‘Meant to be’: FSU hires Loucks as hoops coach

• Andrea AdelsonMar 9, 2025, 02:30 PM ET Close ACC reporter. Joined ESPN.com in 2010.
• Graduate of the University of Florida.Nine years back

, Luke Loucks beinged in Leonard Hamilton’s workplace at Florida State when his previous coach asked him a question that changed his career trajectory:

“Have you ever thought about training?”

That query ultimately sent Loucks on a quick rise through the NBA ranks. Now, in what Loucks explained to ESPN as a relocation that was “implied to be,” he will be successful Hamilton at Florida State. The 34-year-old Sacramento Kings assistant signed a five-year offer Sunday as the brand-new Seminoles head coach and will be officially presented Monday in Tallahassee.

“I do not know how to put it into words, but it resembles it was implied to be this entire time,” Loucks told ESPN in a phone interview. “This entire journey led me to this point.”

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When Hamilton recommended entering into coaching, Loucks was rehabbing a back injury however was heading to summer season league in Las Vegas to check out for NBA groups. Hamilton suggested while there, Loucks begin making connections with NBA workers officials to see if he could discover his method into a front workplace or training job.That ultimately landed Loucks his very first task, as a video organizer and player advancement coach at Golden State in 2016. He spent 5 seasons there learning under Steve Kerr and won two NBA championships. He then invested two seasons with the Phoenix Suns before transferring to the Kings for the previous 3 years, where he reunited with Mike Brown (an assistant at Golden State when Loucks existed).

“You’re going to be a head coach. It’s just a matter of when,” Brown told Loucks when he arrived in Sacramento in 2022.

Brown figured it would be in the NBA, but based upon the way the college game is moving, he informed ESPN he is not surprised Florida State worked with Loucks, particularly offered his ties.

“As a young guy, he’s experienced a lot in a short quantity of time, which has actually assisted him grow rapidly,” Brown said. “He’s truly educated offensively, defensively, analytically. He considers of package. He’s not scared to take opportunities however the biggest thing is he’s an adapter. When you’re able to link well with individuals, I don’t care what task you’re doing, you’re going to be able to find a way to have success.”

Though Loucks has no head coaching experience, he has a deep understanding of Florida State basketball, having played under Hamilton from 2008-12. However his Florida State ties run much deeper than that. Loucks matured in Clearwater, Florida, as an FSU fan– his father was a walk-on under Bobby Bowden on the football team and his uncles and more youthful sis went to the university.So did his other half,

Stevi, who swam for the Seminoles. When he got the task deal, Loucks said his wife and their moms and dads all cried as they rejoiced in their homecoming.Loucks had actually remained

linked with Hamilton for many years, visiting the program whenever he had the chance. He explained Hamilton as a “2nd dad “and stated the 2 spoke at length before Loucks took the task.

“I’ve won at Florida State at a really high level, and I was lucky to be a little part on some great groups, and I want to bring that success that Coach Hamilton began,” Loucks stated. “He’s laid an amazing foundation, but to go back home to where I played, and to go change a guy of fantastic character, who has had such an effect in my life, you can not compose the story better.”

During his time there, Florida State made four straight NCAA competition looks and won its only ACC Competition championship in 2012. Loucks, the beginning point guard, made the All-ACC Tournament group after dishing out 13 assists in the championship game success over North Carolina. When he left Florida State, he held the record for games played (136 ).

FSU athletic director Michael Alford said Loucks’ energy and passion stood out throughout the interview procedure, but his NBA background was likewise extremely important– including his player advancement, coaching philosophy and the direction in which college hoops is headed as a quasi-professional model.

“We’ve got to bring several individuals together with a ton of skill that are getting paid a lots of money, and we’ve got to form a bond and a commitment to doing things beyond our own individual ambitions,” Loucks stated. “It’s bringing a group of guys together to accept a function for the improvement of the group. I’ve been lucky to coach for teams that I’ve seen that done at a championship level, and I can bring that to Florida State in this environment that’s constantly moving.”

Concerns about Loucks’ lack of head coaching experience, and his absence of college experience, were gone over at length throughout the interview procedure.

“I look more into the future where somebody can go and be,” Alford told ESPN. “I believed for sure he was ready.”

Hamilton revealed his retirement last month, leaving Florida State as the winningest head coach in school history after 23 seasons at the helm. The Seminoles have actually missed four straight NCAA tournaments and struggled to find the consistency that had actually once been a trademark of the program.

“With my absence of experience, there are going to be question marks,” Loucks said. “However the truth is, I comprehend Florida State, I comprehend the characteristics. I understand what enters into winning at Florida State. I’ve not just seen it, but I have actually experienced it, and I have actually lived it.

“That that provides me a head start. So, if you want someone to lead this group that gets it right, and who comprehends what type of people are successful here, what kind of people will not be successful here, and how to recruit, and how do we evaluate those people? To me, you’re not going to find a much better person for the job.”