Leonard Hamilton, Florida State Agree to New Contract: Latest Details, Reaction

Despite a recent losing skid putting it in danger of missing the NCAA tournament for the fourth straight season, Florida State agreed to a two-year contract extension with head basketball coach Leonard Hamilton on Wednesday.

“Our goal is to be in the NCAA tournament annually,” Florida State athletic director Stan Wilcox said in the school's release. “Leonard has led this program admirably since 2002. This extension positions him to continue attracting the kind of talent we need to compete in the ACC and nationally.”

“I am pleased with the faith President [John] Thrasher and Stan have shown in me,” Hamilton added. “We feel good about our program and its direction, and we are excited about the future. We believe we are on the verge of accomplishing something special here, and this will allow us an opportunity to do so.”

Hamilton, 67, has been with the Seminoles since 2002. He has 252 victories in his 14-year career, which has featured four NCAA tournament appearances. Florida State has not made the tournament since 2012, however, and is descending out of March contention again in 2016.

The Seminoles are carrying a four-game losing streak and play the Duke Blue Devils on Thursday.

It's a bit strange, then, as to why Florida State would choose to extend Hamilton. His stock has done nothing but decline since his most recent extension, which carried through the 2016-17 season. There is something to be said for not having a lame duck coach, but it'd have arguably been more justifiable for the Seminoles to fire Hamilton than to extend him.

Ira Schoffel of Rivals was in favor of a one-year extension:

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When you look at it from a risk-reward standpoint, the potential reward is having one of the most talented teams in school history next season, while the risk is relatively minimal. One more disappointing season, while frustrating, wouldn’t ruin the program. There is at least as much risk involved in making a change.

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Three decades into his coaching career, it's not entirely clear that Hamilton is capable of pushing programs to the next level. He's done a remarkable job of rebuilding programs from the rubble, but there's been a glass ceiling.

Hamilton-led programs have made only seven NCAA tournament appearances in 28 years split between Oklahoma State, Miami and Florida State. His teams have made the second weekend twice in that time frame. While there have been a number of brief highs in Tallahassee, it's fair to wonder if the athletic department is too satisfied treading water.

The best hope here is that freshman guards Malik Beasley and Dwayne Bacon lead a program turnaround, but the result has been mixed so far. With forward Jonathan Isaac also coming, maybe it's a showing of good faith. The on-court product just hasn't justified Hamilton receiving a new deal.