Leonard Hamilton identifies best way to use Chandler Jackson

The Florida State men’s basketball team picked up an 84-76 victory over ACC rival Boston College. The victory keeps the Seminoles near the top of the conference and in the hunt for a spot in this year’s field of 68.

One player who showed up big for Florida State on Saturday and for much of the 2023-24 season has been guard Chandler Jackson. And Following the victory, in the postgame press conference, his head coach, Leonard Hamilton, revealed what has helped his young, talented guard while identifying the best way for the Seminoles to utilize him.

“Well, what has helped Chandler is not having the point guard responsibilities like this as much as we anticipated him handling them when he first got here,” said Hamilton. “He has the ability to score, is a big strong guy, [and] can’t leave him open. He takes contact and finishes around the basket, and he has a burst of speed that allows him to accelerate and move past people.

“He’s a much better athlete than maybe you might think. Whenever he’s in a crowd, he seems as if he always comes away with the ball. So he’s making much better decisions. I don’t think he forced anything tonight, and he definitely had an impact on the game.”

On Tuesday, Jackson put together an efficient performance, scoring 19 points on 7-10 shooting from the field and going 2-3 from beyond the arc. Jackson’s 19 points were tied for the second most in the game, only behind teammate Jamir Watkins, who also had a big game against Boston College with a 22-point 11 rebound double-double.

Chances Florida State leaves the ACC

On3’s Andy Staples and Warchant’s Jeff Cameron took some time on Monday’s version of The Andy Staples Show to discuss Florida State’s future as it pertains to their conference.

First, Cameron highlighted why the Big Ten would be interested in the Seminoles and how it could turn them into a nationwide conference in an instant.

“This is an interesting discussion,” Cameron started. “The Big Ten would want to plant a flag in the SEC’s backyard. They would want to grab what they could. It’d make sense. If it’s an all-out war, and it’s FOX versus ESPN let’s say, would you not, at that point, you’d have a country-wide conference obviously, as opposed to a regional conference in the SEC. So you would have Florida State, North Carolina, Clemson, and potentially Miami. I don’t know if they’d go that route or not, but for the Big Ten, now we’re going coast-to-coast, and you’ve got all of the Midwest to boot.

“I would think the counter to that is, with the ACC on the verge of dissolving, that ESPN doesn’t re-up and we have to know that by 2026, right? 2025? So I would think at that point, again, SEC, Big Ten, ESPN, FOX. No matter other’s feelings. Commissioner’s feeling, Athletic Director’s feelings, at some point, you would want to counter that move by FOX and the Big Ten if you’re ESPN, especially since the ACC will no longer be an asset. Wouldn’t you say, You know what guys, this isn’t going to — you can be made if you’re Florida or anybody else, we’re taking Florida State so that the Big Ten doesn’t get them.”

Continuing, Staples harkened back to the synergy we’ve seen between the Big Ten and SEC decision-makers over recent weeks, and how it could all have an effect on where the Seminoles end up.