by Vlad Ionasc
Cheshire Phoenix are thrilled to announce the signing of American center Eric Hamilton.
Hamilton was born in Atlanta, USA, and played for the Wichita State Shockers, UNC Greensboro Spartans, and Pittsburgh Panthers in NCAA Division 1. The 6’9 center spent the first two years of his collegiate career at Wichita State, where he accumulated 47 appearances and won back-to-back Missouri Valley Conference regular-season championships.
Hamilton then transferred to UNC Greensboro, where he helped the Spartans achieve a 29-7 record in the Southern Conference. The American averaged 6.1 points and 4.4 rebounds per game while shooting a career-high 59.1 percent from the floor during his lone season as a Spartan.
Upon graduating from UNC Greensboro, Hamilton spent a postgraduate year at Pittsburgh, playing in the prestigious Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC). The 24-year-old took the floor on 31 occasions (21 starts) and averaged 5.5 points and 4.4 rebounds per game in just 16.5 minutes of play. Hamilton bolstered his championship pedigree after Pittsburgh defeated Northwestern in the Fort Myers Tip-Off final.
Eric Hamilton
“I chose to sign with Cheshire simply because of the conversations I had with coach Ben. I’ve heard nothing but good things. Your guys’ point-guard last year (Parker Jackson-Cartwright), I had great conversations with him. He’s a really good friend of mine, he and I were at the NBA 100 camp together out of high school so he’s been a friend of mine for the last five or six years, so he had nothing but positive things to say about Cheshire, the community and the basketball team. I’m looking to build on some of the things you guys accomplished last year, hopefully, take it one or two steps further.
“I’m looking forward to my first year as a pro a lot actually, but more-so just continuing a lot of the habits that I’ve been able to cultivate over the last few years. It’s going to be a continuation of the things that I’ve been doing, just becoming a professional every single day in my work habits, my workout routines and just bringing that same mentality to Cheshire. Hopefully, try to win as many games as we possibly can.
“My initial message to the fans is to continue doing what they’re doing. Continue to support us. I know that 2020 has been a very rough year as far as COVID-19 has been concerned, but I just ask that the fans continue to support us amidst these tough and challenging times that everyone is facing and if they continue to do that then, of course, we’re still going to continue doing our jobs, to be the best athletes and basketball players that we can possibly be. We want to bring a sense of pride every single day to the name Cheshire, the town of Cheshire, and to the Cheshire Phoenix.”
Ben Thomas
“I’m really pleased we have been able to secure Eric for next season. After a limited role in college we are looking forward to seeing what he can do with more time here, he has great experience playing in one of the best conferences in the NCAA.
“He is very versatile, combing size and athleticism with a great skill set. When given the ball in the post he was one of the most efficient scorers in the whole of Division 1 basketball. The big thing for me though was watching his work ethic and hearing from his coaches that he plays hard 100% of the time is exactly what we were looking for. I’m looking forward to seeing him represent the Phoenix.”
