TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (seminoles.com) – Florida State Head Coach Leonard Hamilton, who led the Seminoles to the ACC Championship this season, has been named as one of four finalists for the 2020 Werner Ladder Naismith Men’s Coach of the Year award by the Atlanta Tip Off Club. Hamilton is joined by Scott Drew of Baylor, Brian Dutcher of San Diego State and Anthony Grant of Dayton as the four finalists for the award.
Hamilton led the Seminoles to a 26-5 overall record and a 16-4 record in ACC play. The Seminoles’ 26 regular season wins and their 16 ACC wins both set school records. Florida State won the regular season ACC championship and earned the No. 1 seed in the ACC Tournament. The Seminoles were named the ACC Champions for 2020 when the ACC Tournament was canceled by league officials.
Hamilton led Florida State to an undefeated record at home in the Donald L. Tucker Center – 15-0 – making the Seminoles the only conference team to finish their home schedule without a loss. Florida State was 10-0 at home and 6-4 on the road in ACC play. The Seminoles led the conference with 16 ACC wins, were tied for the ACC lead with 26 overall victories and led the conference with a .833 overall winning percentage.
Hamilton, who was named the ACC Coach of the Year for the third time in his career, led the Seminoles to four wins over nationally ranked teams – No. 6 Florida (November 6 in Gainesville, No. 17 Tennessee (November 29 in the Emerald Coast Classic), No. 7 Louisville (January 4 at Louisville) and N. 10 Louisville (February 24 in Tallahassee). The Seminoles were 4-1 against nationally ranked teams during the season; only Virginia also with four wins against nationally ranked teams match the Seminoles in terms of wins over nationally ranked teams this past season.
Florida State, which spent the final 15 consecutive weeks of the season ranked in both the Associated Press and USA Today Coaches Poll, was ranked No. 4 in the final AP poll of the regular season. The Seminoles were ranked in the top-10 of the AP poll for a school-record 10 consecutive weeks and peaked at No. 4 in the final week of the season after clinching the first regular season ACC Championship in school history.
Florida State began the 2019-20 season unranked (28th) and closed the season in a familiar position – nationally among the nation’s top teams. Under Hamilton, the Seminoles have been ranked within the nation’s top 10 in three of the last four seasons.
Fans will be able to support their favorite finalist by visiting naismithfanvote.com between March 20-April 1 to cast their ballot, and the fan vote will account for five percent of the overall final vote. Then, on April 3, the 2020 Werner Ladder Naismith Trophy for Men’s College Coach of the Year is scheduled to be announced. The award ceremony will be held on a later date.
