FIRE HAM NOW!

Meet Stan Wilcox, hardly a household name, but about to go down in the annuls of Florida State University as one of the most notoriously bad Athletic Directors in the school's history. You'd think the guy that showed college football legend Bobby Bowden the door would hold that title, but off the top of my head, I cannot even remember his name.

No, Wilcox may soon hold that title after indubitably bungling the Jameis Winston affair--in case you missed it, that was a PR nightmare for the school run by ES(EC)PN not FSU--and purportedly ready to sign basketball coach Leonard Hamilton to a contract extension. That would be a huge mistake and possibly seal Wilcox's fate as an also-ran.

Hamilton is NOT ACC-caliber coaching material. He's proven that beyond a shadow of a doubt. He was moderately successful at Miami, despite going 73-87 in the ACC (45%). He did take them to the Sweet Sixteen in his final season there before jumping ship and coming to Tallahassee, where he is a smidge better at 48% in conference play. He took FSU to the Sweet Sixteen a few seasons back and has had some signature wins vs. Duke and UNC at home. Save for a couple of great seasons, he perennially underachieves with the talent he's given. This year is a perfect case in point.

He lands All-Americans Bacon and Beasley and starts them as Freshman. They show NBA-caliber talent for the first part of the season, overshadowing XRM, the team leader, in games against the likes of Southeastern Louisiana and Charleston Southern. Nothing against those particular teams, but they aren't Duke or North Carolina, either. An early season loss to Hofstra, in the U.S. Virgin Islands Paradise Jam, should have signaled what was to come--another lackluster performance in the ACC. And when the postseason was on the line, after three seasons of missing the Big Dance, what did Ham's team do? They folded, going on a four-game skid. Tonight they make that five at Cameron Indoor Stadium vs. Duke.

You miss the NCAA Tournament four consecutive years, spending two of those at .500 in conference and slide to the ACC basement and you GET A CONTRACT EXTENSION??? In what world does that balance the scales? Forbes even called Hamilton the 9th most overpaid college hoops coach!

This could stain Wilcox's legacy just as much as the Winston PR nightmare circus--don't even get me started, as it'd take TWO blog posts! Is the man just a frat-house buddy with Hamilton? I don't get it. But the growing chorus from the FSU faithful is #FIREHAMNOW. If Wilcox doesn't get that message loud and clear, it could well become #FIRESTANNOW.

/end rant

FSU Basketball Powerhouse?

I know this is a football blog, but with the Super Bowl now fading in our rearview mirror and National Signing Day behind us--yes Jimbo Fisher and staff snagged the second-best recruiting class of 2012--indulge me in a little Seminole Basketball.

Since joining the ACC in 1992, I cannot remember a better start in conference play for the Noles. They have now reeled off seven straight wins against the best in the conference--and the country--and now sit atop the ACC with a 7-1 conference record. The team is being led this year by sharpshooter Michael Snaer who is sinking 41-percent of his shots behind the three-point arc. One of his most memorable of the season came against Duke, snapping their 45-game winning streak at Cameron Indoor Stadium.

The Seminoles have a history the last two decades of giant-killing, usually beating a top-ranked Duke or North Carolina team in Tallahassee. They don't usually do it on the road in the span of ONE WEEK! In a 10-day stretch during the month of January, they beat the Tar Heels, Blue Devils AND the Maryland Terrapins. Still, the coaches weren't impressed enough to give them more than honorable mention. It took another week of ACC dominance for the Noles to break into the Top 25 in both major polls. With a win over ranked Virginia last week, expect them to crack the top 15 today.

In addition to Snaer's sharpshooting prowess, FSU features a stifling defense that has ranked atop the NCAA-Division I the last two years. Leonard Hamilton knows the old football adage that says "defense wins championships," and he's coaching a tenacious squad nicknamed the "Junkyard D." Scrappy doesn't even begin to describe them. With a huge interior, they are a formidable force in the paint and have totally shut down the league's leading big men, knocking one of them out of a game.

Has FSU become a basketball powerhouse? No, we're still a football school to be sure. But a force to be reckoned with in the ACC? I think that goes without saying. And after all, it IS the powerhouse conference. I'm very pleased with Leonard Hamilton, now turning around his third program since becoming a head coach. GO SEMINOLE BASKETBALL!!!