Luke Loucks is returning to Florida State as the Seminoles’ new men’s basketball head coach, 15 years after his playing career ended in Tallahassee.
Loucks, 34, has been an assistant in the NBA for the past 11 seasons, the last five with the Sacramento Kings. He was on the staff for the Golden State Warriors’ back-to-back NBA championship teams in 2017 and 2018.
He will succeed Leonard Hamilton, who announced in February that he would step down following the 2024-25 season. The Seminoles finished 17-14 overall and 8-12 in the ACC, the fourth consecutive season during which the team finished .500 or below in conference play.
The hiring was officially announced by Florida State on Sunday afternoon. Loucks will be introduced in Tallahassee on Monday.
“Luke’s exceptional coaching ability, profound leadership skills, and extensive basketball knowledge make him the perfect fit to lead our program,” school president Richard McCullough said in a statement.
“As a former Seminole, he understands the values and traditions that define FSU basketball,” he added. “I am confident that under his guidance, Florida State will continue to achieve great success and uphold the proud legacy of Seminole basketball.”
Loucks played four seasons at Florida State for Hamilton from 2008-12. The Seminoles qualified for the NCAA tournament in each of those seasons, the first time in school history that the men’s basketball team had earned four consecutive NCAA berths. When Loucks finished his career in Tallahassee, he was the school’s all-time leader in games played at 136. (He’s now tied for fourth.)
After three seasons as a professional in Latvia, Cyprus and Belgium, Loucks played two years in the NBA G League before going into coaching. With the Warriors, he worked in video coordination and player development. He joined the Kings as an assistant in 2022 and became the team’s defensive coordinator in 2024.
Once his playing career ended, Hamilton asked Loucks if he had ever considered coaching, according to ESPN’s Andrea Adelson. After Mike Brown hired him for his staff in Sacramento, he told Loucks that it was only a matter of time before he became a head coach.
“With my lack of experience, there are going to be question marks,” Loucks told Adelson. “But the reality is, I understand Florida State, I understand the dynamics. I understand what goes into winning at Florida State. I’ve not only seen it, but I’ve experienced it, and I’ve lived it.”
In 23 seasons at Florida State, Hamilton finished with a 460-295 record, eight NCAA tournament bids, one ACC tournament title and one regular season conference championship.
Florida State is one of four ACC men’s basketball programs to make a coaching change during the 2024-25 season, joining Virginia, Miami and NC State.
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