Florida State offers head coaching job to former ACC Champion, Sacramento Kings assistant

The Florida State basketball coaching search seems to be coming to an end as they close in on their preferred target.

ESPN's Andrea Adelson first reported on Friday morning that Sacramento Kings assistant Luke Loucks had emerged as the leading candidate to be the next FSU Basketball coach, then CBS Sports' Jon Rothstein reported that Loucks had been offered the job, and the two sides were working through the final negotiations. Jeff Goodman of the Field of 68 reported that it's expected to be a five-year deal.

Sources: Florida State has offered its head coaching vacancy to Sacramento Kings assistant Luke Loucks.

The two sides are now negotiating a contract.

Loucks previously played for Leonard Hamilton with the Seminoles.
— Jon Rothstein (@JonRothstein) March 7, 2025

Loucks has been seen as the favorite to succeed Leonard Hamilton since the moment it was announced that Coach Hamilton would be resigning at the end of the season. He has worked his way up the NBA coaching ranks with the Golden State Warriors and Sacramento Kings, becoming the Kings' defensive coordinator this season. He also has a pedigree of developing younger players, having been the head coach of a Summer League team in recent years.

Sacramento Kings guard De'Aaron Fox (left) and assistant coach Luke Loucks (right) before the game against the Utah Jazz at Golden 1 Center. Mandatory Credit: Darren Yamashita-Imagn Images | Darren Yamashita-Imagn Images

Matt Norlander of CBS Sports reported that the school could make the announcement official as early as Sunday, and that Loucks has been spending the last few days building out a coaching staff, including a potential GM to help navigate the transfer portal.

Florida St. is expected to hire alum/Sacramento Kings assistant Luke Loucks, sources confirmed to CBS Sports. Negotiations are in the final stages. School won't make it public/official until Sunday at the earliest, I'm told. Loucks played for Leonard Hamilton at FSU from 2012-16.
— Matt Norlander (@MattNorlander) March 7, 2025

There are reasons to doubt the hire, as the NBA-to-college coaching route hasn't been too successful recently, with examples like Jerry Stackhouse at Vanderbilt and Juwan Howard at Michigan. But a lot of college teams are following this route. Utah just hired former star player Alex Jensen, and BYU hired Kevin Young last season. How Loucks builds out his staff will have a major impact on his tenure as head coach.

Loucks played at Florida State under Coach Hamilton from 2008-2012, being a starter on FSU's first-ever ACC Championship team in 2012. He is now expected to return to Tallahassee, looking to help the team win its third.

UPDATE: Loucks has told the Kings that he plans to accept the Florida State job, and the team congratulated him after practice for taking the job.

Moments ago, the Sacramento Kings congratulating assistant coach Luke Loucks for taking over his alma mater, accepting the head coaching job at Florida State. pic.twitter.com/gBHIx5UJTK
— Sean Cunningham (@SeanCunningham) March 7, 2025

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