FSU has made great strides with their basketball program since the team was taken over by Leonard Hamilton and his staff 8 years ago. But while the recruiting efforts, defense and player development have been extraordinary, the squad has lacked identity on the offensive end of the court. I have tried yelling at the TV, and have pulled my hair out at many home games, but they don’t seem to hear me, so I figured what better place to vent then my new blog. 

I understand that Hamilton is a fantastic recruiter and defensive coach, and that he delegates most of his offensive strategy and play calling to Stan Jones  and Andy Enfield, but they just don’t seem to be getting the job done. If they were the offensive coordinators for the FSU football team, they would have been ran out-of-town by the boosters 5 years ago, yet because Basketball comes second or even third in the eyes of the men with money, their has been no outrage.

Here are some of the things that drive me crazy

1. We never seem to call plays after timeout’s, which is basketball 101..you should have a guaranteed open look coming out of a timeout

2. FSU now has one of the tallest teams in the NCAA including Solomon Alabi who is 7-1 and is turning into a force with the ball in his hands and at the free throw line..yet..we don’t give him the ball!!!! HE SHOULD TOUCH THE BALL EVERY POSSESSION..he doesnt have to shoot but he is beginning to demand a double team  which will create open looks. Last game vs. Georgia tech he only touched the ball 4 times total on the offensive end during the first half..unreal!! The whole first half he was setting picks out by the 3 point line when he is not a pick and pop player!!

3. STOP SUBBING OUT PLAYERS WHEN THEY ARE PLAYING WELL TOGETHER!!! I understand if a player gets tired every once in a while, but too many times we go on a run and Hamilton subs out the point guard or the big man who is hot and not tired…let your players get some DAMN CONTINUITY!!

4. Try and develop an offensive identity. We have no Idea what kind of team to be on the offensive end of the floor. Do we play a triangle offense with the big men? high pick and roll? dribble drive? No, we are going to run the same low picks for our guards who run around in circles on the perimeter and have no idea what to do with the ball.

5. Run some plays for your stars..Alabi and Singleton are very skilled…lets give them some set plays instead of making them create on their own

FSU basketball will continue their success because of the great defense and top talent that Hamilton and his staff bring to the table, but we will never get to the next level untill we bring in a coach that can teach a successful offensive system to these kids. 

–thanks for letting me vent

Coaching Staff

Head Coach: Leonard Hamilton
Associate Head Coach: Stan Jones
Assistant Coaches: Andy Enfield, Corey Williams
Strength and Conditioning Coach: Michael Bradley
Associate Trainer: Sam Lunt
Video Coordinator: Michael Fly
Director of Operations: Jacob Ridenhour