“About 45 minutes after Florida State’s thrilling 62-59 upset of Duke in the semifinals of the ACC tournament, Seminoles coach Leonard Hamilton shared a special moment with one of his most well-respected counterparts.

“While standing outside FSU’s locker room, Hamilton was greeted by a smiling Mike Krzyzewski, who had just watched Hamilton’s Seminoles best his Blue Devils in a tournament he basically owns. Krzyzewski congratulated Hamilton and praised his team.

“As Hamilton delivered his thanks, Krzyzewski briefly paused, giving Hamilton one last look that read, ‘Hell of a team.'”

– Edward Aschoff, ESPN

“We went 11 years without a NCAA tournament. Now we’re going to four consecutive NCAA tournaments. Leonard Hamilton is the real deal. He brings in good kids, coaches them up and turns guys that a lot of schools won’t recruit into quality players in the ACC.

“Look at the track record: (All-ACC products) Al Thornton, Toney Douglas, Chris Singleton…. This is a program that was lower-tier ACC and the recruits that come in are not Parade All-Americans and McDonald’s All-Americans – Chris Singleton being the exception – and yet, somehow, someway Leonard brings them in, gets them their degree and gets them into the NBA.”

– Florida State play-by-play announcer Gene Deckerhoff

“After dropping 16 points and six assists on Duke, Florida State guard Michael Snaer earned praise from Blue Devils coach Mike Krzyzewski, who called him the best competitor in the ACC.

“‘Snaer’s terrific. I love Snaer,’ he said. ‘He’s just such a great competitor. He never seems to get tired. He just has such a great will.’

“Snaer, a second-team All-ACC and All-ACC defensive-team selection, scored 48 points in three games against the Blue Devils this season. Snaer’s teammate Luke Loucks seconded Krzyzewski’s opinion, calling Snaer ‘definitely the most competitive guy I’ve ever met.’”

– Ken Sugiura, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution