Florida State University Athletics
Wednesday, January 17
Coral Gables, FL
7:00 p.m.
Florida State
at
Miami
Playing The Hurricanes Is Completely A Business Trip For Seminoles' Hamilton
1/16/2024 12:20:00 PM | Men's Basketball
CORAL GABLES, Fla. – For most people, a trip to Miami in January would be exactly what the doctor ordered. The forecast for the next 10 days sees daytime temperatures as high as 80 degrees, with only one day when it isn't expected to reach 70 degrees. On Sunday, the high is predicted to be 69.
Florida State's Leonard Hamilton doesn't care how warm it will be, doesn't plan to sit on the balcony outside his hotel room, and probably won't realize if the sun is shining or if there is rain falling from the sky.
For Hamilton, whose team has won four consecutive ACC games, Florida State's trip to play the Hurricanes on the ACC Network at the Watsco Center at 7:00 on Wednesday, is a business trip.
"This is a business trip for me," said Hamilton who won 144 games as Miami's head coach from 1990-2000. "I won't visit with relatives, and I won't have lunch and dinner with friends. I stay focused on the task at hand. My son still lives down there so I probably visit with him for a few moments. Other than that, it's a business trip."
The business at hand is Hamilton's rapidly improving team which has won five of its last six games – a streak that includes four consecutive wins over Georgia Tech, Virginia Tech, Wake Forest and most recently against Notre Dame on the road. The Seminoles begin play against the Hurricanes with a 4-1 record league play and in second place in the league standings. Only No. 6 ranked North Carolina with five ACC wins has more victories in the early part of the conference season than the Seminoles.
"We are still almost like a new team," said Hamilton. "We are still trying to find that right chemistry, that right rotation, that right substitution pattern. We are still searching and trying to develop that chemistry. We have pretty good playmakers, so we are making plays. We are playing better because we have some additional support, and those guys are making contributions. They have given us the opportunity to execute our system both offensively and defensively a little better than what it was early in the year."
As Florida State continues to become healthy, the Seminoles have prospered at both ends of the court because of their increased quality depth.
Defensively during their four-game winning streak, the Seminoles held Notre Dame to 58 points and to a .418 field goal shooting percentage in their victory over the Irish, blocked nine shots in their win over the Deacons, limited Virginia Tech to 74 points, and held Georgia Tech to a .424 shooting percentage in their win over the Yellow Jackets.
Florida State has held three of its last four ACC opponents under their scoring average for the season in winning four consecutive conference games.
Offensively, Florida State enters Wednesday's game at Miami averaging 78.2 points scored per game in its last four ACC games as compared to 76.7 points scored per game in its first 12 games of the season. In each of its five ACC games, the Seminoles have held a double-digit lead with its largest lead in an ACC game coming the second half of its victory over Georgia Tech (+17).
One of the aspects of the game Hamilton and the Seminoles have on their side is history. The Seminoles have won 11 of the last 12 games against Miami including five in a row at the Watsco Center. The teams split the home-and home series in 2023 with each team winning on the other's home court.
Hamilton also brings his history into the game as the third-winningest coach in the history of the Miami program. He led the Hurricanes to three NCAA Tournament appearances (1996, 1999, 2000) and to the school's first Sweet 16 appearance in 2000. He was named the Big East Coach of the Year in 1995 and 1999 and is the only Miami coach to win coach of the year honors while the Hurricanes were members of the historic conference.
Hamilton, who has earned ACC Coach of the Year honors three times at Florida State (2009, 2012, 2020), has fond memories of his time at Miami.
"I'm proud of the fact that the Miami program has grown and grown and grown every year," said Hamilton. "Coach Larranaga has done a tremendous job in taking the program to higher and higher levels. I get excited when I see the crowds and how passionate their fans are. That's what we tried to establish many years ago. It's really good to see that we played a little part in establishing one of the top programs in the ACC.
"I have to take my hat off to the fans, the school, the administration at Miami – they have given them the type of support needed – and I think it's going to continue growing."
While much of the nation is in the grips of lowest temperatures in recent memory, Hamilton and the Seminoles look to keep growing their win total in ACC play against the Hurricanes.
"The reason for the cold weather is the Jet Stream which is taking a tremendous dip across the central portion of the country, all the way to Brownsville, Texas which right now feels colder than New York City," said Janice Huff, FSU alumnus and Chief Meteorologist for WNBC in New York City. "Meanwhile Miami and most of Florida is on the warm side of the jet, which is like a fast-moving river of air in the upper atmosphere that separates cold and warm air above us."
