Spring decision for Hamilton Maybe not

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Forget Spring. Five-star senior Isaac Hamilton may make a college choice sooner than he had anticipated.

The 6-foot-5 guard from Bellflower (Calif.) St. John Bosco had said that he would wait until the Spring signing period to make a decision.

"I think that it can change," Hamilton told Rivals.com. "If I feel like it's the right move, then I'm going to do it and get it out of the way stress-free. These phone calls and everything else have been crazy."

While the high-scoring Hamilton has pondered his future, there's been no shortage of speculation. Wednesday night, he said that he's starting to narrow his focus and he's pretty clear that it's about finding the place where he feels he can best develop, and not about picking the biggest name.

"San Diego State, UNLV, UCLA, Baylor and UTEP," said Hamilton when asked which schools he's locked on. "Those are the strongest schools, coming at me the hardest that I'm really considering. They are all about even right now, there's no leader.

"It was more of the way the schools recruited me. The big name doesn't wow me. I want to go and play for a coach that will really let me play my game because that's the only way I'm going to get better."

Hamilton also broke down the specifics of what he likes about each school.

San Diego State: '"I think that Coach (Steve) Fisher, he lets his guys play. If you watch them play, you can see as a guard that he's more guard-oriented. He lets his guards go and he's a cool guy so that's why I like him."

UNLV: "Coach (Dave) Rice, he's the same way. The way they play is up and down and their guys have freedom. Coach Rice is a cool guy. He's going to coach me, but he's going to be good to me at the same time. That's actually kind of what I like about all of these coaches. I know they are all going to yell or this or that. But, they are not going to put me down and they are going to try and build me up."

UCLA: "I always liked them and they always recruited me hard, so it wasn't like I didn't like them but I wasn't really serious. So after he (Ben Howland) came and saw me, I decided to visit. I'm from L.A and I knew about UCLA, but when I visited, I got to see parts that I didn't know about and the thought of staying close to home started to appeal to me."

Baylor: I like Baylor because coach Scott DrewClick UTEP: "A lot of people don't know this, but my uncle went to UTEP and played for Don Haskins and Tim Floyd recruited him. When Floyd was coaching in the NBA and in town he would come visit my grandmother and we got to know him in like a family atmosphere. Everywhere he's been he's developed pros, so I really feel like he could help develop me to my full potential. Also with his NBA experience I feel like he could teach me about the game at that level."Here to view this Link. is a great coach and person. When I took my visit with me being a Christian it was a plus for me and my family. The coaching staff and players made me feel welcomed.

One of the premier scorers in the class of 2013, Hamilton is also an excellent playmaker. Because of that, UCLA and UTEP have been recruiting him as a point guard and he can see himself playing there or the two.

"Last year at St. John Bosco, that's all I played was the point," he said. "It actually made my game a little better because I had to talk more and get everybody in their positions and be more of a leader and learn about that aspect."

At the end of the day, Hamilton says that the most important factor to him is whether or not he really feels he can trust the coach of the school he picks. Now, it's just a matter of deciding how long he's going to have to weigh things out before making a decision.

"I'll probably want to make it in about a week or so if I can," said Hamilton of a timetable. "Just to get everything solid and talk to my parents again and go over the pros and cons of each school and have a sit down with my parents about it all.

"I also really need to just talk to myself and sit down and pray about it and go from there."

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