don’t have nearly as much room for error as we’ve had in the past,” Hamilton said.
Chandler Jackson update
Chandler Jackson did not play in FSU’s loss at Louisville. When asked about the guard’s availability, Hamilton simply said “game-time decision.”
Jackson scored 10 points in FSU’s loss to UNC on Jan. 27 but, even with the Seminoles facing foul trouble at Louisville, he did not play after coming off the bench in FSU’s previous 20 games.
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