Quick Facts
Leo
Biography
James Leonard Hamilton (born August 4, 1948) is an American basketball coach and the current men's basketball head coach at Florida State University. He is a former head coach at Oklahoma State University, the University of Miami, and for the National Basketball Association's Washington Wizards.In his 30 years as a collegiate head coach, his teams have qualified for nine NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournaments and 11 National Invitation Tournaments, highlighted by appearances in the NCAA Tournament's Elite Eight (2018) and Sweet 16 (2011, 2019) with Florida State, as well as a Sweet 16 appearance with Miami (2000). Other career benchmarks include the Big East Conference regular season championship in 2000, the ACC Tournament title in 2012 and the ACC regular season championship in 2020. While with the NBA's Wizards his team posted a 19–63 record during his sole season with the franchise in 2000–01.
Biography
Hamilton played college basketball at the University of Tennessee at Martin.Hamilton is a member of Kappa Alpha Psi fraternity. His brother, Ray Jones, coaches a minor league team.
Hamilton was an assistant coach and associate head coach at the University of Kentucky from 1974 to 1986 under then head coach Joe B. Hall.Hamilton was on the staffs of the Kentucky teams that finished as the NCAA runner up in 1975, won the 1978 NCAA Championship and went to the 1984 Final Four.
Hamilton was named ACC Coach of the Year on March 10, 2009, and a second time in 2012. Hamilton is the first coach to be named coach of the year in both the Big East and ACC. In 2018 he was named the Clarence "Big House" Gaines National Coach of the Year by the National Sports Media Association.
Head coaching record
College
| Season | Team | Overall | Conference | Standing | Postseason | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oklahoma State Cowboys (Big Eight Conference) | |||||||||
| 1986–87 | Oklahoma State | 8–20 | 4–10 | 7th | |||||
| 1987–88 | Oklahoma State | 14–16 | 4–10 | T–6th | |||||
| 1988–89 | Oklahoma State | 17–13 | 7–7 | T–4th | NIT Second Round | ||||
| 1989–90 | Oklahoma State | 17–14 | 6–8 | 5th | NIT Second Round | ||||
| Oklahoma State: | 56–63 (.471) | 21–35 (.375) | |||||||
| Miami Hurricanes (NCAA Division I independent) | |||||||||
| 1990–91 | Miami | 9–19 | |||||||
| Miami Hurricanes (Big East Conference) | |||||||||
| 1991–92 | Miami | 8–24 | 1–17 | 10th | |||||
| 1992–93 | Miami | 10–17 | 7–11 | 9th | |||||
| 1993–94 | Miami | 7–20 | 0–18 | 10th | |||||
| 1994–95 | Miami | 15–13 | 9–9 | 5th | NIT First Round | ||||
| 1995–96 | Miami | 15–13 | 8–10 | 4th | |||||
| 1996–97 | Miami | 16–13 | 9–9 | T–4th | NIT First Round | ||||
| 1997–98 | Miami | 18–10 | 11–7 | 2nd | NCAA First Round | ||||
| 1998–99 | Miami | 23–7 | 15–3 | 2nd | NCAA Second Round | ||||
| 1999–00 | Miami | 23–11 | 13–3 | T–1st | NCAA Sweet 16 | ||||
| Miami: | 144–147 (.495) | 73–87 (.456) | |||||||
| Florida State Seminoles (Atlantic Coast Conference) | |||||||||
| 2002–03 | Florida State | 14–15 | 4–12 | 9th | |||||
| 2003–04 | Florida State | 19–14 | 6–10 | T–7th | NIT Second Round | ||||
| 2004–05 | Florida State | 12–19 | 4–12 | T–10th | |||||
| 2005–06 | Florida State | 20–10 | 9–7 | 5th | NIT Second Round | ||||
| 2006–07 | Florida State | 22–13 | 7–9 | T–8th | NIT Quarterfinal | ||||
| 2007–08 | Florida State | 19–15 | 7–9 | T–7th | NIT First Round | ||||
| 2008–09 | Florida State | 25–10 | 10–6 | 4th | NCAA Division I Round of 64 | ||||
| 2009–10 | Florida State | 22–10 | 10–6 | T–3rd | NCAA Division I Round of 64 | ||||
| 2010–11 | Florida State | 23–11 | 11–5 | 3rd | NCAA Division I Sweet 16 | ||||
| 2011–12 | Florida State | 25–10 | 12–4 | 3rd | NCAA Division I Round of 32 | ||||
| 2012–13 | Florida State | 18–16 | 9–9 | 6th | NIT First Round | ||||
| 2013–14 | Florida State | 22–14 | 9–9 | T–7th | NIT Semifinal | ||||
| 2014–15 | Florida State | 17–16 | 8–10 | 9th | |||||
| 2015–16 | Florida State | 20–14 | 8–10 | T–11th | NIT Second Round | ||||
| 2016–17 | Florida State | 26–9 | 12–6 | T–2nd | NCAA Division I Round of 32 | ||||
| 2017–18 | Florida State | 23–12 | 9–9 | T–8th | NCAA Division I Elite Eight | ||||
| 2018–19 | Florida State | 29–8 | 13–5 | 4th | NCAA Division I Sweet 16 | ||||
| 2019–20 | Florida State | 26–5 | 16–4 | 1st | NCAA Division I Canceled* | ||||
| Florida State: | 382–221 (.633) | 164–142 (.536) | |||||||
| Total: | 582–431 (.575) | ||||||||
| |||||||||
*The 2020 NCAA tournament was canceled due to concerns over the coronavirus pandemic.
NBA
| Regular season | G | Games coached | W | Games won | L | Games lost | W–L % | Win–loss % |
| Playoffs | PG | Playoff games | PW | Playoff wins | PL | Playoff losses | PW–L % | Playoff win–loss % |
| Team | Year | G | W | L | W–L% | Finish | PG | PW | PL | PW–L% | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Washington | 2000–01 | 82 | 19 | 63 | .232 | 7th in Atlantic | — | — | — | — | Missed Playoffs |
| Career | 82 | 19 | 63 | .232 | — | — | — | — |
Personal life
Hamilton is married to Claudette Hamilton. They have two children.
