Interesting article in Daily Breeze today. Seems like a high quality guy who could help the team just by his presence. Anyone know anything about his basketball potential?

http://www.dailybreeze.com/sports/20140508/westchester-basketball-academic-star-nick-hamilton-decides-to-attend-cal-out-of-18-schools

67OxHBear;842314277 said:

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....Seems like a high quality guy...

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Understatement

What position will he play and do we have any info on size and wt?

Hopefully will continue a great Cal tradition of walk-ons who made significant supporting contributions.

bearingup;842314300 said:

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What position will he play and do we have any info on size and wt?

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http://new.berecruited.com/athletes/1680934

6'4," 185# looks good, and the transcript looks amazing. But a vertical of 20" won't get his fingertips above the rim. Time for some S&C.

stu;842314312 said:

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http://new.berecruited.com/athletes/1680934

6'4," 185# looks good, and the transcript looks amazing. But a vertical of 20" won't get his fingertips above the rim. Time for some S&C.

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The 20" vertical and the 155 bench remind me of me in high school. (That he is actually a good player separates us.) He is already the most relatable player on the team.

Sluggo

sluggo_Cal;842314316 said:

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The 20" vertical and the 155 bench remind me of me in high school. (That he is actually a good player separates us.) He is already the most relatable player on the team.

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I expect many of us could relate to him. Two years into Cal I was 6'1", 155# with a 24" vertical and 155# bench. And I was much better at physics than at basketball. But nobody ever called me a leader. I think it was more like a slacker.

Very smart kid. Take that academic scholarship and use it to its full potential at the greatest university in the world. Will open countless doors for him in the future.

sluggo_Cal;842314316 said:

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The 20" vertical and the 155 bench remind me of me in high school. (That he is actually a good player separates us.) He is already the most relatable player on the team.

Sluggo

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At 6'4" and 185#, he plays " who uses at or below" the rim. Not the best hops, but is a smart player who utilizes good footwork and head fakes to get his shots in the low post. A smart player who uses the backboard for shots, plays good defense, and can actually shoot FT's !!! I think Martin and staff can really work with this kid.

Nick Hamilton Highlights

Alright Hamilton!

Absolutely love the idea of a kid like this on the roster. Will be a good influence on everyone else as well!

A product of excellent parenting!

sluggo_Cal;842314316 said:

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The 20" vertical and the 155 bench remind me of me in high school. (That he is actually a good player separates us.) He is already the most relatable player on the team.

Sluggo

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Almost like seeing a ghost of myself. My vertical was a little higher but the bench is about the same. We went to high schools right across from each other, we're both Young Black Scholars and both walked on at Cal for athletics. It's nice to see more kids coming from my area and recognizing Cal for the gem that it is.

Go Bears, Nick! Welcome to the Cal family.

Gotta love this kid and while I'd love to see him walk-on, honestly with those kinds of grades, ability and attitude, maybe he should just concentrate on academics and ace that. Okay, let him walk-on and get a schollie, he'll be a very good influence.

Reminds of that kid we had on our team who had a perfect score on his SAT. What is his name?

KoreAmBear;842314398 said:

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Reminds of that kid we had on our team who had a perfect score on his SAT. What is his name?

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I think that was Raffi Chalian

stu;842314324 said:

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I expect many of us could relate to him. Two years into Cal I was 6'1", 155# with a 24" vertical and 155# bench. And I was much better at physics than at basketball. But nobody ever called me a leader. I think it was more like a slacker.

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hehe, I too was 6'1", 155lbs... I had a pretty good vertical and could dunk w/ one hand off one foot... was terrible at physics, but I was a pretty good skateboarder

I dunno why but my driver's license still says i'm 160lbs... only about 25lbs off

Nice story. But from a pure hoops perspective if this kid sees meaningful minutes over the course of his career we're screwed. Only at Cal do people get excited about a marginal D1 athlete coming to the school because he's a great student...

tequila4kapp;842314422 said:

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Nice story. But from a pure hoops perspective if this kid sees meaningful minutes over the course of his career we're screwed. Only at Cal do people get excited about a marginal D1 athlete coming to the school because he's a great student...

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I don't think anyone right now is predicting starting, or even meaningful minutes, but with his work ethic, hustle on defense, etc., he could be invaluable in practices and contribute to team chemistry in a positive way. It's already been mentioned that the team is thin on practice bodies and he could really be a contributor in this area. And, he has an academic full scholarship, so there's no need to worry about him competing for an athletic schollie.

To quote his coach:

"...I feel Nicks greatest contributions to a team come in the areas that do not show up in the stat sheets. These are the areas that I will glowingly rave about Nick as I feel he was invaluable to the team and contributing to victories. For instance, his desires and ability to shut down and guard the best player on the other team is something that will not show up in the stat sheet but something that every coach in the nation should want, especially when he has gone head to head with some of the top players in the west coast. Nick was an absolute joy to coach and brings an attitude and approach to the game that might not show up on a stat sheet..."

I wouldn't put it past someone with his character, drive, determination to work hard, improve, and aggressively compete for minutes on the court.

beelzebear;842314396 said:

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Gotta love this kid and while I'd love to see him walk-on, honestly with those kinds of grades, ability and attitude, maybe he should just concentrate on academics and ace that. Okay, let him walk-on and get a schollie, he'll be a very good influence.

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Not sure what you were saying about a scholarship; but he has a full-ride academic scholarship.

wanderingbear82;842314359 said:

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Almost like seeing a ghost of myself. My vertical was a little higher but the bench is about the same. We went to high schools right across from each other, we're both Young Black Scholars and both walked on at Cal for athletics. It's nice to see more kids coming from my area and recognizing Cal for the gem that it is.

Go Bears, Nick! Welcome to the Cal family.

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Good to know that Black students and alumni find Cal a welcoming and nurturing place. Agreeing with wanderingbear: May the trend increase.

stu;842314312 said:

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http://new.berecruited.com/athletes/1680934

6'4," 185# looks good, and the transcript looks amazing. But a vertical of 20" won't get his fingertips above the rim. Time for some S&C.

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His vertical is actually 28", still not great, but he did average 10 rebounds a game, usually sitting out the 4th quarter, because most games were blowouts. He averaged 9 points and 3.5 steals, and he was 1st team All City, so I am still interested in seeing what he can do.

I believe that he'll be the consummate team player. If he played inside @ Westchester, he'll have to adapt to SF or SG at Cal.
GO BEARS!



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QUOTE=sluggo_Cal;842314316]The 20" vertical and the 155 bench remind me of me in high school. (That he is actually a good player separates us.) He is already the most relatable player on the team.

Sluggo

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I think what he'll really have to adapt to is playing about 20-30 minutes total this season.

I agree I don't see him playing major minutes, but this is a guy who was an all-city player from a very good LA program. That combined with his obvious academic abilities make this a no-lose situation for Cal. If he can play the 3 and give a couple of minutes of solid defense and hustle, that would be nice.

1UCBear;842339486 said:

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I agree I don't see him playing major minutes, but this is a guy who was an all-city player from a very good LA program. That combined with his obvious academic abilities make this a no-lose situation for Cal. If he can play the 3 and give a couple of minutes of solid defense and hustle, that would be nice.

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Does he have any kind of outside, or even mid-range, shot? -- Although, if he doesn't, it's hard to imagine that a high character, high intelligence guy like that couldn't develop one.