UConn won the NCAA tourney in April and Denver won the NBA Finals in June but there is still 1 more basketball champion to be crowned this summer. The Basketball Tournament (aka the TBT) kicks off on July 19th with 8 regions of 8 teams playing in Dayton/Louisville/Lubbock/Syracuse/West Virginia/Wichita 1/Wichita 2/Xavier. Each region will send 1 team to the quarterfinals, with the championship game taking place during the 1st week of August, and the winning team walking away with $1 million in prize money. HoopsHD’s Jon Teitel will spend the weeks ahead interviewing as many TBT participants as possible. We continue our coverage with Isaac Hamilton, who will be playing for Living the Dream after making a pair of Sweet 16s at UCLA.
In 2013 you were named a McDonald’s All-American: which of your fellow honorees impressed you the most (Aaron Gordon/Julius Randle/Andrew Wiggins/other)? I think Aaron Gordon. I played with him in AAU and he was always impressive/explosive. When you see how he plays now it makes sense: he is a hard worker.
You were born/raised in Los Angeles but began your college career at UTEP: why did you decide to transfer, and what made you choose UCLA? Coach Tim Floyd was a good friend of my family and actually coached my uncle at UTEP (who played with Tim Hardaway). He also recruited my older brother Jordan. My grandmother got sick and I asked the NCAA if I could get out of my NLI so I could be closer to home.
You played for Coach Steve Alford: what makes him such a good coach, and what was the most important thing that you ever learned from him? He just let us play. On offense we would read/react: we are not robots! He is a great guy and I had a great relationship with him because we had similar interests.
In the 2015 Pac-12 tourney quarterfinals you scored a career-high 36 PTS/13-17 FG in a win over USC (just 4 days after your grandmother had passed away): was it just 1 of those scenarios where every shot you put up seemed to go in because you were “in the zone”? Definitely. I was a gym rat and after my 1st couple of shots went in the rest was history.
In the 2015 NCAA tourney you had 4 AST in a 1-PT win over SMU when Yanick Moreira was called for goaltending on Bryce Alford’s 3-PT shot with 13 seconds left: where does that rank among the wildest finishes that you have ever been a part of? We were down so to end the game like that was crazy! It shocked me at 1st because I did not know what was going on. I was just excited to advance because we had such an up-and-down season that year.
You made a pair of Sweet 16s: what is the key to making a deep run in March? Just playing well together and having guys making shots. You have to emphasize the little things because every game is different. It comes down to doing your best to advance.
You were named 2nd-team All-Pac-12 as a junior: what did it mean to you to receive such an outstanding honor? We did not have a great season but individually I put in a lot of hard work with Rico Hines (who was just hired as an assistant by the 76ers). I tried to fine-tune my game and he helped me so much with my confidence. To see that end result was a blessing but also a testament to the hard work that I had put in.
You have played pro basketball in the G League and several foreign countries: what is the biggest difference between basketball in the US vs. basketball overseas? The rules are different and the style of play overseas can be a lot slower. There is more strategy/game-planning due to the pace of the game. It is more of a thinking game there, whereas a lot of players here rely a lot on their athleticism.
Your brother Daniel played basketball at UConn, your brother Greg played pro basketball overseas, and your brother Jordan played in the NBA: who is the best athlete in the family? I would have to go with myself, for sure, but we all push each other. All of our games are completely different from each other because we offer different things on the court.
You are playing for the Living the Dream team in the TBT: how is the team looking so far, and what will you do with your share of the $1 million prize money if you win it all? The team is looking pretty good. We are getting to know each other and figuring out what works best for us as a team. We are getting a foundational plan to approach each game. I am a frugal guy so I will probably just save my money.