Lowell Hamilton

Lowell Hamilton (born May 3, 1966) was a former high school and college basketball player during the 1980s. Hamilton, a dominant high school center, led Chicago's Providence-St. Mel to a third-place finish in the I.H.S.A. 1984 high school playoffs, as well as a Class A state title in 1985. Hamilton scored 165 points and grabbed 94 rebounds in 11 career state tournament games over four seasons. He also blocked 19 shots in three state tournament games in 1984, including eight against Lena-Winslow High School in the third place game. In 2007, Hamilton was voted one of the "100 Legends of the IHSA Boys Basketball Tournament," recognizing his superior performance in his appearances in the tournament.^[1]

Hamilton was a McDonald's All-American and went on to play for the University of Illinois for four years, 1985-1989. He was part of the Flyin' Illini team that qualified for the 1989 NCAA men's basketball tournament Final Four. Hamilton scored 1,241 career points with 87 blocked shots while having a .534 field goal percentage for the Fighting Illini.

College career

1985-86 season

As a freshman, Hamilton appeared in 24 of the Illini's 32 games. He totaled 88 points and hauled in 41 rebounds.^[2]

1986-87 season

During Hamilton's sophomore season, his playing time jumped to nearly 24 minutes per game, including 22 starts out of the 31 games he played. He finished the season with the fourth highest point total (334) averaging 10.8 points per game. Hamilton was tied with the highest field goal average at .578 and the third most rebounds with 121. Teammate Ken Norman finished the season with 48 blocked shots with Hamilton taking second place on the team with 31.^[3]

1987-88 season

The Fighting Illini experienced a surge in performance sparked by the play of sophomore guards Nick Anderson and Kendall Gill along with the addition of junior forward Kenny Battle. These additions, however, limited Hamilton's playing time and reduced his starts to 6 out of the 33 games he played in during the season. Even with a reduced role, Hamilton finished the season with the fifth highest point total averaging 10 points per game, and the third most blocked shots.^[4]

1988-89 season

Hamilton was an instrumental force in the 1988–89 Illinois Fighting Illini men's basketball team's drive to the Final Four. He started 33 games during that season and played in all 36. Hamilton was third on the Fighting Illini in scoring with 488 points (13.6 per game), second on the team in rebounding with 204 (5.7 per game) and second on the team in blocked shots with 31. His quiet, assertive play under the basket sparked the Fighting Illini's running game while helping Illinois to a team average 86.4 points per game, its highest since 1966. Hamilton was co-captain along with Battle during the "Flyin Illini's" magical run.^[5]

References