Last ACC tourney for Leonard Hamilton as FSU scraps with Syracuse

While Florida State announced a new head coach this week, Syracuse declared it will stick with its current coach as the two programs square off in the first round of the Atlantic Coast Conference tournament Tuesday night in Charlotte, N.C.

The 11th-seeded Seminoles (17-14) introduced Sacramento Kings assistant coach and Florida State alum Luke Loucks as their next coach on Monday. Meanwhile, Florida State will play in the ACC tourney for the 22nd and final time under the tutelage of 76-year-old coach Leonard Hamilton, who announced in February his intent to retire once the season ends.

"I'm not signing up to bounce somewhere for a better job," said Loucks, who played for Hamilton from 2008-12. "I'm hoping this is my last job. The way to do that is to be successful. I'm coming here to win."

Loucks will be "observing" the team this week while Hamilton guides FSU from the sidelines. Hamilton was honored Saturday during his final home game, which the Seminoles won 76-69 over SMU behind Malique Ewin's 26 points and eight rebounds.

Ewin's return from an ankle injury is a welcome development for the Seminoles, who snapped a four-game skid and have been at their best when he and Jamir Watkins, FSU's leading scorer (18.5 ppg), are playing well.

The 14th-seeded Orange (13-18), who finished the regular season with an 84-70 win over Virginia on Saturday, have had a mostly forgettable season, but have renewed their faith in coach Adrian Autry. Syracuse announced this week that Autry will return for a third year, which drew a bit of a puzzled reaction from his players because they did not expect any other outcome.

"I didn't even see that," said Syracuse center Eddie Lampkin Jr., who leads the Orange in rebounding with 9.6 per game. "I don't keep up with none of that. It's a blessing. He deserves another year and I know he's going to do the right thing. But I didn't even know that."

Syracuse has struggled after going 20-12 last season in Autry's first year after taking over for the legendary Jim Boeheim. The Orange have not made the NCAA Tournament since the 2020-21 season and, barring a major turnaround to end the season, are likely to finish with their second losing record in the past four seasons.

J.J. Starling continues to lead Syracuse in scoring with 17.5 points per game.

The winner of this game will advance to face No. 6 seed SMU in the next round.

--Field Level Media