One-On-One with A.W. Hamilton

Part One – Hamilton’s Background

(St. Louis, MO) – “Hamilton” is the hottest thing in live entertainment and A.W. Hamilton just might be the next big thing to hit the Ohio Valley Conference. The new Eastern Kentucky head coach comes to Richmond with a solid resume and the drive to build a disciplined program.

As a Kentucky native, Hamilton was a state champion and an all-state player. He went on to play a year of prep school basketball at Hargrave Military Institute, where he played for coach Kevin Keatts.

Lessons learned at the Virginia-based national basketball power served Hamilton well at Wake Forest and at Marshall University. After leading the Thundering Herd in assists, steals and minutes played, Hamilton reconnected with Keatts as an assistant at Hargrave.

After five years under Keatts at the military institute, Hamilton took over as the head coach. He says Hargrave is a special place and prepares players for life and for the rigors of college basketball.

 

 

Hamilton says working at Hargrave prepared him for college coaching. He oversaw elite level players, had to recruit a whole new roster every year and had to manage every aspect of the program.

 

 

After working at North Carolina State (back with Keatts), Hamilton has been hired to be the lead man at EKU. His interest in the program had to do with the leadership at the OVC school.

 

 

Hamilton is full of energy and determination. His first signed recruit is Hargrave graduate Tre King. The 6’8 forward is a Kentucky native (Lexington) and was part of the Tigers # 4 final national ranking, while aveaging 14.4 points and 8.7 rebounds per game. King sparked the Tigers to a 33-4 record and chose EKU over Lousiana Tech, Marshall, Murray State and others.

Hamilton and King’s coach Lee Martin say King can defend multiple positions and is a matchup problem on the offensive end.

In Part 2 of our interview we discuss Hamilton’s coaching philosophy, his current team and his insights on the Ohio Valley Conference.

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