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Leonard Hamilton

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
For the Australian politician, see Len Hamilton. For the English army officer and cricket, see Leonard Hamilton (cricketer).
Leonard Hamilton
Hamilton in 2013
Biographical details
Born (1948-08-04) August 4, 1948 (age 76)
Gastonia, North Carolina, U.S.
Playing career
1966–1968Gaston CC
1969–1971UT Martin
Coaching career (HC unless noted)
1971–1974Austin Peay (assistant)
1974–1986Kentucky (assistant)
1986–1990Oklahoma State
1990–2000Miami (FL)
2000–2001Washington Wizards
2002–2025Florida State
Head coaching record
Overall660–507 (.566) (college)
19–63 (.232) (NBA)
Tournaments14–11 (NCAA)
10–11 (NIT)
Accomplishments and honors
Championships
Big East regular season (2000)
ACC tournament (2012)
ACC regular season (2020)
Awards
UPI National Coach of the Year (1995)
2× Big East Coach of the Year (1995, 1999)
3× ACC Coach of the Year (2009, 2012, 2020)
Ben Jobe Award (2021)

James Leonard Hamilton (born August 4, 1948) is an American former basketball coach. He served as the head coach at Florida State University from 2002 to 2025. He is a former head coach at Oklahoma State University, the University of Miami, and for the National Basketball Association's Washington Wizards. In his 33 years as a collegiate head coach, his teams qualified for 12 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournaments and 11 National Invitation Tournaments, highlighted by appearances in the NCAA Tournament's Elite Eight (2018) and Sweet 16 (2011, 2019, 2021) with Florida State, and a Sweet 16 appearance with Miami (2000). Other career benchmarks include the Big East Conference regular season championship in 2000, the ACC tournament title in 2012, and the ACC regular season championship in 2020. Hamilton is the winningest coach in school history at Florida State and one of only four coaches to have 200 regular season ACC wins.

Biography

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Hamilton played college basketball at the University of Tennessee at Martin, where he was the first Black player in program history.[1][2] He was a member of the Kappa Alpha Psi fraternity.[3]

Hamilton was an assistant coach and associate head coach at the University of Kentucky from 1974 to 1986 under then-head coach Joe B. Hall. He was the first Black coach in Kentucky basketball history, and is credited with helping Hall to fully integrate the program.[4] Hamilton was on the staff at Kentucky when it finished as the NCAA runner-up in 1975, won the 1978 NCAA Championship and went to the 1984 Final Four. He was a successful recruiter for Kentucky basketball, with players including Jack Givens, James Lee, Sam Bowie and Melvin Turpin[5]

Hamilton was named ACC Coach of the Year on March 10, 2009 and a second time in 2012,[6] and again in 2020.[7] Hamilton is the first coach to be named coach of the year in both the Big East and the ACC. In 2018, he was named the Clarence "Big House" Gaines National Coach of the Year by the National Sports Media Association.[8]

On February 3, 2025, Florida State announced that Hamilton would be resigning as head coach at the conclusion of the 2024–25 season.[9]

