Pat Kennedy was a very fine coach at FSU and the Noles finished 2nd to the national champion (Duke,then UNC) in the conference regular season in each of first two years (1991-92 and 1992-93) FSU was in the ACC.
Three nights before FSU's first ACC game (vs. UNC at the Hell in 1991) Pat, over a hamburger, showed me on a napkin the plays his team would run to rout UNC.
FSU decisively defeated UNC and Dean had no answer for those plays. I was at that game . The crowd was stunned.
FSU advanced to the Sweet 16 the first year and to the Elite 8 the second year in the ACC, a season that saw FSU set a school record for wins (25).
Kennedy was ACC COY in the first year--while Coach K did a great job that year (and could have won that award), Kennedy did a tremendous job and obviously convinced the ACC writers of that fact.
Cliff Ellis, BTW, won ACC COY in 1987 and 1990.
Kennedy left FSU because he was a poor administrator and had been warned repeatedly by the AD to correct that deficiency.He didn't.
But he was a fine coach who was not only intelligent at Xs and Os, but also a brilliant in-game tactician.
Pat also had the good judgment to form a close relationship with K and he despised Dean Smith, whom he considered among the most arrogant people he had ever known.
Coaching is tough.However, when coaches have a good deal of talent and still have mediocre records, their coaching should be scrutinized. We have been spoiled in the ACC by K and Smith--they are hard to emulate.
As far as Leonard Hamilton, FSU fans like him but realize that his teams will not be offensive powerhouses, but ,rather, plodding, successful defensive teams (like the Duke women the last 3 years). He was ACC COY last year, yet some fans think he should be replaced. While he has been a little better than a .500 coach in his career, his teams play hard.That goes a long way with me.That is why I admired Miami's play yesterday---that is the least a well-coached team should do.
Best regards--Blueprofessor