Not that Hamilton will notice the weather on Wednesday as he sees playing Miami as an opportunity for his Seminoles on a business trip to south Florida.
Florida State's Leonard Hamilton doesn't care how warm it will be, doesn't plan to sit on the balcony outside his hotel room, and probably won't realize if the sun is shining or if there is rain falling from the sky.
For Hamilton, whose team has won four consecutive ACC games, Florida State's trip to play the Hurricanes on the ACC Network at the Watsco Center at 7:00 on Wednesday, is a business trip.
"This is a business trip for me," said Hamilton who won 144 games as Miami's head coach from 1990-2000. "I won't visit with relatives, and I won't have lunch and dinner with friends. I stay focused on the task at hand. My son still lives down there so I probably visit with him for a few moments. Other than that, it's a business trip."
The business at hand is Hamilton's rapidly improving team which has won five of its last six games – a streak that includes four consecutive wins over Georgia Tech, Virginia Tech, Wake Forest and most recently against Notre Dame on the road. The Seminoles begin play against the Hurricanes with a 4-1 record league play and in second place in the league standings. Only No. 6 ranked North Carolina with five ACC wins has more victories in the early part of the conference season than the Seminoles.
"We are still almost like a new team," said Hamilton. "We are still trying to find that right chemistry, that right rotation, that right substitution pattern. We are still searching and trying to develop that chemistry. We have pretty good playmakers, so we are making plays. We are playing better because we have some additional support, and those guys are making contributions. They have given us the opportunity to execute our system both offensively and defensively a little better than what it was early in the year."
As Florida State continues to become healthy, the Seminoles have prospered at both ends of the court because of their increased quality depth.
Defensively during their four-game winning streak, the Seminoles held Notre Dame to 58 points and to a .418 field goal shooting percentage in their victory over the Irish, blocked nine shots in their win over the Deacons, limited Virginia Tech to 74 points, and held Georgia Tech to a .424 shooting percentage in their win over the Yellow Jackets.
Florida State has held three of its last four ACC opponents under their scoring average for the season in winning four consecutive conference games.
Offensively, Florida State enters Wednesday's game at Miami averaging 78.2 points scored per game in its last four ACC games as compared to 76.7 points scored per game in its first 12 games of the season. In each of its five ACC games, the Seminoles have held a double-digit lead with its largest lead in an ACC game coming the second half of its victory over Georgia Tech (+17).
One of the aspects of the game Hamilton and the Seminoles have on their side is history. The Seminoles have won 11 of the last 12 games against Miami including five in a row at the Watsco Center. The teams split the home-and home series in 2023 with each team winning on the other's home court.
Hamilton also brings his history into the game as the third-winningest coach in the history of the Miami program. He led the Hurricanes to three NCAA Tournament appearances (1996, 1999, 2000) and to the school's first Sweet 16 appearance in 2000. He was named the Big East Coach of the Year in 1995 and 1999 and is the only Miami coach to win coach of the year honors while the Hurricanes were members of the historic conference.
Hamilton, who has earned ACC Coach of the Year honors three times at Florida State (2009, 2012, 2020), has fond memories of his time at Miami.
"I'm proud of the fact that the Miami program has grown and grown and grown every year," said Hamilton. "Coach Larranaga has done a tremendous job in taking the program to higher and higher levels. I get excited when I see the crowds and how passionate their fans are. That's what we tried to establish many years ago. It's really good to see that we played a little part in establishing one of the top programs in the ACC.
"I have to take my hat off to the fans, the school, the administration at Miami – they have given them the type of support needed – and I think it's going to continue growing."
While much of the nation is in the grips of lowest temperatures in recent memory, Hamilton and the Seminoles look to keep growing their win total in ACC play against the Hurricanes.
"The reason for the cold weather is the Jet Stream which is taking a tremendous dip across the central portion of the country, all the way to Brownsville, Texas which right now feels colder than New York City," said Janice Huff, FSU alumnus and Chief Meteorologist for WNBC in New York City. "Meanwhile Miami and most of Florida is on the warm side of the jet, which is like a fast-moving river of air in the upper atmosphere that separates cold and warm air above us."
Not that Hamilton will notice the weather on Wednesday as he sees playing Miami as an opportunity for his Seminoles on a business trip to south Florida.
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