Whatever Leonard Hamilton tries to sell you, don't buy it.
After speaking with the Florida State coach at ACC media day in Charlotte earlier this fall, I wrote that the Seminoles would try to push the pace this year to take advantage of the athletes Hamilton had so successfully been recruiting. And, uh, still waiting.
Here's what Hamilton had to say in October:
“It’s a great idea, pushing it,” Hamilton said. “We were holding opponents to 37.7 points per game but it wasn’t translating into offense. A lot of times we were shooting ourselves in the foot by turning the ball over. We worked on that. We worked on ball-handling. It’s all we’ve done.”
The results, after seven games? The Seminoles are averaging 73.3 points per game, 127th in Division I, and in two games against legit competition -- Florida and Ohio State -- scored 51 and 44 points.
Hamilton is a great recruiter, and as far as developing players, it sure seems like there are a lot of Florida State players who are better as seniors than freshmen and sophomores, so he gets high marks there. But his failure to make better use of the talent he's assembled by unleashing it on offense is as baffling as it is damaging to the Seminoles' prospects.
This was supposed to be the year, but it clearly is not.
Luke has worked for The N&O since 2000. He covered the Carolina Hurricanes and the NHL before becoming a sports columnist in August 2008. A native of Evanston, Ill., he graduated from the University of Pennsylvania. He can be reached at (919) 829-8947, @LukeDeCock on Twitter or 
Comments
Good points
Wed, 12/01/2010 - 23:12 — gvillegatrReminds me of Virginia Tech as well. Seth has talent, but can't seem to ever string it together as well.
Seth
Fri, 12/03/2010 - 16:46 — Heels20If he would play someone other than Virginia A&T in non-conference then his team could probably find its way into the NCAA tournament.