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Hamilton Excited About Miami
Prior to the month of July, Prairie View A&M might as well have been the only Division I school to exist in Gary Hamilton's world.
That's where Hamilton had signed this spring despite a very good senior campaign at Dorsey H.S. in Los Angeles.
The developing 6-9, 235 pound forward held his own against some of the city's top players as a senior, but wound up signing with Prairie View largely due to the SWAC program's hiring of an ex-Portland State assistant who had courted him aggressively to the Big Sky program before accepting his new gig.
Then, Prairie View fired the coach who played a vital role in Hamilton's recruitment, which wouldn't have been such a problem had Gary not gotten a qualifying SAT score late in the spring.
Once Hamilton got the number on the test, he could not simply backpedal out of his commitment to Prairie View. As a full academic qualifier, he was bound to the letter of intent he signed.
While his family began discussions with the athletic department at Prairie View to rectify the situation, Hamilton toured this summer with the L.A. Rockfish program, opening the eyes of many college coaches in the process.
Of course, Hamilton was the property of Prairie View until he could obtain a release, and that happened earlier this month.
"Because of that, the AD felt that it wasn't fair to hold Gary to it, because of the fact that the gentleman [assistant coach] was released," Greg Hamilton, Gary's dad, explained. "He was the gentleman that recruited Gary."
The result was a deluge of attention from high Division I programs, including Providence, Fresno State, DePaul and Iowa. Many of those even ponied up offers for a kid that signed with a program that typically dwells in the cellar area of the RPI ratings.
But in the end, Miami emerged as the winner of the second recruiting scenario.
"He's enrolled at Miami now," Mr. Hamilton said. "We're excited about it and excited that Prairie View released him."
Hamilton could best be described as a late bloomer. After languishing in his first two high school campaigns at Crenshaw H.S., a transfer to public school rival Dorsey was the elixir that Hamilton needed to jump start his career.
For whatever reason, Gary responded more positively to the coaching style at Dorsey than he did at Crenshaw, Mr. Hamilton explained.
"His game really increased because he received better from that sort of coaching strategy," Mr. Hamilton continued. "And that's what Perry Clark presented, that type of teaching strategy that can really help elevate Gary's game."
Mr. and Mrs. Hamilton accompanied Gary on his trip to Miami last week, and that helped seal the deal for the Big East program to snatch up the promising big man.
Mr. Hamilton said that Gary obtained an unconditional release from Prairie View, so that he should be eligible to play this winter for the Hurricanes.
"They released him with no strings attached," he said. "They came through and they were fair with the release and the AD saw things in our favor."
