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Longtime FSU coach Leonard Hamilton is stepping down ‘with no regrets’ at the end of the season

By BOB FERRANTE Associated Press

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — Longtime Florida State basketball coach Leonard Hamilton is stepping down at the end of the season.

Hamilton, who is being sued by six former players over allegations he failed to deliver on name, image and likeness promises, announced his decision Monday following a team meeting.

“I’m very fortunate to be able to have given this job my all with no regrets,” Hamilton said in a statement. “Every head coach inherits a legacy and is obligated to leave the job better than they inherited it. I’m very proud of what we have been able to accomplish here over the last 23 seasons.

“We were a consistent contender, and we created success for our players during their time here. So many of them have gone on to be successful in life. I hope that it will be remembered as my legacy.”

The 76-year-old Hamilton is the third Division I head coach to step down this season — all of them in the Atlantic Coast Conference. Virginia’s Tony Bennett stepped down just before the season began, and Miami’s Jim Larrañaga left the program in late December.

Hamilton ranks 10th on the NCAA’s list of winningest active DI coaches. He coached at Miami and then with the NBA’s Washington Wizards before joining Florida State in 2002. He led the Seminoles to 16 postseason appearances and a dozen 20-win seasons.

FSU won the ACC Tournament title in 2012 after defeating Miami, Duke and North Carolina on consecutive days. The Seminoles also won the 2019-20 regular-season conference title before the pandemic halted postseason play.

FSU has lost four straight games, including three on the road, and is 13-9 going into Tuesday night’s home matchup against Notre Dame. Hamilton is in the final year of a contract that pays him $2.25 million annually.

Hamilton led FSU to Sweet 16 appearances in 2018, 2019 and 2021. The 2019-20 team was viewed as among FSU’s best, and ESPN analyst Dick Vitale wrote a book about how the Seminoles would have won the national title had it not been for COVID-19.

But since the trip to the Sweet 16 in March 2021, FSU has missed the NCAA Tournament as well as the NIT. The Seminoles have gone 56-62 in the four seasons since, including an injury-riddled 9-23 campaign in 2022-23.

Hamilton will coach FSU’s final nine regular-season games and the ACC Tournament.

While there have been struggles on the court, adjusting to the transfer portal and generating enough NIL contributions to compete in the ACC, Hamilton has graduated nearly all of FSU’s four-year players since arriving in Tallassee more than two decades ago.

But the lawsuit has taken center stage the last two months. The former players allege Hamilton failed to make good on a promise to get each of them $250,000 in NIL compensation.

The plaintiffs — Darin Green Jr., De’Ante Green, Cam’Ron Fletcher, Josh Nickelberry, Primo Spears and Jalen Warley — filed suit in Leon County Circuit Court in late December.

The players allege Hamilton promised them the money from his “business partners.” The lawsuit says they walked out of a practice last season over the missed payments and intended to boycott a February 2023 game against Duke. They ended up playing — the Seminoles lost 76-67 — amid a guarantee from Hamilton that they would be paid but never were, according to the suit.

“Coach Hamilton’s personal character and integrity, and his leadership, set a tremendous standard for all of FSU Athletics,” FSU athletic director Michael Alford said. “Few people have been as important in building the positive reputation of Seminole Athletics.”

Added school president Dr. Richard McCullough: “Leonard Hamilton is a beacon of class and integrity whose leadership serves as an indelible example that competitive excellence, academic achievement and community service are attainable at a leading public institution. Coach Hamilton’s legacy extends far beyond Tallahassee and college basketball. He is one of the most respected and beloved ambassadors of FSU across the nation and in his profession.”

The Associated Press contributed to this article