With the regular season still unfinished, Florida State appears to be the next power conference program making a major move with the hiring of Luke Loucks as their next head coach. He’ll replace Leonard Hamilton, who’s retiring from coaching after 23 years at Florida State and a long extensive coaching career, both in the NBA and at several different colleges.
Loucks actually played for Hamilton with these Seminoles, becoming a part of the backcourt from 2008 until 2012. He was only a starter as a senior but put up solid assist numbers throughout his four years in Tallahassee. After graduating he would spend the next four playing professional, both in the US and overseas.
It’s official ✍️ Luke Loucks is the next Head Coach of Florida State Basketball 🍢🏀
Full Story: https://t.co/mH61e3Se7f pic.twitter.com/WB81mdKGNu
— Florida State Men’s Basketball (@FSUHoops) March 9, 2025
Another head coaching hire without significant experience, Loucks has never been a head coach at any level. His coaching journey began in 2016 on Steve Kerr’s staff with the Golden State Warriors, where he earned a pair of NBA championship rings. He served several different roles, working his way up in the Warriors’ coaching hierarchy and has since worked in the organizations of the Phoenix Suns and Sacramento Kings.
Loucks returns home to Tallahassee after spending the last three years in Sacramento while helping to orchestrate the Kings’ defense. He’ll hope to resurrect a Florida State program that has struggled in recent years and hasn’t taken advantage of a recent downward trend in the ACC. He’ll join fellow head coaching newcomer Jai Lucas, another prominent name who takes over Miami without head coaching experience himself.
Without that relevant experience, either as a head coach or recruiting at the collegiate level, it’ll be important for Loucks to build a good staff around him. He’ll need someone with head coaching experience, whether at the professional or collegiate level, and he’ll likely look for a prominent recruiter as well.
Florida State had an impressive stretch from 2017 to 2021, with three Sweet Sixteen’s and a run to the Elite Eight, but the last four years really unraveled that progress. Loucks is now tasked with rebuilding success at Florida State, much like when he was on campus. The Seminoles had an elite defense and made the NCAA Tournament in each of his four seasons as a player. Does this former NBA assistant have a shot to get this program back into that kind of shape?