Luke Loucks details how he handled transition at Florida State

The Florida State Seminoles, for the first time in more than two decades, have a new head basketball coach. It’s now Luke Loucks who is being tasked with leading his alma mater back to prosperity within college basketball.

Coming from the NBA and without head coaching experience, it could be a tough transition. That’s a challenge that, as Loucks explained during the ACC Spring Meetings, he’s meeting by managing tasks rather than allowing them to become overwhelming.

“As a head coach at any level, you’ve got to be aware of what’s going on,” Luke Loucks said. “You’ve got to have an investment because all of this impacts your results. Obviously, it starts with your roster and your team and your management, but going back even for me, and I know I’ve touched on this, building a staff, and finding ways to improve the building, and update the practice facility. All those things are important. You’ve just got to prioritize at whatever section.”

For the time being, Loucks is working on some immediate challenges. That means finishing the roster for next season and getting the schedule finalized.

“We’ve got 10 guys down the roster. We’ll have two or three more that we’re gonna work through. Couple of European guys that will take a little bit of time, but we’re still focused on it,” Loucks said.

“But now it shifts to getting the schedule done. And we’re pretty close to getting that done. We’re signing the contracts this week and next week. So, it just kind of keeps shifting and evolving. Right in the middle of it, you’ve got to come to these ACC meetings.”

Luke Loucks is a Florida native who played for Florida State from 2008 through 2012. He’d go on to have a professional playing career internationally and in the G-League. By 2016, he turned toward coaching and worked as an assistant in the NBA with the Golden State Warriors and, most recently, the Sacramento Kings. Despite that, this is his first job as a head coach.

“But, really, for me, it’s not an obligation. It’s a privilege to come learn from some of the brightest minds in basketball. I’m the new guy. So, they’ve all sat in my seat at one point,” Loucks said. “And they’re doing a great job of taking us through the ropes and what to expect, areas of concern, individually, collectively as a conference. So, it’s been fun to go through this.”

At Florida State, Luke Loucks inherited a program that has been led by Leonard Hamilton since 2002. Along the way, there were several highs, including the Elite Eight and multiple Sweet Sixteens. One of those Sweet Sixteens Loucks was even on the team for. However, the Seminoles have struggled recently, and now he’ll need to rebuild the program that hasn’t won more than 17 games since 2021.