Leonard Hamilton nearly walked out of an interview with CBS’ Dana Jacobson after reacting poorly to a question about his strategy at the end of the game.
Hamilton’s Florida State Seminoles lost to Michigan 58-54 in the Elite Eight of the NCAA Tournament on Saturday night. They missed a 3-pointer and Michigan got the rebound with 11 seconds left. Instead of fouling to extend the game and see what kind of magic could happen, the Seminoles just let Michigan dribble out the clock for the win. They were harshly criticized for the decision.
After the game, that was Jacobson’s first question to Hamilton, who bristled in response and nearly walked out of the interview.
Florida State head coach Leonard Hamilton on the decision not to foul with 11 seconds remaining.#MarchMadness pic.twitter.com/IxlWNnuPRa
— March Madness TV (@MarchMadnessTV) March 25, 2018
“You think that the game came down to the final seconds of the game?” Hamilton asked, rhetorically.
“The game was over,” Hamilton said.
Hamilton finally composed himself and finished out the rest of the interview, but it’s obvious he rejected the line of questioning. Perhaps he was taken aback and felt ambushed, not realizing that critics jumped on him over the strategy.
