BruinsBall.com caught up with Isaac Hamilton at the Double Pump Summer Tip Off in Carson, CA to discuss the tournament and his recruitment.
The first thing one notices is that he is a well spoken, easy going kid with braces. The second is that he has a long and skinny frame. Hamilton has great length and an ideal build for a shooting guard, but he is still young and needs to gain some strength.
Isaac is the younger brother of former Texas player Jordan Hamilton, who was drafted 26th by the Dallas Mavericks before being traded. So his family is familiar with the AAU circuit and college recruiting.
Hamilton has played with both Team Jennings and the Oakland Soldiers this summer. Each team offers a different experience.
Last month, Hamilton told PointGuardU.com that playing with the Soldiers was "real exciting" and that it was easier to play with "players that can finish and do more with the rock."
Hamilton compared that experience to playing with Team Jennings this week.
"I got to do a little more," said Hamilton. "But that's part of what I have to do to be a basketball player. I need to be more aggressive, score, get my teammates involved. I need to get easy buckets so we don't have to work so hard."
Hamilton also said Adidas provided better gear, which likely won't go over well with his Soldiers teammates.
Hamilton's recruitment has been picking up all summer long, as he has been gaining increased exposure. Not only did he start playing with the Oakland Soldiers, but his consistently solid play has schools paying closer attention.
Of the coaches that attended the first two days of the tournament, Hamilton said that the Washington staff made an impression.
"After the game they offered," said Hamilton with a huge smile on his face. "It's real exciting."
Not that offers are anything new. When asked how many offers he had, Hamilton didn't know how to respond.
"I don't even know, lots," Hamilton said of his long list of suitors.
When asked to narrow it to the high majors Hamilton listed, "UConn, Texas A & M, Arizona, USC, Washington, UTEP, the list goes on and on."
Hamilton understands the recruiting process and is planning to take it slowly. Perceived leaders or favorites have changed many times depending on when or how Hamilton was asked.
On June 13th, when Coast 2 Coast Hoops' Kellie Watson asked if he had a top 5, Hamilton said, "Well I like Arizona, USC, St. John’s, UConn, Washington, Washington State, those are pretty much the top ones."
Earlier this week Scout reported that Hamilton said Arizona, USC, UCLA, and CU were doing the best job with him.
So we tried to be vague and asked if any school that had offered was standing out above the rest.
"Not really," said Hamilton. "I can't really say that."
His response seemed to indicate that depending on how you ask the question you're likely to get a different answer. Which makes sense for someone who is open in their recruitment and looking to take things slowly.
Also, Hamilton understands this is a time to be opening up his options, not limiting them.
"One of my goals this summer is to get my name out there more," Hamilton said. "I want to get better, stronger, and blow up nationally."
Hamilton is doing just that with his play at the Summer Tip Off. Hamilton opened the tournament with a 29 point performance showcasing a variety of ways to score. He followed that up with another solid performance and had scouts and analysts raving about his complete game.
Of course, the competition at this tournament was fairly weak with most of the top players being at the Adidas Invitational. But Hamilton was one of the best players here, and played particularly well on top of that.
In the final day for Team Jennings, Hamilton struggled to get his shot to fall but still posted decent numbers. They were eliminated in an ugly loss in the second round and Hamilton seemed like the only player trying to be aggressive, which led to a number of layups during an off shooting night.
Hamilton enjoyed the experience of playing so close to home. The tournament was at Cal State Dominguez Hills, which is where one of Hamilton's cousins attends college.
Hamilton has been hearing from endless coaches, and he discussed who he's been talking to at Arizona, UCLA, and UConn.
"At Arizona I've been talking to Coach Book and Coach Whit," said Hamilton. "And a little with coach Sean here and there. They're telling me I can come in and play my game. I'm willing to do that.
"At UConn I'm talking to Coach Ollie. He played at Crenshaw, like I do, so there's an obvious connection. At UCLA I was talking to coach Duncan before he left."
Up next for Hamilton is rejoining the Oakland Soldiers.
"I was just down there last week for four days, getting ready for Peach Jam," said Hamilton. "I leave Sunday night. Hopefully we win Peach Jam."
