Basketball has been family affair for UNLV’s Bryce Hamilton
Bryce Hamilton and UNLV coach Kevin Kruger remember the phone call differently.
Hamilton says it was five words long. Kruger thinks it was eight. In both versions though, the intent was clear and to the point.
The 6-foot-4 swingman wasn’t considering a professional career or leaving UNLV for a powerhouse program like Kentucky.
“I knew it would be hard to go to another school, have to fit into another coach’s system and try to adapt to a new area,” Hamilton said. “I knew it would have been a lot, especially for my senior season.”
In hindsight, his decision to return was the right one.
As a senior, he’s the Mountain West scoring champion, averaging 21.8 points per game to rank seventh nationally. He was selected to the All-Mountain West first team for the second time and named U.S. Basketball Writers Association National Player of the Week in late January after a career-best 42 points against Colorado State.
Most importantly, though, he has the Rebels (18-13) clicking ahead of the Mountain West Tournament, which begins for them Thursday against Wyoming at the Thomas & Mack Center.
A basketball family
Before Hamilton ever touched a basketball, he had to live up to a legacy.
His father, Kevin Hamilton, played at Texas-El Paso. Older brother Blake Hamilton played at Buffalo, and four of his cousins — Gary Hamilton (Miami), Jordan Hamilton (Texas), Isaac Hamilton (UCLA) and Daniel Hamilton (Connecticut) — also played Division I basketball.
Jordan and Daniel were both NBA draft picks. Isaac was a McDonald’s All-American, and all five have played extensively overseas as professionals.
As a kid, when Bryce wasn’t going to AAU tournaments or playing Pop Warner football, he was in his uncle Greg Hamilton’s backyard, watching his brother and cousins hoop.
Six years Blake’s junior, Bryce never was cut any slack from his brother and older cousins. They’d play two-on-two and refuse to let him join if they felt he wasn’t competitive enough. Sometimes, they’d play one-on-one and prevent him from scoring a single point. Every minute he played in his uncle’s backyard had to be earned.
“Now, nothing fazes him,” said Blake, whom Bryce idolized. “He’s like a silent assassin, a silent killer out there. He doesn’t get rattled. He doesn’t really say too much because we put him through it growing up.”
Bryce admitted he always knew there were expectations which came with his last name, but he just tries to work on his own game rather than comparing himself to his esteemed family members.
Now, when the cousins get together to play or work out, Bryce’s minutes are unquestioned.
“He belongs,” Blake said.
Naturally a gym rat
Jaime Jackson can still remember waking up at 4 a.m. to take her youngest son to the gym.
“It could be after school. It could be early morning. It could be late evening,” she said. “Whenever it was available, Bryce was there.”
Pasadena High School’s gym has a rule: No students allowed in without adult supervision. So whenever Hamilton wanted to improve his craft, Jackson sacrificed her free time.
It wasn’t anything new for the mother and son. Blake began putting in the extra work when he attended Pasadena. Since Jackson had to supervise the gym, she brought Bryce along.
Blake remembers his younger brother mimicking the same drills he and his high school teammates were working on while Bryce watched them practice.
Tony Brooks coached both Hamilton brothers at Pasadena High. He called Bryce up to varsity as a sophomore. Used to being the youngest in the group, Hamilton tried to fit in around Brooks’ core players and defer on offense.
Halfway through the season, with Bryce’s talent burgeoning, the team held a meeting where the older players asked Hamilton to take over. In the next game, against Burbank High, Hamilton had a triple-double with 15 points, 17 rebounds and 10 blocked shots.
Brooks said he’s coached talented players who don’t work and hard workers who aren’t as talented.
“Bryce matches his talent with his hard work and his mental and physical toughness,” he said.
Hamilton’s high school breakout continued in the offseason. Dinos Trigonis, Hamilton’s AAU coach, remembers watching Hamilton hold his own against current NBA players like Miles Bridges and top prospects including Cassius Stanley.
His play with Trigonis’ Belmont Shore program and at Pasadena attracted interest from recruiters as well. Hamilton garnered Power Five scholarship offers and leaned toward Arizona State. Right before his official visit to ASU though, he was informed they were no longer interested after they received a commitment from another prospect.
Frustrated and looking to lock in his place somewhere, Hamilton chose UNLV. Coach Marvin Menzies and assistant Eric Brown had aggressively recruited him early in the process, and Hamilton felt comfortable trusting them with his future.
The Hamiltons don’t trust easily. Jackson raised her children to recognize who is looking out for them and who is trying to exploit them. She wanted her sons to search for honesty.
Bryce and Blake were taught to always “find your people,” a phrase which has been repeatedly tested as their profiles rose in the basketball world.
Prep and private schools contacted Jackson on a regular basis, promising pathways to high-major programs for her youngest son. Trigonis had similar experiences as rival AAU teams tried to lure Hamilton away.
Yet, neither he nor Brooks ever worried Bryce was going to take the bait.
“I attribute a lot of it to his mother,” Brooks said. “She taught him what it means to be loyal.”
Staying the course
A lot has changed since Bryce Hamilton first stepped onto the court at the Thomas & Mack Center. He’s played for three coaching staffs, entered the transfer portal twice — when Menzies left in 2019, then again after coach T.J. Otzelberger departed — and declared for the NBA draft once.
He’s been benched, earned all-conference honors and gone through hard times during his four years at UNLV.
Leaning against the scorer’s table at the Thomas & Mack Center as he talks, Hamilton can’t suppress a small smile as he reflects on his time at UNLV — a miniature crack in Hamilton’s normally reserved facade. However, his mother and brother think there’s a better way to describe him.
“He’s not shy, he’s observant,” Jackson said.
It’s a trait the three of them share, how they find their people. Blake also thinks the characteristic is obvious in the way Bryce plays, how he waits for openings, looks for cracks in a defense and attacks with deliberate, precise movement.
Future’s bright
Hamilton still has a year of college eligibility due to the COVID-19 pandemic. However, after being honored during UNLV’s senior night, it’s unlikely he returns for a fifth season. Instead, he’ll hope to hear his name called during the 2022 NBA draft.
He received feedback throughout the draft process in 2021. Scouts wanted to see him improve his defense, become a consistent shooter and, most importantly, contribute to a winning team. He’s done all of that this season.
He hopes his work will translate into a draft selection, likely late in the second round.
Even if Hamilton doesn’t get picked, his basketball journey isn’t over. He has a good chance to join an NBA Summer League team, especially as a UNLV alum.
From there, the NBA G-League or a career abroad, again following the path laid out by his brother and cousins, is feasible.
As he prepares for life beyond college basketball, his values will help him find his next path and, as he often says, stay the course.
“I see the good in people,” Hamilton said.
Contact reporter Andy Yamashita at ayamashita@reviewjournal.com. Follow @ANYamashita on Twitter.
