Florida State Basketball: 10-Year Snapshot & 2025 Season Update

2025 North Carolina Sports Network
Atlantic Coast Conference Basketball Spotlight:
Florida State

By David Glenn
North Carolina Sports Network

School: Florida State University

Location: Tallahassee, Fla.

Previous NCAA Conference Affiliations: Dixie Conference (1948-51), Florida Intercollegiate Conference (1954-57), Metro Conference (1976-91)

ACC Member Since: 1991-92

ACC Ranking Among 31 Leagues (KenPom): 5th (2025), 5th (2024), 7th (2023), 5th (2022), 5th (2021), 4th (2020)

NCAA Tournament Bids: 18 (1968, 1972, 1978, 1980, 1988, 1989, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1998, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2021)

Sweet 16s: 7 (1972, 1992, 1993, 2011, 2018, 2019, 2021)

Final Fours: 1 (1972)

Conference Titles: 4 (1955 in FIC; 1991 in Metro; 2012, 2020 in ACC)

Conference 1st-Place Finishes: 5 (1951 in Dixie; 1955 in FIC; 1978, 1989 in Metro; 2020 in ACC)

Head Coach: Leonard Hamilton (76 years old, 23rd season at Florida State)

As A Player: Gaston CC (1966-68), UT Martin (1969-71)

Record At Florida State (through Feb. 11): 457-290 (.612) in 22+ seasons

Previous HC Experience: Oklahoma State (1986-90), Miami (1990-2000), NBA’s Washington Wizards (2000-01)

College AC Experience: Austin Peay (1971-74), Kentucky (1974-86)

Assistant Under: Lake Kelly, Joe B. Hall, Eddie Sutton

2023-24 Record: 17-16, 10-10 (8th in 15-team ACC)

2024-25 Preseason Prediction (Media): 15th in 18-team ACC

2024-25 Record (through Feb. 11): 14-9, 5-7 ACC

2024-25 Midseason Ranking (KenPom): #80 nationally (8th in ACC)

Remaining Regular-Season Schedule: at Wake Forest (2/12), Clemson (2/15), Miami (2/19), at Louisville (2/22), UNC (2/24), at Duke (3/1), at UVa (3/4), SMU (3/8)

Coach Leonard Hamilton’s record-setting 23-year run as Florida State’s head coach will be over soon.

Hamilton, who will turn 77 years old in August, announced in early February that he will retire at the end of the ongoing 2024-25 season.

“There comes a time when it’s just time,” said Hamilton, one of the oldest coaches in Division One men’s basketball history. “I’m not gonna be like a lot of coaches, and talking about all the ills and what’s going on (in modern college athletics) and all the challenges we have.

“It’s just time. It’s time for Florida State basketball to have a new boss. It’s time for what’s best for Florida State. And I also think it’s what’s best for me.”

Only four men have posted more overall victories as the head coach of an Atlantic Coast Conference program: Duke’s Mike Krzyzewski, UNC’s Dean Smith, UNC’s Roy Williams and Maryland’s Gary Williams. Hamilton also ranks fifth all-time, behind the same four legends, in career victories during ACC play.

Hamilton’s lengthy tenure in Tallahassee also includes the Seminoles’ only ACC Tournament championship (2012), their only first-place finish in the ACC standings (2020) and eight of the program’s 18 all-time NCAA Tournament bids.

FSU’s extreme ebbs and flows under Hamilton ultimately created a truly unique pattern: six consecutive NCAA Tournament misses to begin his tenure, then four straight trips (2009-12) to the Big Dance, then four more misses, then four consecutive appearances (2017-21; the 2020 event was cancelled) and most recently another four-year run (barring a late miracle) of falling short.

This year’s Seminoles have been predictably mediocre (they were picked to finish 15th in the 18-team ACC), after the exodus of 10 scholarship players from last year’s middle-of-the-pack squad. Seven players, including three starters, left via the transfer portal in the aftermath of accusations (now part of a lawsuit) that Hamilton had failed to deliver on Name-Image-Likeness promises.

Among the potential candidates to succeed Hamilton are several with deep FSU ties, including third-year Missouri head coach Dennis Gates (a long-time Hamilton assistant in Tallahassee), Boston Celtics assistant coach Sam Cassell (an All-ACC guard for the Seminoles in the early 1990s) and 34-year-old Sacramento Kings assistant coach Luke Loucks (who played for Hamilton from 2008-12).

