NCAA Basketball: Top 10 head coaching hires from the year 2002

1. Leonard Hamilton (Florida State)

Florida State has had some solid moments in their history, but this Seminoles program wasn’t exactly firing on all cylinders by the time 2002 rolled around. Each of the last nine seasons had featured double-digit losses in ACC play, and this certainly wasn’t a perennial postseason contender. Former Roy Williams aide Steve Robinson was relieved, leaving the program with an important coaching search that they nailed.

Leonard Hamilton was already an established coach by the time he took over at Florida State. He had spent a dozen years on staff at Kentucky before head coaching stints at both Oklahoma State and Miami-Florida. After leading the Hurricanes to the Sweet Sixteen, he took over as coach of the Washington Wizards, but his stint in the NBA was very brief.

Hamilton has spent 19 years rewriting history books at Florida State and has most recently turned the Seminoles into one of the ACC’s best programs. He’s taken the team to eight NCAA Tournaments and as far as the second weekend in each of the last three tournaments, with 2018’s Elite Eight run the crown jewel. Hamilton’s responsible for a great level of success with the Seminoles and has remained on top of his game these last few seasons, cementing him as the best coaching hire from 2002.

We’ve finished our deep dive into the best coaching hires from 2002; which of these coaches have made the greatest impact on these programs?