Florida State men's basketball coach Leonard Hamilton on Naheem McLeod: 'Cake's still in the oven'

Photos of former players who moved on to the NBA line the wall of Florida State associate head coach Stan Jones' wall in his office.

The players range from Miami Hurricane legends like James Jones — now the GM of the Phoenix Suns — to Florida State legends like Toney Douglas and Malik Beasley.

Jones has coached a long list of college players, including 19 NBA Draft selections in the last 19 years.

But the veteran coach has one spot open for a current player, right above his desk.

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"That spot is for (Naheem McLeod)," Jones said, pointing to an empty spot which says "reserved" right on the corner of his desk cabinet.

Jones added he reminds McLeod about it every time the two chat in his office.

For McLeod, if he reaches the NBA, it will go down as one of the most successful stories for an NBA player, one which includes a very unique path.

The 7-foot-4 center was initially part of the 2019 recruiting class for head coach Leonard Hamilton. But due to not being academically eligible, he had to go to Chipola College and earn his way back to the Seminoles.

McLeod and the Seminoles host Newberry College of South Carolina in an exhibition at the Donald L. Tucker Civic Center at 7 p.m. Thursday.

FSU opens the season against Stetson on Nov. 7.

"I'm really excited about this team," McLeod said. "And a great group of guys. So I'm just looking forward to see how we come together on November 7 and play together."

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Detour to Chipola College

The three-star center out of Plymouth Meeting, Pennsylvania committed to FSU following a weekend visit which included the Clemson football game.

He was the No. 149 overall player and No. 31 center in the 2019 recruiting class, according to 247Sports. He picked the Seminoles over finalists LaSalle and Rhode Island.

McLeod spent the summer semester in 2019 in Tallahassee, but then found out he was not eligible. He made the move to Chipola College, a public college in Marianna.

"It was an experience," McLeod said. "I feel like it really helped me mature as far as some of the decisions I made coming here. Like not taking a lot of things seriously and having to take that route. So I think when I finally decided to take a lot of things more seriously, it was better for me. So just helping me mature."

The talent was obvious for Jones and Hamilton as they scouted McLeod out of high school.

Both coaches saw the raw potential that some other ACC coaches may have missed. But they also knew he would be a project.

"Naheem was a guy I've known for a long time," Jones said. "I've known his school and his high school coach for an even longer time. I recruited a player when I was with Coach Hamilton at the University of Miami. He ended up being one of our all-time greats, a guy by the name of John Salmons.

"The coach is the same guy there so I had a relationship (with him). Naheem is a was a guy who has overcome a lot of stuff in his life. And along with getting his academics together, he's just stayed on that journey and we're now starting to see his progression."

Instead of moping, McLeod realized he needed to take his academics more seriously.

"It's part of things that you have to deal with," he said. "So, I felt like I wasn't too sad about it. I still had to play basketball. I still have three years to play at Florida State."

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Wake up call

McLeod redshirted his freshman season at Chipola. He then missed the first half of the next season due COVID.

A wake-up call arrived for McLeod in his fourth game at the college, which made him realize he needed to take basketball more seriously.

"I'm so happy, go lucky," he said. "I am always just happy no matter if I am playing basketball or if I am off the court. ... Like I said, I wasn't thinking anything serious. I had a wakeup call when this dude was going at me on the basketball court, and I was like, 'Yo, why are you playing so hard right now?'

"And he said, 'They got you ranked ahead of me. And I feel like I'm better than you.' So when that happened. I was like, ‘Man, I have to take things more seriously."

McLeod said he did not remember who the player was, but he savored the moment.

Following that game, he flashed his potential, averaging 5.8 points and 4.0 rebounds in helping lead Chipola to the semifinals of the National Junior College Athletic Association tournament in Hutchinson, Kan.

"It has been progressions with him," Jones said. "You saw it toward the end of his year at Chipola when they went to the national tournament. He played well and was a big part of that team with Chipola."

McLeod's season with Chipola was during the pandemic shut down year, so Hamilton said the staff couldn't watch him in person to see his progression.

"We didn't go out and see him very much in his community college. I was watching him on video," Hamilton said. "He's gotten a lot better than he was at the community college. And then at this point, I feel like he's making progress every day."

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Loyalty to FSU

As he played on the national stage in the National Junior College Athletic Association tournament, other schools started taking notice.

But his goal always remained to stay a Seminole.

"I think that's a testament to his character," Jones said. "It's also a testament to Coach Hamilton. There's a lot of schools that if a kid didn't qualify, they move on and try to give somebody else and Coach Hamilton remained loyal and consistent with Naheem and so I think there's a mutual respect that Naheem has for Coach Hamilton.

"Because he's been a big believer in him and a lot of other schools didn't think he could be a really good player at the ACC level. And so I think that's just been a carryover from the initial part of the recruiting process when he was in high school and on into being here in the summer and then having the disappointment and moving on as we didn't quit on him saying quit on us.

"So you like to have those kinds of kids in your program that believe in what you're doing because you believe in them."

McLeod said attending FSU is a major accomplishment for him and his family.

"I'm the first person in my family to go to college. So it's really going to, you know, set a tone for them as well," he said.

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'Cake's in the oven'

In his first season with the Seminoles, McLeod averaged 4.5 points, 2.1 rebounds per game on 68% shooting in 18 games.

He scored a career-high 15 points against Virginia Tech on Jan. 29, three days after tying a career-high of seven rebounds against Georgia Tech.

Just as he was finding his comfort, two minutes into a game against Clemson on Feb. 2, McLeod broke his hand chasing a loose ball.

"Halfway through the season, I was starting to get my feet wet. I'm starting to come along and feel really happy about where I was before my injury," McLeod said. "And after the injury I got surgery and coming back to become a better player."

As with most big men, Hamilton said it takes them longer to adjust to the college game.

He said the improvement is coming for McLeod and is already showing.

"I think he's made great progress," Hamilton said. "He's doing much better. He's doing really well in school. He's adjusting to the way we need him to play for us to be successful, but also, he's adjusting to what he needs to do to be successful.

"He is extremely popular, very personable, but he's still growing and learning. A lot of people want to make progress, but sometimes they don't understand the process. He's in the middle of the process. I always tell people, 'the cake's still in the oven.'

"Our goal for him was to become a complete player, offensively and defensively. The cake's still in the oven, but he's getting better."

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FSU men's basketball schedule

Nov. 7 Monday: Stetson Tallahassee

Nov. 11 Friday: at UCF Orlando

Nov. 14 Monday: Troy Tallahassee

Nov. 18 Friday: Florida Tallahassee

Nov. 21 Monday: Mercer Tallahassee

Nov. 24 Thursday: Siena Lake Buena Vista 11 a.m ESPN2

Nov. 25 Friday: Ole Miss / Stanford Lake Buena Vista 11 a.m./ 1:30 p.m. ESPN2/ESPN+

Nov. 27 Sunday: Lake Buena Vista ESPN/ESPNU

Nov. 30 Wednesday: Purdue Tallahassee ESPN/ESPN2

Dec. 3 Saturday: at Virginia Charlottesville, Va.

Dec. 10 Saturday: Louisville Tallahassee

Dec. 13 Tuesday: USC Upstate Tallahassee

Dec. 17 Saturday: St. John’s Sunrise

Dec. 21 Wednesday * Notre Dame Tallahassee

Dec. 31 Saturday: at Duke Durham, N.C

Jan. 7 Saturday: Georgia Tech Tallahassee

Jan. 11 Wednesday: at Wake Forest Winston-Salem, N.C.

Jan. 14 Saturday: Virginia Tallahassee

Jan. 17 Tuesday : at Notre Dame Notre Dame, Ind.

Jan. 21 Saturday : at Pittsburgh Pittsburgh, Pa.

Jan. 24 Tuesday: Miami Tallahassee

Jan. 28 Saturday: Clemson Tallahassee

Feb. 1 Wednesday: at NC State Raleigh, N.C.

Feb. 4 Saturday: at Louisville Louisville, Ky.

Feb. 8 Wednesday : Syracuse Tallahassee

Feb. 11 Saturday: Pittsburgh Tallahassee

Feb. 15 Wednesday: at Clemson Clemson, S.C

Feb. 18 Saturday * Boston College Tallahassee

Feb. 25 Saturday: at Miami Coral Gables

Feb. 27 Monday: North Carolina Tallahassee

March 4 Saturday: at Virginia Tech Blacksburg, Va.

March 7-11 Tues.-Sat: ACC Tournament Greensboro, N.C.

Reach Ehsan Kassim at ekassim@gannett.com or follow him on Twitter at @Ehsan_Kassim. You can also follow our coverage on Facebook (NoleSports) and Instagram (tlhnolesports).

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This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: Seminole basketball: A look at the path for 7-4 center Naheem McLeod to FSU