Lowell Hamilton (born May 3, 1966) is an American former
basketball player.
High school
Hamilton was a dominant high school basketball player at
Chicago's
Providence St. Mel
Providence St. Mel School (PSM) is a private, coeducational Preschool-12th Grade school in East Garfield Park, Chicago, Illinois.
History
The school was created in 1969 with the merger of two schools, Providence High School and St. Mel High S ...
, where he led the Knights to four consecutive
IHSA boys' sectional championships from 1982 to 1985, three consecutive ''"Elite-Eight"'' appearances from 1983 to 1985 as well as appearances in the ''"Final-Four"'' in 1984 and a state championship in 1985. In his four years of varsity basketball, Hamilton scored 165 points in 11 IHSA tournament finals games, averaging 15.0 points per game and was named to the all-tournament team at center in '83, '84 and '85. While playing for St. Mel, Hamilton's teams would lose only 14 times while winning 116 games for an 89.2 winning percentage. Each season at St. Mel, Hamilton's teams would advance further in the state tournament. During his freshman year, under the direction of head coach Tom Shields, Hamilton's team would finish the season with a loss in the IHSA super-sectional to future
Fighting Illini basketball player
Scott Meents
Scott Eric Meents (born January 4, 1964) is an American former professional basketball player who played in the National Basketball Association (NBA) and the Continental Basketball Association (CBA).
Meents, a 6'10" 225 power forward born in ...
and the
Herscher Tigers. As a sophomore, Hamilton's team would win the super-sectional but lose in the quarterfinals to future
Indiana Hoosiers guard,
Marty ''"The Mule"'' Simmons and the defending
state champion,
Lawrenceville Indians. It would be Hamilton's junior year when the Knights would dominate Illinois high school basketball, finishing the regular season with 22 wins and only 3 losses. As the final day of the season started, Hamilton's team had increased their win total to 29, however, a hot-shooting
Mt. Pulaski High School would hold off the Knights on their way to the championship game, leaving a third-place game versus
Lena-Winslow High School
Lena-Winslow High School, dedicated December 7, 1958 and affectionately known as "Le-Win", is a high school located in the town of Lena, Illinois. Part of the Lena-Winslow Community Unit School District, Le-Win became the second largest school d ...
where they would earn their 30th victory.
As a senior, Hamilton and the Knights entered the post-season tournament ranked #1 in the state of Illinois with a record of 22 and 3. Hamilton's team won their regional, sectional and super-sectional contests on their path to the ''"Final-Four"'' in the IHSA. In the semifinalsm Hamilton's team was pitted against
Thad Matta and the
Cornjerker In times before modern machinery, sweet corn was pulled or jerked from the stalk. The leaves were shucked off and the golden ears were thrown in a wooden wagon pulled by a team of mules. This was called "cornjerking". In other parts of the United St ...
s from
Hoopeston
Hoopeston () is a city in Grant Township, Vermilion County, Illinois, United States. As of the 2020 census, the city population was 4,915.
History
Hoopeston was laid out in 1871. It was named for Thomas Hoopes, one of the men who offered lan ...
for the chance to play for a state championship. St. Mel won this game and moved into the championship game against
Chrisman High School. The Knights dominated the game, taking a 30 to 8 lead after the first quarter and cruising to a final score of 95 to 63. Hamilton scored 21 points in the game and 64 points in the tournament and the St. Mel Knights finished the year with a record of 31 and 3. In his four years of varsity basketball, Hamilton's teams would win 116 games while only losing 14, winning 89.2 percent of all games played.
After the season, Hamilton was named a
McDonald's All-American and played in the
1985 game with teammates
Quin Snyder,
Sean Elliott and
Roy Marble
Roy Lane Marble, Jr. (December 13, 1966 – September 11, 2015) was an American professional basketball player, 6'6" tall, who played as a swingman (shooting guard/small forward).
After playing four seasons at the University of Iowa from 1985 ...
while opposing
Danny Ferry and
Pervis Ellison. Hamilton would score 13 points in a losing effort for the West team.
In 2007, the
Illinois High School Association named Hamilton one of the
100 Legends of the IHSA Boys Basketball Tournament
The Illinois High School Association (IHSA) celebrated 100 years of the IHSA State Tournament in the 2006-07 season. A list of "100 Legends of the IHSA Boys Basketball Tournament" was assembled on December 14, 2005. Throughout the state, 281 ind ...
.
Hamilton 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.
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
Kenneth Darnel Norman (born September 5, 1964) is an American former professional basketball player. After graduating from Crane High School in Chicago, Kenny was an outstanding forward for the Illinois Fighting Illini who was selected 19th overa ...
finished the season with 48 blocked shots with Hamilton taking second place on the team with 31.
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.
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.
Honors
High school
* 1983 – IHSA All-Tournament Team
* 1984 – IHSA All-Tournament Team
* 1984 –
Parade Magazine
''Parade'' was an American nationwide Sunday newspaper magazine, distributed in more than 700 newspapers in the United States until 2022. The most widely read magazine in the U.S., ''Parade'' had a circulation of 32 million and a readership of 5 ...
2nd Team All-American
* 1985 – All-State 1st Team
* 1985 – IHSA All-Tournament Team
* 1985 – Parade Magazine 1st Team All-American
* 1985 –
McDonald's All-American
* 1998 – Inducted into the Illinois Basketball Coaches Association's Hall of Fame as a player.
* 2007 – Named one of the
100 Legends of the IHSA Boys Basketball Tournament
The Illinois High School Association (IHSA) celebrated 100 years of the IHSA State Tournament in the 2006-07 season. A list of "100 Legends of the IHSA Boys Basketball Tournament" was assembled on December 14, 2005. Throughout the state, 281 ind ...
.
College
* 1987 – Honorable Mention All-
Big Ten
* 1989 – Honorable Mention All-Big Ten
* 1989 – Team Captain
College statistics
References
External links
St. Mel vs. Chrisman 1985 – YouTube
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hamilton, Lowell
1966 births
Living people
African-American basketball players
American men's basketball players
Basketball players from Chicago
Illinois Fighting Illini men's basketball players
McDonald's High School All-Americans
Papagou B.C. players
Parade High School All-Americans (boys' basketball)
Centers (basketball)
21st-century African-American people
20th-century African-American sportspeople