Richard Clay Hamilton. Born February 14, 1978.
UConn's third McDonald's High School All-American (1996 - scored 10 points). National Top 20 scholastic recruit while playing for coach Jim Smith at Coatesville (PA) HS. Played in prestigious Magic Johnson Roundball Classic in Detroit. Rated No. 18 scholastic player in the nation following senior season among Future Stars Top 100.
Freshman season: Two-time pick as BIG EAST Conference Rookie-of-the-Week. Unanimous selection to BIG EAST All-Rookie Team in 1996-97. Second UConn frosh in history to pass the 500-point plateau in first collegiate season. Named to the NIT All-Tournament Team. Named "Rookie of the Year" by the New England Basketball Coaches Association. Member of the elite NIT All-Star team which toured Japan for a series of games during August of 1997.
Sophomore season: Named Second Team All-American by Associated Press, United States Basketball Writers Association, National Association of Basketball Coaches, The Sporting News, Basketball Times and Basketball Weekly. Named to the 10-man John Wooden All-American Team. Honored as UConn's Team MVP. Named ECAC and New England Player of the Year. No. 17 in the nation in scoring (21.5/game). Scored 795 points, the third highest UConn single season mark and the fourth player in UConn history to reach the 700-point plateau in a single season. Led the BIG EAST in free throw shooting at 84.3% (156-of-185) and was No. 2 in scoring and No. 1 in league in three-point field goal shooting. Named to the 1998 BIG EAST All-Tournament Team. Named to the Chase Preseason NIT All-Tournament team after UConn placed third in 16-team field. Was named BIG EAST Player of the Week three times in 1997-98. Sustained a right foot fracture (fifth metatarsal) on July 8, 1998 during a training session in Chicago with the United States World Championship team. Was one of only three college underclassmen invited to the USA training camp.
Junior season: First Team Associated Press and NABC All-American. Named to the 10-member John Wooden All-American Team for the second straight season. BIG EAST Co-Player of the Year with Tim James of Miami. ECAC Player of the Year. Named to the All-BIG EAST First Team. Named NABC District I First Team. Finished the season as the BIG EAST Scoring Champion with a 22.1 scoring average in league games. Named Most Outstanding Player of the NCAA Final Four, scoring 24 points in National Semifinal win over Ohio State and 27 points in Championship Game win over Duke. Led all 1999 NCAA Tournament scorers with 145 points (24.2/game). Named Most Outstanding Player of the NCAA West Regional after scoring 24 points in "Sweet 16" vs. Iowa and 21 points in "Final Eight" win over Gonzaga. Named to the All-Tournament Team at the BIG EAST Tournament. Earned BIG EAST Player of the Week honors five times.
Only player at UConn to score at least 700 points twice in his career and 500 points in each of his first three seasons (509 in 1996-97, 795 in 1997-98, 732 in 1998-99). His 795 points during his sophomore season ranks No. 3 on UConn's all-time single season scoring list and his total of 732 points in 1998-99 is No. 4. Only the third UConn player to reach the 1,000-point mark in BIG EAST Regular Season play (1,046), joining Chris Smith (1,140) and Ray Allen (1,001). Scored more points in his first two college easons (1,304) and first three college seasons (2,036) than any other player in UConn history. Finalist for both the 1997-98 and 1998-99 National Player of the Year Award by both the United States Basketball Writers Association (USBWA) and John Wooden Award. Reached the 1,000-point mark in his career in his 55th game, fastest in UConn history (Ray Allen had reached the mark in his 62nd game).
#7 pick in the 1999 NBA Draft by the Washington Wizards.
Richard Hamilton, Connecticut, 6-6, 185, G/F
G GS MIN FG FGA 3P 3PA FT FTA REB PF AST TO BLK STL PTS
96-97 UConn 32 32 980 174 451 70 186 91 116 138 76 88 95 11 40 509
97-98 UConn 37 37 1203 270 614 99 245 156 185 163 71 87 83 8 54 795
98-99 UConn 34 34 1091 247 557 68 196 170 204 163 56 91 82 9 40 732
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TOTALS 103 103 3274 691 1622 237 627 417 505 464 203 266 260 28 134 2036
MIN FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG TPG BPG SPG PPG
96-97 UConn 30.6 38.6 37.6 78.4 4.3 2.8 3.0 0.3 1.3 15.9
97-98 UConn 32.5 44.0 40.4 84.3 4.4 2.4 2.2 0.2 1.5 21.5
98-99 UConn 32.1 44.3 34.7 83.3 4.8 2.7 2.4 0.3 1.2 21.5
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TOTALS 31.8 42.6 37.8 82.6 4.5 2.6 2.5 0.3 1.3 19.8
Second all-time UConn leading scorer (behind Chris Smith)
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