REPORT: FSU Basketball Assistant Coach Leaving For A Different ACC Program

Florida State will have to bring on a new assistant late in the cycle this year

Feb 3, 2024; Louisville, Kentucky, USA; Florida State Seminoles head coach Leonard Hamilton reacts to a call during the second half against the Louisville Cardinals at KFC Yum! Center. Louisville defeated Florida State 101-92. Mandatory Credit: Jamie Rhodes-USA TODAY Sports / Jamie Rhodes-USA TODAY Sports

Florida State Basketball assistant coach Steve Smith will be leaving for a similar role with Boston College, per Pete Thamel of ESPN. Smith spent the last five seasons in Tallahassee after a long stint at Clemson, where he worked with Earl Grant, who is now Boston College's head coach.

Sources: Boston College men's basketball is hiring Florida State assistant coach Steve Smith as an assistant coach. Smith is leaving Florida State after five seasons there and has 12 years of ACC experience as an assistant.

— Pete Thamel (@PeteThamel) June 10, 2024

READ MORE: FSU Basketball Star Jamir Watkins to Return For Next Season

This is a fairly late move in the cycle, though at least it's happening after the close of the transfer portal. Smith was Florida State's lead recruiter for a lot of their top targets. Former assistant Charlton "CY" Young recommended Smith to Leonard Hamilton once Clemson didn't renew his contract, as Young had Smith as an assistant at Georgia Southern. Young and Smith were coaches on FSU's staff together from 2019-2022 before Young joined former FSU assistant Dennis Gates at Missouri.

With Coach Hamilton's long-term future in doubt, this seems like a move made with future job security in mind for Smith. Hamilton's contract expires at the end of the 2024-25 season and will be 76 years old by the time this upcoming season starts. Florida State has been just 43-53 over their last three seasons, bottoming out with a 9-23 2022-23 campaign. If FSU were to set up a Head-Coach-In-Waiting position, this would be the offseason to do it, but they'd likely only do that with a "friend of the family." I doubt that's the direction FSU decides to move, though.

Florida State has undergone a lot of assistant coach turnover in the last five years after stability throughout the 2010s. Dennis Gates left to become the head coach at Cleveland State in the 2019 offseason, Charlton Young joined Gates at Missouri once he took that job in 2022, RJay Barsh was brought on to replace Young but left to be an assistant at Gonzaga after just one season, and now Smith will be leaving for Boston College. FSU brought on Kevin Nickelberry last offseason to join Hamilton and associate head coach Stan Jones.

READ MORE: BREAKING: FSU Basketball Lands Pledge From Blue-Chip Forward To Bolster 2025 Class

Stick with NoleGameday for more coverage of Florida State Basketball throughout the offseason

Follow NoleGameday on and Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok