Leonard Hamilton deserves to have the Donald L. Tucker Civic Center court named after him one day.

There should be no debate about that.

What Florida State should do with the veteran and legendary men's basketball head coach in the immediate future is something that is however up for debate.

FSU (15-15, 9-10 ACC) hosts rival Miami (15-15, 6-13) at 4 p.m. Saturday (ESPN2) at home to conclude the regular season.

The Seminoles will honor Sola Adebisi, Cam Fletcher, Jaylan Gainey, Darin Green Jr., Josh Nickelberry, Isaac Spainhour, Max Thorpe and Jamir Watkins for senior day.

A loss to the Hurricanes would give the Seminoles a losing record in ACC play for the second straight season. Even a win would leave them at .500 for the third straight season.

Hamilton is entering the final year of his contract in 2025. He will be 76 before next season and the task of turning a program around has become more difficult under the new ERA of NIL and the Transfer Portal.

The Seminoles have not had back-to-back losing seasons since the 2001-02 and 2002-03 campaigns, with the 2002 season being the first under Hamilton.

Last season was the worst in program history for FSU. The bar was low to clear for this season, but it's still been frustrating for fans.

The Seminoles have struggled as a program since the 2019-20 COVID season (26-5, 16-4 ACC) in which they won the ACC for the first time and were a lock for one of the top seeds in the NCAA Tournament before it was canceled.

Hamilton told basketball analyst Jeff Goodman last summer that he has no immediate plans to retire.

"I'm about as energized as I've been in a while after last season. I don't fish, I don't hunt, I hate playing golf, I'm not into traveling. I love gospel music and coaching," Hamilton told Goodman.

"I'm healthy and enjoy what I'm doing. I want so very much to get our program back after last year. I have no plans to retire right now. I feel great."

The decision for Michael Alford

Hamilton signed a contract extension with FSU in March of 2021. The extension tacked on five years to his deal, paying an annual salary of $2.25 million.

The ball is in FSU Vice President and Director of Athletics Michael Alford's court for a decision. Since becoming athletics director in December 2021, Alford said he likes to re-evaluate every program after its season.

It is important to note that FSU is in the middle of a major lawsuit with the ACC, has major renovation projects in the works at Doak Campbell Stadium and for a football-only facility, and operated at a $2.57 million deficit in 2023.

The Seminoles are not making it to the NCAA Tournament without winning the ACC Tournament at the Capital One Arena in Washington, D.C. next week March 9-12, which is a tall order.

A deep run in the tournament is also likely required to garner an invite to the NIT.

FSU enters the Miami game as the No. 9 seed in the conference tournament. The Seminoles need to beat the Hurricanes to avoid falling to the No. 10 seed, which means they would need to play and win a game every single day from Tuesday to Saturday to win the tournament.

Alford has already made big decisions in firing Mike Martin Jr. and hiring Link Jarrett to turn the baseball program following the 2022 baseball season. He has also brought in Brooke Wyckoff (women's basketball) to replace Sue Semrau.

Alford also executed a strong transition from Mark Krikorian, coming off coaching women’s soccer to a National Championship, to Brian Pensky, who has kept the standard high for FSU soccer.

But turnover hasn't been an issue with longtime FSU head coaches. Mike Martin Sr. ran the baseball program for 40 seasons. Semrau ran the women's basketball team for 24 seasons before retiring. Hamilton has been a head coach at FSU for 22 years and Chris Poole has been the volleyball coach for 16 seasons.

Hamilton has a 441–280 record with the Seminoles and has guided the program to more success than any other basketball coach.

He's a legend.

It's why he deserves the court named after him.

It's also why any decision about his future isn't easy.

How to watch FSU men's basketball vs. Miami

Who: Florida State (15-15, 9-10 ACC) vs. Miami (15-15, 6-13)

When/Where: 4 p.m., at Donald L. Tucker Civic Center

TV/Radio: ESPN2/101.5 FM

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

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This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: Leonard Hamitlon, FSU men's basketball have decisions after struggles