2024-25 Florida State Seminoles
(14-9, 5-7 ACC; through Feb. 11)

STARTERS (stats = 2024-25 numbers)

G Daquan Davis, Fr. (6-1/176) — 4-star HS signee (Overtime Elite in Atlanta)
26 mpg, 9 ppg, 2 rpg, 36% FG, 82% FT, 28% threes, 65/37 ATO, 11 blocks, 27 steals

G Chandler Jackson, Jr. (6-5/205) — 4-star HS signee (Christian Brothers in Memphis)
25 mpg, 7 ppg, 3 rpg, 46% FG, 75% FT, 19% threes, 42/15 ATO, 6 blocks, 29 steals

F Jamir Watkins*, r-Sr. (6-7/210) — 2023 VCU transfer (part-time starter)
30 mpg, 18 ppg, 5 rpg, 43% FG, 75% FT, 36% threes, 52/66 ATO, 13 blocks, 32 steals

F Taylor Bol Bowen, So. (6-10/205) — 4-star HS signee (Brewster Academy in N.H.)
25 mpg, 9 ppg, 6 rpg, 55% FG, 75% FT, 40% threes, 18/26 ATO, 31 blocks, 24 steals

C Malique Ewin, Jr. (6-11/230) — 2024 South Plains CC transfer (1st-team NJCAA A-A)
26 mpg, 14 ppg, 8 rpg, 57% FG, 67% FT, 0 threes, 42/44 ATO, 20 blocks, 17 steals

KEY RESERVES (stats = 2024-25 numbers)

G Justin Thomas, Sr. (6-7/184) — 2024 UTSA transfer (redshirt)
22 mpg, 5 ppg, 2 rpg, 44% FG, 63% FT, 35% threes, 41/23 ATO, 7 blocks, 26 steals

F Jerry Deng, So. (6-9/220) — 2024 Hampton transfer (backup)
15 mpg, 7 ppg, 2 rpg, 41% FG, 72% FT, 36% threes, 14/17 ATO, 6 blocks, 11 steals

G Bostyn Holt, Sr. (6-7/200) — 2024 South Dakota transfer (starter)
14 mpg, 4 ppg, 1 rpg, 48% FG, 64% FT, 33% threes, 26/19 ATO, 2 blocks, 9 steals

F AJ Swinton, Fr. (6-6/200) — 3-star HS signee (Bishop O’Connell in Va.)
11 mpg, 3 ppg, 1 rpg, 42% FG, 61% FT, 28% threes, 9/8 ATO, 2 blocks, 5 steals

F Alier Maluk, Fr. (7-0/218) — 4-star HS signee (Long Island Lutheran in N.Y.)
10 mpg, 3 ppg, 2 rpg, 50% FG, 70% FT, 0 threes, 6/18 ATO, 13 blocks, 7 steals

Departures from 2023-24: F Cam Corhen (So./transfer/Pittsburgh), F Cam’Ron Fletcher (Sr./transferXavier), G Darin Green Jr.* (Ss.), F De’Ante Green* (So./transfer/South Florida), F Tom House (So./transfer/Furman), C Jaylan Gainey (Sr./G League), F Baba Miller* (So./transfer/Florida Atlantic), G Josh Nickelberry (Ss.), G Primo Spears (Jr./transfer/UTSA), PG Jalen Warley* (Jr./transfer/Gonzaga)

*—2023-24 starter (started at least 50% of the Seminoles’ games last season)

Florida State Seminoles
10-Year Snapshot

Season: Overall, League (Place), Postseason

2023-24: 17-16, 10-10 ACC (8th), no postseason (Leonard Hamilton)
2022-23: 9-23, 7-13 ACC (12th), no postseason (Leonard Hamilton)
2021-22: 17-14, 10-10 ACC (8th), no postseason (Leonard Hamilton)
2020-21: 18-7, 11-4 ACC (2nd), NCAA Sweet 16 (Leonard Hamilton)
2019-20: 26-5, 16-4 ACC (1st*), COVID (Leonard Hamilton)
2018-19: 29-8, 13-5 ACC (4th), NCAA Sweet 16 (Leonard Hamilton)
2017-18: 23-12, 9-9 ACC (8th), NCAA Elite Eight (Leonard Hamilton)
2016-17: 26-9, 12-6 ACC (2nd), NCAA Round of 32 (Leonard Hamilton)
2015-16: 20-14, 8-10 ACC (11th), NIT Sweet 16 (Leonard Hamilton)
2014-15: 17-16, 8-10 ACC (9th), no postseason (Leonard Hamilton)

*—conference champion (regular-season and/or tournament)

NOTE: Please visit the North Carolina Sports Network’s 2024-25 profiles and 10-year snapshots (links below) for all 19 Division One men’s basketball programs in North Carolina and all 18 Atlantic Coast Conference programs.

Appalachian State Mountaineers, Sun Belt Conference

Boston College Eagles, Atlantic Coast Conference

California Golden Bears, Atlantic Coast Conference

Campbell Camels, Coastal Athletic Association

Charlotte 49ers, American Athletic Conference

Clemson Tigers, Atlantic Coast Conference

Duke Blue Devils, Atlantic Coast Conference

East Carolina Pirates, American Athletic Conference

Elon Phoenix, Coastal Athletic Association

Florida State Seminoles, Atlantic Coast Conference

Gardner-Webb Runnin’ Bulldogs, Big South Conference

Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets, Atlantic Coast Conference