Tackling a tall challenge: Leonard Hamilton made Miami a power, so what's to stop him at Florida State? Aside from all those great ACC teams, I mean

Sporting News, The, Nov 29, 2004 by Mike DeCourcy

Not one of his players averaged double figures a year ago. Three of his most talented players entered the season without a minute of Division I experience. His program has not seen the inside of the NCAA Tournament since LeBron James was in the seventh grade. On top of all that, Leonard Hamilton has another problem: He coaches in the ACC.

That neighborhood has become so dangrous, Florida State ought to have a police escort through its layup lines. Six of the nation's top 25 teams reside in the ACC, and trying to build a program there is like trying to start a discount store next door to Wal-Mart and across the street from Target.

"You can only pay so much attention to the magazines and stuff like that," says Florida State freshman guard Jason Rich, "because you still have to toss it up."

Herb Sendek's experience at N.C. State shows us it can take five years to build an ACC program from the bottom. This is Hamilton's third year with the Seminoles. Given the players in the program and the results achieved to this point, Hamilton might have Florida State ahead of schedule.

"It's a fun situation to be in if you're a competitor," Hamilton says. "All youngsters are not turned on by going someplace and doing what someone else has already done. Some like going to a place and making a difference."

The Seminoles came close to completing Phase 1 of their renovation last season. They finished 19-14 and lost in the second round of the NIT. Eleven of their defeats came against teams in the top 25 of the Ratings Percentage Index. With a little road success they might have squeezed into the NCAA Tournament field.

From that team, they lost all-league guard Tim Pickett, the only double-figures scorer, at 16.5. Hamilton always has been an extraordinary defensive coach; he places an emphasis on protecting the lane and disrupting sets. The Seminoles ranked second in the ACC in field-goal defense and tied for second in scoring defense last season. To compete in this league, though, a team must generate points.

Even with Pickett, Florida State's season scoring average was less than every ACC team's except Clemson's. But the players and coaches say there isn't a pressing need for someone to emerge as the primary scoring threat.

"We have enough talent that any one guy can go out and have a great night," says senior forward Adam Waleskowski.

That would be an uncommon formula for success. Of the major-conference entrants in the 2004 NCAA Tournament, only six had scoring leaders who averaged fewer than 14 points per game.

Rich, who turned down Kentucky to stay in-state, has the talent to become a double-figures scorer, but his progress was delayed two weeks by an eye injury.

Former McDonald's All-American Von Wafer needs more confidence to make full use of his scoring ability and must avoid complications like the suspension that kept him from playing in an exhibition game.

Forward Anthony Richardson, a double-figures scorer as a sophomore before slumping to 7.3 points last season, has one more season to revive his career. Freshman Isaiah Swann will become a first-rate point guard but is making a gradual transition. Veteran Todd Galloway, who averaged 3.2 points and shot 34.4 percent last season, will start at the point.

So there are concerns, but the roster includes the fruits of three successful recruiting years. The best news: Forward Diego Romero can contribute as a passer and rebounder after winning an NCAA eligibility battle last January and redshirting the rest of 2003-04.

It might be as tough as ever to deal with the top of the ACC, but the arrival of Virginia Tech and Miami means there is a bigger bottom. The new schedule means Florida State must play just once against N.C. State, Maryland and Duke. That ought to help relax the Seminoles. Life in the ACC just got 25 percent easier. Right?

speed reads

During his career at Syracuse, Josh Pace has played thee positions--now, he's at point guard. He has started and come off the bench. He scrapes and hustles. Pace has a 2003 championship ring but deserves another. Maybe we can start a selflessness award and name it after him.

Wake Forest scored 97 points in its opener against Atlantic 10 favorite George Washington but was criticized by the media for struggling and looking ragged. Yes, the Deacons have work to do. But if a team is perfect in November, where does it have to go? UConn was hurting late last February, Now, it's the reigning national champion.

Michigan needed someone to emerge as the primary option from its collection of talented players. it looks like that might be shooting guard Dion Harris. He was aggressive, accurate and efficient as the Wolverines won their first two games in the Preseason NIT.

INSIDE DISH

N.C. State had four players average more than 29 minutes last season because of sketchy depth, but coach Herb Sendek has 10 players capable of contributing this season. The quality of the bench was evident in an impressive opening victory against New Orleans. Sendek used three freshman forwards: Gavin Grant, Andrew Brackman and Cedric Simmons. The Wolfpack recorded assists on 24 of their 35 baskets in the UNO game, with Gs Julius Hodge, Engin Atsur and Tony Bethel getting 25 of them. * Following last year's debacle, Ohio State fans were so pleased to see a hard-working team they presented the Buckeyes with standing ovations twice in the first two games just for their effort. * Villanova junior Allan Ray is being positioned strictly as a shooting guard, and the Wildcats are working to set him up for shots instead of asking him to create them. In the past, he shared ballhandling duties with Mike Nardi and Randy Foye, and the team struggled terribly with turnovers. Villanova also is placing a greater reliance on set plays instead of strictly using a motion offense. The sets give the Wildcats better spacing. In preseason practices, they ran a lot of 5-on-0 drills to make them more familiar with the new approach. * It may be better to be lucky than good, but it's best to be both. Washington landed two top recruits--PF Jon Brockman and SF Martell Webster--because it recruited them hard and performed well enough last season to have something to sell. But with 7-0 C Joe Wolfinger, the Huskies were fortunate. Wolfinger was not highly recruited as a senior in Beaverton, Ore., and chose to attend prep school in Massachusetts to work on gaining strength and attracting more recruiting attention. Cincinnati, Florida State and Georgia Tech found him there early in the school year, but Washington was tipped off by an assistant from a mid-major program and hustled to scout him. Wolfinger was eager to play closer to home in the Pac-10, and Washington provided the opportunity. * Mississippi State promised in the offseason to allow PG Gary Ervin to take advantage of his speed. But that only will work if Ervin is efficient running the break and if more teammates are willing to run with him. In the Bulldogs' loss to Syracuse, the Bulldogs too frequently peeled off to the 3-point line and missed opportunities to beat the Orange to me goal. * one player who might make a bigger impact than expected is Purdue PF Carl Landry, a transfer from Vincennes College. Landry is agile and springy, a versatile offensive player who can hit 15-foot jump shots or scrape second-chance opportunities from the offensive boards. Landry should give a boost to Gene Keady's offense, which lately hasn't been rich in frontcourt scorers. Landry didn't start playing seriously until his freshman year in high school, but was part of two state championship teams at Milwaukee's Vincent High. Purdue's interest caught Landry's attention, partly because Glenn Robinson, a former Boilermakers great, was Landry's favorite player when Robinson played for the Milwaukee Bucks.