TALLAHASSEE, Fla. -- The moment to celebrate another Sweet 16 appearance came and quickly went, and all anyone at Florida State really wanted to do was cry.
No other NCAA tournament team experienced what the Seminoles had in the opening rounds. In all his years as a head coach, Leonard Hamilton had not experienced the situation that confronted him, either: How does a team and a coach, working toward their first Final Four appearance, handle death and sadness and grief as it unfolds inside a locker room in real-time?
Phil Cofer will not be with Florida State when the Seminoles play Gonzaga on Thursday night in Anaheim, California, choosing to stay home with family in Georgia to mourn his father, who died the same day Florida State beat Vermont in the first round.