After a dominating 81-60 victory over Virginia on Monday night, Florida State is now tied for first in the ACC in the loss column with the Cavaliers. The Noles won the regular season conference title last season as well.
In fact, over the past four years, there has been just one ACC team with more conference wins than Leonard Hamilton’s program — and it’s not either of the blue bloods. It is Tony Bennett’s Cavaliers, the team they just rolled.
UVA’s path to the top is old news. They already have a national title and plenty of media recognition. Florida State, on the other hand, is right in that top tier. Yet, they do not receive the same love.
Noles Depth
So how have the Seminoles been able to surpass Duke and North Carolina? The Noles certainly have not been able to out recruit them and beat them at their own game. Instead, Hamilton has his unique style of game management, in which he is able to implement while bringing in enough talent.
The thing that separates Florida State teams from most is depth. Most teams can be fairly evaluated by their starting five but Hamilton will consistently use six to seven additional players off the bench in meaningful situations.
This method has various advantages. When you don’t necessarily rely on a couple of star players, it is virtually impossible to get the team into foul trouble. Monday night, for example, Virginia’s best interior defender, Jay Huff, was removed from the game for a large stretch of time due to multiple early fouls. The Hoos significantly faltered with him off the court. This has been an on-going problem for UVA that the Noles simply never need to deal with.
It also gives them a match-up advantage in a majority of opposing lineups. Florida State can counter any team’s personnel with whatever is required at the moment. Whether it is athleticism, strength, on-ball defenders, etc, they can match up. This is all while having fresh bodies off the bench throughout the game.
The interesting thing is that while Hamilton has had deep benches for several years, the success has been recent. In four of the last five seasons, the Noles have had a higher Torvik efficiency rating that ever in his previous 14. Plus, while they have created a recent NBA pipeline, the recruiting rankings have not seen drastic improvement.
However, there have been a few statistical trends that are notable during this current five year stretch.
From Deep
On the offensive side of the ball, changes in playing style are directly correlated with their increased success. Hamilton has put a heavier emphasis on shooting from behind the arc. As a program that has always been efficient from three-point range, this adjustment would logically lead to more point production.
Keep in mind that this was a change from significantly below the D1 average to a more typical rate. It is simply more balanced offensive attack and much more modernized to suit the current game.
Protecting the Rock
Hamilton has also placed a greater emphasis on ball security, which is the final result of an offensive evolution. Over the past decade, every player that Hamilton recruits had to be “positionless.” The entire roster has the ability to be impactful in a variety of ways. When everyone is a ball-handler, the turnovers will naturally decline.
Taller is better
Length is another thing that Hamilton has adopted, even more so than when he started. On both ends, Florida State will utilize their size advantage, without sacrificing any athleticism.
This is the reason they were able to dominate Virginia on Monday night and give them trouble over the years. Florida State will be able to recover and contest shots in way that typical offensive sets will not be functional against them. The way to score on the Seminoles is to create plays off the dribble, something that UVA teams are not typically designed to do.
Offensively, the Noles have five players on the court that can produce their own offense and get to the rim.
Leonard Hamiton is ahead of the game when it comes to his style of basketball which has allowed him to build something special at Florida State. When the Blue Bloods decline, it is the New Bloods that take over.
