Leonard Hamilton Quotes (120 Quotes)

There was a period where he kind of backed off his offensive aggressiveness to be a good team member. Now that we're kind of a little more in sync, the nature of the game is giving him certain opportunities.

I don't necessarily think that size has anything to do with rebounding. I think (it's) desire, willingness to be consistent with the fundamentals of rebounding.

I think prep basketball over the entire state has gotten better. And I think you can see it from these players that spring up at programs from around the country and you say, 'Where did this kid come from.

I am so confused by this whole process that I think the best thing for me as a basketball coach to do is worry about the things I can control. And that's to make sure we get through today's practice and we're prepared for Wake Forest.

I don't even know why we're having that discussion. I think we're definitely one of the best 64 teams in the country. We play in a league where every night you have to play your best basketball or you will get your hat handed to you. I think we've earned the right to be one of top 64 teams.

I think we have as much experience in advising and discussing futures of players as anyone in the business. If there's some decisions that need to be made, I guarantee you all the appropriate information will be gathered and there won't be any stones left unturned if a youngster needs our assistance in any areas. But it becomes counterproductive when it becomes a draft watch.

There used to be a time when you felt there was a conscious effort to get the top teams. Now, it seems to be much more political than it used to be. It appears we we're not getting much credit for the quality of teams we're playing in ACC. There's a formula out there that seems to be flawed.

It's always interesting when we have our coaches' meetings, and it seems that we play so many teams that had to have their best night against us. We've been getting everyone's best shot. But I thought when we had to have the stops, when we had to get the rebounds and when had to make the baskets, or players stepped up.

That gets my attention. And I think that's what we should be focusing our attention on more so than trying to prove anything.

We have higher goals. We're not feeling like we need to start taking any bows.

With each game you play, if you win it, you cant let yourself get too excited because there is another tough opponent coming right behind it. And if you lose it, you cant wallow in self-pity, you have to put that behind you, learn from it, and grow and then move on to the next game.

Andrew probably has been through as much adversity as any youngster I've known in my coaching career, just having the number of injuries he's had to endure. He's always maintained a positive attitude, and he's earned respect of his teammates. They're extremely happy for him.

We will give Alexander and his family all of the support they need as they go through this decision making process.

We're still in a growing up stage. Last year we relied on a lot of freshmen and sophomores and we lost a lot of close games. One reason the sophomores from last year who are now juniors are playing better is because they're more experienced. A.J. (Johnson) and Al Thornton are giving us good leadership, and we're getting leadership from our three seniors. Todd Galloway has been in the program for four years, so has Andrew Wilson. We have some guys who are maturing a little bit and it's taking some pressure off of our new players.

I'm very happy and proud for them because they've been model citizens. They keep our 100 percent graduation rate intact. But more than anything they're fine people. They're good basketball players, but I'm most proud of the fact that they have helped us move our program forward. Their last home game will be something to remember.

We haven't spent any time dwelling on anything negative. We're in the NIT, and we have to take care of business.

I'm going to encourage my players at this particular point to have absolutely no comment to make plus or minus, good or bad about what their plans are because I think that takes on a life of itself.

Sometimes you don't really know what to say because conversation sometimes makes it worse. You just have to give a person a hug and tell him you love him, you support him and be there for them.

We still believe we have a chance to be a team of significance in the ACC, but we're mindful of the fact we still have a tough row to hoe. We fully understand where we are and what we have to do to move ahead.

He has shown the potential to come in and give us this type of offensive lift. I told him the other day that he was due for his breakout game.

I think I just have to let the ACC's action speak for itself.

I saw quickness, speed and intensity that separated him from other kids on the floor. He was from a small town, and even though he was very well-known in his area, maybe he hadn't gotten the exposure as other people. We were fortunate to have contacted him at the right time. I felt we were a good match for each other.

It appears that we don't get very much credit for the quality of teams we are playing against in the ACC.

I thought our players just found a way to bounce back from the disappointment to play with a full heart for 40 minutes.

Part of the journey is overcoming obstacles, and this was one I thought mentally and physically we were prepared for. I guess I'd say that Duke's experience in being in these types of games with experienced guys came through.

I think that we're definitely one of the (65) best teams in the country. It would be a tremendous step for our program.

The thing that I like about this team is that we still are a team that has a lot of room for improvement. We are getting better in all areas. We're not quite there yet. But our best basketball, I think, is ahead of us.

He didn't have the spring and had a tough time holding his position. I don't know exactly when it happened until the second half when he said he couldn't go. At that point I noticed him limping.

I think every game for everybody is important -whether it's home or whether it's on the road. I think you can throw out home-court advantages this year.

It appears to me that what has happened is there is a big emphasis on trying to include more mid-major (conference) teams (in tournament). And I understand that. But if we want to include other people, I'm not sure the right thing to do is come up with a process that devalues the strength of a team's conference schedule.

As big a jump as he's made this year, we expect him to make a bigger jump next year.

This is part of the journey. This is part of the process you go through, building programs. You have to give your team credit for making this kind of progress, but you also have to find a way to get over the hump, and that's mostly mental at this point.

He did an outstanding job - as good a job as anybody in the league over the last five years. He was very difficult to prepare for - for any team in our league, not only Florida State.

He's kind of a cross between Tim and Nate. He has pretty good savvy. He doesn't have quite the energy that Tim had, but I'm not real sure anybody does. But he's a guy who plays with passion. He only knows one way, and that's giving it all he has.

I was proud of the way that we maintained our intensity. It's obvious that the guys learned a lot from our lack of execution our last time out.

They got 13 offensive rebounds, and if you give a team that many second opportunities in a close game, that's something very difficult to overcome.

I've been around long enough to know how fragile it can be. We need to continue to get better. We haven't proven anything yet not enough to start relaxing. We've got a chance a window of opportunity. We've got to jump through it.

He's the kind of guy we had to give some cushion because he's a good driver. He's a very good player.

I thought they did a very good job of being patient on offense, moving the ball around and playing the shot clock.

I am not going to be a coach that is going to try and campaign to get into the NCAA Tournament. I just think we are a top-65 team. I am not the one evaluating it, but it would be a little more significant if we are successful (today).

They came to Florida State with the idea that they wanted to improve the basketball program on their watch, and I have to say that they've accomplished that.

We're one of those teams that doesn't have very much room for error. So we have to be at our very best, which is sometimes almost extremely difficult to do. We have to be 80 to 90 percent efficient every night out. And to this team's credit, we have played pretty good basketball. We've only had a couple games when we have not been quite as sharp.

We intend to have a good basketball team next year and I feel confident that we will. We've developed the unity and spirit it's going to take to move the program to the next level.

Al has always had a burning desire to be a good player. He spends more time in the gym by himself than anyone we've had. For him, it was just a matter of adjusting to our style and feeling comfortable. He's now reacting and not thinking.

If the committee is going to pick the 64 best teams, I think they're going to be hard-pressed to find 64 better teams that are more qualified.

They were defended about as well as we can defend them. They made shots that were tough shots and that's what great players do. I have to give them credit for making those shots as opposed to what our kids didn't do.

I thought that really, really gave us a big boost. And we need that kind of energy from our team if we're going to utilize our depth.

I thought Ralph made the difference in the game.

When we made mistakes, they made us pay. Most times you have one game like this per year, and hopefully, this will be our only one.

It was one of those games where we gave them too many unnecessary opportunities. But when they are already shooting the ball as well as they do and they are as patient as they are on offense, and then you give them extra opportunities, therein lies a nice little butt-kicking.