Reasons to love and reasons to doubt Florida State's hiring of Luke Loucks

Florida State has announced the hiring of Luke Loucks as the basketball team's eighth head coach in program history, succeeding the legendary Leonard Hamilton. He had been the favorite to take over since it was announced that Coach Hamilton would be resigning at the conclusion of the season, and the two sides worked quickly to get the deal done.

So, what is Florida State getting in Coach Loucks, a former Seminole who was an integral starter on the program's first ACC Championship in 2012? Here are three reasons to love and three reasons to doubt the hiring of Luke Loucks.

3 Reasons to love the hiring of Luke Loucks

1. History with Florida State

Luke Loucks and Ian Miller — Mar 11, 2012; Atlanta, GA, USA; Florida State Seminoles guard Luke Loucks (3) and Ian Miller (30) celebrate with the championship trophy after defeating the North Carolina Tar Heels 85-82 in the finals of the 2012 ACC Men's Basketball Tournament at Philips Arena. Mandatory Credit: Bob Donnan-Imagn Images | Bob Donnan-Imagn Images

Florida State only has two ACC Championships, and the first came with Loucks as the starting point guard. Playing under Coach Hamilton gives Loucks a specific understanding of the shoes he'll have to try to fill. He knows the ins and outs of Florida State and has had a specific plan for this job in negotiations with the university. He's a familiar name from a strong era in FSU history that fans can reminisce and get excited about. That goes a long way.

But it's also worth noting how many of his former teammates showed up in support of Coach Hamilton's final game on Saturday. I noticed Chris Singleton, Ryan Reid, Xavier Gibson, Jon Kreft, Solomon Alabi, and plenty of others. This is someone who is beloved in the program. And it goes beyond that. His wife, Stevi, was a swimmer at Florida State. This will be a group that loves Florida State, something that AD Alford wanted.

2. Quick NBA Success and Respect

Loucks first joined the Golden State Warriors as a video intern for the 2016-17 season. Just a few years later, he's on the bench as an assistant coach for the Sacramento Kings, being promoted all the way up to defensive coordinator this season. He quickly climbed his way up the ladder, gained a reputation for developing younger players, and was well-respected by his peers. Former Kings coach Mike Brown said, "He's an out-of-the-box thinker. He's got a lot of crazy ideas that make my hair stand up, if I had any. But he's done a heck of a job so far in a short amount of time that he's been defensive coordinator."

NBA All-Star De'Aaron Fox directly credits Loucks for his progression as a three-point shooter, even saying he'd have to come to get workouts done in Florida with Loucks after this move. Chris Boucher owes a lot of his success in the NBA to Loucks. And he's done a great job of keeping up with former Seminoles players and staff members in and around the NBA. Those connections will be huge as he tries to gain physical and financial support for the program.

3. A unique reason he may be able to convince a key player to return

Florida State Seminoles forward Malique Ewin (12) celebrates a basket. The Florida State Seminoles defeated the Southern Methodist Mustangs 76-69 on Saturday, March 8, 2025. | Alicia Devine/Tallahassee Democrat / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Loucks has had a front-row seat to the NBA's leading rebounder in the last three seasons, Domantas Sabonis. He has a unique play style for a center as someone who can put the ball on the floor as a strong ball-handler and deliver strong passes. Sound like Malique Ewin?

Ewin had a phenomenal season for Florida State, leading the ACC in field goal percentage while averaging 14.4 PPG and 7.8 RPG. He likely would've been on an All-ACC team had he not been excluded from the ballot. Loucks can put on film of three-time All-Star Sabonis and tell Ewin, "I can help you develop into this type of player if you stay with me at Florida State." With a likely limited NIL budget to work with, Loucks is going to have to pull out all the stops.

3 reasons to doubt the hiring of Loucks

1. Loucks has never been a head coach

Luke Loucks takes the FSU job, having never been a head coach outside of a Summer League roster. He's risen through the ranks quickly as an assistant coach and even has experience as an assistant with the Nigerian national team for the 2020 Olympics, but it's a much different world leading your own team, especially a college program. There will likely be bumps along the way as he figures out how to recruit, go on Booster tours, and be the face of a program.

2. Loucks has never coached in college

Besides having never been a head coach, he's never coached in college at any level. And the NBA is a wildly different game compared to college right now. Having to re-recruit your roster every season, the transfer portal, NIL, and all sorts of other things are why a lot of older coaches are stepping down or have stepped down recently. It's an exhausting sport right now.

3. Building out his staff

A lot of Loucks' success will come down to the staff he builds. Because he has no history of recruiting, getting some proven recruiters on staff would be big. I imagine his ACC Championship-winning teammate and close friend, Deividas Dulkys, will get a call, but he's also not a recruiter. Keeping associate head coach Stan Jones on staff, someone who was a coach of Loucks could be a great idea given his knowledge of the game, program, and landscape of the sport. Finding another recruiter or two could help. And having a general manager, which has been said he's looking to do, will be another much-needed addition.

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