8. Leonard Hamilton (Florida State)
If anything, the fact that Hamilton is eighth on this list is proof to the depth of great coaches in the ACC. He’s recently led Florida State to great success, making an Elite Eight and a Sweet Sixteen in the last two seasons. This isn’t a program with overwhelming basketball success and Hamilton’s accomplishments have certainly stood out.
After a less than impressive playing career, Hamilton’s coaching career really got started with a dozen years as an assistant Kentucky in the 70’s and 80’s. He’d become head coach at Oklahoma State and Miami before the turn of the century, eventually leading the Hurricanes to the Sweet Sixteen in 2000. He then spent one season leading the Washington Wizards of the NBA, though Florida State brought him back to college basketball in 2002.
Seventeen years with the Seminoles and Hamilton has done a solid job of making this program a winner. Along with 2018’s Elite Eight, he also owns a pair of Sweet Sixteens and has an ACC Tournament title back in 2012. Florida State has had both good and bad seasons, though they’ve been remarkably steady in a difficult conference, winning at least 8 ACC games for eleven straight seasons.
They lose serious talent off last year’s squad, but Hamilton should have another NCAA Tournament team on his hands. Hamilton’s been around for a long time at the power conference level, though having just a single Elite Eight to show for it is slightly disappointing. He’s put together some solid basketball in the state of Florida, but none of his teams have been able to take that next step. Hamilton will likely retire in the coming years; do his Seminoles have one more big run in them?