FSU basketball: Leonard Hamilton speaks at ACC Tipoff

Florida State basketball’s press conference at the ACC Tipoff in Charlotte just concluded. Leonard Hamilton took the podium, along with Anthony Polite and Malik Osborne, to discuss the upcoming season. The Seminoles begin their season on November 10th vs. Penn. Here’s some of what Hamilton had to say:

On Coach K and Roy Williams: “There’s no doubt those two guys have been the pillars of our league. They’re icons, we’re going to miss them. The respect that they brought to the game of basketball will be missed.”

“Coach K has been such an icon. Such an unselfish person in that way that he’s given of himself for the game of basketball. I can’t say enough about the relationship that we’ve been able to establish.”

On national respect: “We don’t really worry that much about respect. Respect is something you earn... Maybe we’re not as well known. We don’t try to measure ourselves. We just try to represent who we are now.”

On new transfer rules: “The rules of college basketball are what they are, so we have to make adjustments. There’s a lot of kids to choose from, so you have to work harder and evaluate.”

“What we try to do is just be observant, be who we are, control what we can control, and move on.”

On the performance of the team last year while dealing with Covid: “I’m so proud of the discipline our players displayed last year. These guys were just fabulous.”

Malik Osborne: “When I first came in, I saw the change to the basketball culture. I saw the difference of the emphasis that Ham had on the team. He really focused on the chemistry, the connectivity of the players. The culture that coach Ham has established, it’s like a family, a brotherhood.”

“It really is just the chemistry. The will to fight for your brother.”

Anthony Polite: “We’re super close and it makes everything a lot easier on the court to play off each other.”