Head-coaching record

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College

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Statistics overview
Season Team Overall Conference Standing Postseason
Oklahoma State Cowboys (Big Eight Conference) (1986–1990)
1986–87 Oklahoma State 8–20 4–10 7th
1987–88 Oklahoma State 14–16 4–10 T–6th
1988–89 Oklahoma State 17–13 7–7 T–4th NIT Second Round
1989–90 Oklahoma State 17–14 6–8 5th NIT Second Round
Oklahoma State: 56–63 (.471) 21–35 (.375)
Miami Hurricanes (NCAA Division I Independent) (1990–1991)
1990–91 Miami 9–19
Miami Hurricanes (Big East Conference) (1991–2000)
1991–92 Miami 8–24 1–17 10th
1992–93 Miami 10–17 7–11 9th
1993–94 Miami 7–20 0–18 10th
1994–95 Miami 15–13 9–9 5th NIT First Round
1995–96 Miami 15–13 8–10 4th (Big East 7)
1996–97 Miami 16–13 9–9 T–4th (Big East 7) NIT First Round
1997–98 Miami 18–10 11–7 2nd (Big East 7) NCAA Division I Round of 64
1998–99 Miami 23–7 15–3 2nd NCAA Division I Round of 32
1999–00 Miami 23–11 13–3 T–1st NCAA Division I Sweet 16
Miami: 144–147 (.495) 73–87 (.456)
Florida State Seminoles (Atlantic Coast Conference) (2002–present)
2002–03 Florida State 14–15 4–12 9th
2003–04 Florida State 19–14 6–10 T–7th NIT Second Round
2004–05 Florida State 12–19 4–12 T–10th
2005–06 Florida State 20–10 9–7 5th NIT Second Round
2006–07 Florida State 22–13 7–9 T–8th NIT Quarterfinal
2007–08 Florida State 19–15 7–9 T–7th NIT First Round
2008–09 Florida State 25–10 10–6 4th NCAA Division I Round of 64
2009–10 Florida State 22–10 10–6 T–3rd NCAA Division I Round of 64
2010–11 Florida State 23–11 11–5 3rd NCAA Division I Sweet 16
2011–12 Florida State 25–10 12–4 3rd NCAA Division I Round of 32
2012–13 Florida State 18–16 9–9 6th NIT First Round
2013–14 Florida State 22–14 9–9 T–7th NIT Semifinal
2014–15 Florida State 17–16 8–10 9th
2015–16 Florida State 20–14 8–10 T–11th NIT Second Round
2016–17 Florida State 26–9 12–6 T–2nd NCAA Division I Round of 32
2017–18 Florida State 23–12 9–9 T–8th NCAA Division I Elite Eight
2018–19 Florida State 29–8 13–5 4th NCAA Division I Sweet 16
2019–20 Florida State 26–5 16–4 1st Postseason cancelled due to COVID-19
2020–21 Florida State 18–7 11–4 2nd NCAA Division I Sweet 16
2021–22 Florida State 17–14 10–10 8th
2022–23 Florida State 9–23 7–13 12th
2023–24 Florida State 17–16 10–10 T–8th
2024–25 Florida State 17–15 8–12 T–9th
Florida State: 460–296 (.608) 211–191 (.525)
Total: 660–507 (.566)

      National champion         Postseason invitational champion  
      Conference regular season champion         Conference regular season and conference tournament champion
      Division regular season champion       Division regular season and conference tournament champion
      Conference tournament champion

NBA

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Legend
Regular season G Games coached W Games won L Games lost W–L % Win–loss %
Playoffs PG Playoff games PW Playoff wins PL Playoff losses PW–L % Playoff win–loss %
Team Year G W L W–L% Finish PG PW PL PW–L% Result
Washington 2000–01 82 19 63 .232 7th in Atlantic — — — — Missed Playoffs
Career 82 19 63 .232 — — — —

Personal life

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Hamilton is married to Claudette Hamilton and they have two children.[10]

References

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  1. ^ Shaw, Audrey. "Leonard Hamilton: The makings of a coach". FSView. Retrieved 12 March 2025.
  2. ^ "Leonard Hamilton". Tennessee Sports Hall of Fame. Retrieved 12 March 2025.
  3. ^ "Fraternity alumni endow new scholarship at APSU".
  4. ^ Tucker, Kyle (17 January 2022). "'The most important legacy': Joe B. Hall, with help from Leonard Hamilton, finally integrated Kentucky". The New York Times. Retrieved 12 March 2025.
  5. ^ Tucker, Kyle. "'The most important legacy': Joe B. Hall, with help from Leonard Hamilton, finally integrated Kentucky". The Athletic. Retrieved 2022-01-17.
  6. ^ "Turnaround Architect Hamilton Named ACC Coach of the Year". March 6, 2012. Archived from the original on January 5, 2013. Retrieved March 12, 2012.
  7. ^ "Hamilton Named ACC Coach of the Year". 9 March 2020.
  8. ^ [1]. Seminoles.com. Retrieved June 27, 2018.
  9. ^ "Hamilton Submits Resignation Effective At End Of Season". Florida State University. Retrieved 2025-02-03.
  10. ^ Robb, Sharon. "WITH PRIDE AND PASSION FRIENDS SAY LEONARD HAMILTON NEVER QUITS, ESPECIALLY WHEN RECRUITING. SOUNDS LIKE THE MAN UM NEEDS". Retrieved 21 February 2020.
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