"Handful of these guys recruited me as a player": FSU's Luke Loucks gets candid on relationship with Jon Scheyer, ACC coaches

Florida State coach Luke Loucks spoke with "Florida State football Warchant TV" on Monday during the ACC’s spring meetings in Amelia Island. Loucks, in his first year attending the event, discussed his relationships with other league coaches, upcoming scheduling plans, and roster updates.

Loucks said his relationship with other ACC coaches has been positive, noting past on-court matchups with Duke’s Jon Scheyer and other coaches like Chris Lucas. He also referenced previous ties with coaches who had recruited him as a player, with some relationships dating back to when he was 15.

“"It's been good,” Loucks said. “I do know both Shire and Lucas I came up playing against, so I relationship with those guys, and a handful of these guys actually recruited me as a player.”

“We’re all going to compete all year long... we’re trying to take each other out. So, it's fun to come together collectively and try to help each other and help the conference.”

As a first-year ACC coach, he said he has taken a listening role during most discussions and values hearing directly from other coaches rather than relying on media reporting.

Luke Loucks' finalizing the program’s upcoming schedule

Luke Loucks said he and assistant coach Michael Fly, are finalizing the program’s upcoming schedule, which he expects to be done this week or next.

“We'll have three big-time neutral games,” he said. “We'll have one big-time game at home, one on the road, one will be Florida, and then the homes and neutrals. We're still signing the contracts.

“But to me, when you book those games, I want them to be top-10, top-15 opponents, right? Because it’s a way to measure yourself against the best… and be the best and be competitive. You don't know what that feels like until you play those teams, right? And so the first thing I said is, I want to play every Final Four team from last year.”

The shift to an 18-game league schedule provides flexibility, but Luke Loucks said the focus must be on avoiding excess Quad 2 or Quad 3 games, which hurt rankings when lost and offer little gain when won.