Leonard Hamilton credits Florida State players for fighting through depth issues

It certainly hasn’t been the year Florida State envisioned so far, but the Seminoles got their fourth win of the season this week against Notre Dame. They’re dealing with some injuries, though, and Leonard Hamilton gave credit to his team for fighting through those absences.

Florida State held off Notre Dame 73-72 to improve to 4-10, and depth has been an issue for the Seminoles this year. Four players are averaging double-digit scoring, but they’re all averaging more than 28 minutes per game, meaning minutes distribution hasn’t been even through the first 14 games.

Considering the system relies on a deep bench, Hamilton said his team has handled this year well.

“It’s very challenging to play that many minutes with what we’re requiring them to do,” Hamilton said. “We’re not playing pat line, we’re not picking up half court, we’re not picking up at the top of the key like most teams usually do. We’re picking up 94 feet. Most teams don’t switch 1-5 like we do. We fight the pulls … put pressure on the point guard. We switch 1-5. That’s a little more challenging than keeping your toes on the three-point line and just containing the play. That’s not our style, that’s not our system. So it’s much more challenging to play the way we play with a limited number of players.

“Hopefully soon, we’ll get [Baba] Miller back in the rotation. He has to go through an adjustment period like the other guy shave already gone through. This is who we are this year, we accept it and we’re going to continue to keep working hard. I love our attitude, I like the vibe, I like the encouragement the guys are giving each other. I hear a lot of chatter that’s positive. Our freshman, our first-year players appreciate their roles and what they should be giving us when they come in the game. I think we’re kind of growing up a little bit. Hopefully, we can come back and continue that after the break.”

Florida State now turns its attention to a 10-day holiday break before taking on Duke on New Year’s Eve to open ACC play. The Seminoles won their first ACC matchup earlier this year against Louisville and will try to build some momentum in league play as the calendar prepares to flip.