Great resemblances in sports history: Leonard Hamilton
January 13, 2011 by
John Stansberry
As I watched Florida State pull off an upset of top ranked Duke last night, I kept thinking that Seminole head coach Leonard Hamilton reminded me of somebody. And then today it finally dawned on me. Anyone who was a fan of “Prison Break” or “The Wire” will recognize Robert Wisdom:
It sure as hell doesn’t seem like it, but Hamilton has been a Division I head coach now for nearly 25 years. He generated a couple of NIT appearances at Oklahoma State and multiple NCAA appearances at both Miami and Florida State over that time span.
However, the only knock on Hamliton is that he’s never had THAT season, you know, the one where he approached 30 wins. Contemporaries like Phil Martelli (30 wins and the Elite Eight in 2004) and Lon Kruger (29 wins and the Final Four in 1994) did so, while Hamilton’s remained consistently solid.
Could the win over Duke help propel a Hamilton coached team to where it’s never been before, that being the Elite Eight? Well, in a season when the Seminoles have already lost to Auburn and an underachieving Virginia Tech team, who the hell knows.
As for Robert Wisdom, any fan of “The Wire” remembers his portrayal of Bunny Colvin:
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Michael Brossett on Fri, 14th Jan 2011 8:51 am
I imagine it didn’t hurt your feelings when Duke lost to them. I’m still trying to figure out how Auburn beat FSU? Glad they did, but it is mind boggling.
Joe on Sun, 22nd Jan 2012 8:48 am
The coach showed tremendous class not going ballistic over the blocking call late in the game..”