Top three for five-star Hamilton

After an unofficial visit to a local Pac-10 school, five-star prospect Jordan Hamilton is no longer a heavy lean to Texas but now has three schools at the top of his list.

"I've put USC back in my top three since my visit last weekend," said Hamilton, who is a 6-foot-7, 210-pound multidimensional wing from Los Angeles Dominguez High School. "Texas, USC and UConn are now my top three schools."

Coach Tim Floyd and the other high powered prospects who visited USC for the Ohio State game made a big impression on Hamilton.

"The visit was terrific," he said. "Coach Floyd coached my uncle at UTEP and he is a great coach and great person off the court. I also had a great time hanging out with Kenny Boynton, Renardo Sidney and Tyler Honeycutt. They are all interested in USC and we talked about the possibilities. With players like that and the players coming in and ones already there, USC is going to be good for a while."

USC will soon conduct an in-home visit while Texas and UConn have already made a positive impression with their in-home presentations to Hamilton.

"The in-home visits with Texas and UConn went terrific also," he said. "Coach Barnes and Coach Calhoun were very impressive. It is going to be such a tough decision. I'm only one player, but I wish I could go to all three schools."

Hamilton is in the process of setting dates for official visits. Although he has a top three right now, he plans to take all five official visits since three other schools are in the mix and have in-home visits scheduled.

California will visit Wednesday. Kansas comes in this week as well. And Syracuse has a date set for October 2.

The official visits will most likely determine Hamilton's ultimate destination.

"When I go on my visits, I'll look closely at where I'll stand as a freshman," he said. "I don't want a coach to promise me anything about starting. I want to hear what I need to hear which is that I have to earn my position, not what they think I might want to hear. I plan on practicing hard and playing hard and earn my spot on the floor.

"The players that will be around me is also an important factor. On the visits I'll get a chance to see where they are coming from."

Hamilton is the No. 1 ranked small forward and No. 5 ranked prospect in the Rivals150.

Jordan Hamilton scouting report:

Hamilton is a physically imposing wing player with a multidimensional game which is effective anywhere on the court. Beyond his ability to score at all three levels, Hamilton is a tremendous rebounder and a lethal passer in the open court. His unique size, skill package and feel for the game make him a legitimate four position player.