Johnny Hamilton (basketball)

Johnny Hamilton
Hamilton with Virginia Tech in 2015
No. 24 – Detroit Pistons
Position Center
League NBA
Personal information
Born (1994-02-03) February 3, 1994
Rio Claro, Trinidad and Tobago
Nationality Trinidadian
Listed height 7 ft 0 in (2.13 m)
Listed weight 230 lb (104 kg)
Career information
College
NBA draft 2018 / Undrafted
Playing career 2018–present
Career history
2018–present Detroit Pistons

Johnny Hamilton (born February 3, 1994) is a Trinidadian professional basketball player for the Detroit Pistons of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He began his college career at Jacksonville College, before moving to NCAA Division I program Virginia Tech and playing his final season for UT Arlington. Standing 7 ft 0 in (2.13 m), he plays the center position.

Early life

Hamilton was born in the rural town of Rio Claro, Trinidad and Tobago to Princess and Tony Hamilton.[1][2] He has six siblings, named Joshua, Jesse, Jason, Anthony, Liz and Tia. His father played for a basketball club in Trinidad and Tobago. Hamilton played soccer in his childhood but switched to basketball at age 16 after growing too tall for the former sport.[2][3] He has stated that he transferred his footwork skills from soccer to help him in basketball.[4] While growing up, Hamilton also played cricket with his friends and swam in a river for fun.[4] He began his basketball career with his local team, the Warriors, before joining the NBS Ambassadors in the Mayaro Basketball League.[5]

College career

Hamilton was encouraged to play college basketball in the United States by a pastor from Jacksonville, Texas who visited Trinidad and Tobago annually.[3] As a result, he spent his freshman and sophomore seasons of college at Jacksonville College in the pastor's hometown.[3][6] In 26 games in his second year, he averaged 9 points, 8.9 rebounds, and 4.3 blocks per game, shooting .617 from the field and ranking among the top shot-blockers in the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA).[6]

On April 22, 2015, Hamilton signed a letter of intent to play for Virginia Tech in the NCAA Division I.[7] In December 2015, he was suspended by head coach Buzz Williams due to poor academic performance.[8] Hamilton finished his junior season having played 17 games, averaging 1.8 points, 2.2 rebounds, and 0.9 blocks per game.[9] Three games into his senior campaign for Virginia Tech, he suffered a season-ending thumb injury, after a tendon rupture was discovered in his left thumb.[10] He was averaging 3.7 points, 1.3 rebounds, and 0.3 blocks per game.[9]

Despite graduating from Virginia Tech with a bachelor's degree in criminology, Hamilton chose to attend the University of Texas at Arlington for graduate school, with the goal of becoming a police commissioner in Trinidad and Tobago.[4] In his final year of college basketball eligibility, he played for the UT Arlington Mavericks, being drawn to the program by associate head coach Greg Young, who had helped recruit him to Jacksonville College.[4] Hamilton averaged 11.2 points, 8.1 rebounds, and 2.3 blocks, starting in 31 of 34 games.[11] He recorded a double-double of 23 points and 14 rebounds in a championship game loss at the 2018 Sun Belt Conference Tournament, earning all-tournament team honors.[12]

Professional career

After going undrafted in the 2018 NBA draft, Hamilton played for the Detroit Pistons at the 2018 NBA Summer League.[13] Through 3 games, he averaged 4 points, 4 rebounds, and 1.7 blocks in 12.7 minutes per game.[11]

References

  1. ↑ "Rio Claro man signs contract with NBA". Loop Sports. August 2, 2018. Retrieved August 3, 2018.
  2. 1 2 "Johnny Hamilton". UTA Mavs. Retrieved August 3, 2018.
  3. 1 2 3 Winton, Brad (February 23, 2015). "Indiana, Arkansas, Virginia Tech, OK State + others involved with 2015 JUCO center". JUCO Recruiting. Retrieved August 3, 2018.
  4. 1 2 3 4 Duong, Jennifer (February 6, 2018). "Hamilton looking to make impact at UTA". UTA Mavs. Retrieved August 3, 2018.
  5. ↑ "T&T's Hamilton signs with NBA's Pistons". Trinidad and Tobago Guardian. August 1, 2018. Retrieved August 3, 2018.
  6. 1 2 "Johnny Hamilton". NJCAA. Retrieved August 3, 2018.
  7. ↑ "Johnny Hamilton". 247Sports. Retrieved August 3, 2018.
  8. ↑ Watkins, Evan G. (December 5, 2015). "Virginia Tech suspends Center Johnny Hamilton". 247Sports. Retrieved August 3, 2018.
  9. 1 2 "Johnny Hamilton". Hokie Sports. Retrieved August 3, 2018.
  10. ↑ Berman, Mark (December 9, 2016). "Virginia Tech backup center Johnny Hamilton to have season-ending surgery". Richmond Times-Dispatch. Retrieved August 3, 2018.
  11. 1 2 "Johnny Hamilton Player Profile". RealGM. Retrieved August 3, 2018.
  12. ↑ Vedia, Arianna (March 11, 2018). "UTA Mavericks fall short in Sun Belt Championship title game". The Short Horn. Retrieved August 3, 2018.
  13. ↑ "Detroit Pistons 2018 Summer League Primer". Detroit Bad Boys. July 2, 2018. Retrieved August 3, 2018.
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