Richard Hamilton
From Hoopedia
| Richard Hamilton |
|---|
 |
| Position Shooting Guard |
| Nickname(s) "Rip" |
| League NBA |
| Height 6 ft 7 |
| Weight 193 lbs |
| Team Detroit Pistons |
| Born February 14,1978 in Coatesville, Pennsylvania |
| College Connecticut |
| Drafted 7th overall in 1999 by the Washington Wizards |
| Pro Career 1999 - |
| Former Teams Washington Wizards (1999-2001) |
Richard "Rip" Hamilton (born February 14, 1978 in Coatesville, Pennsylvania) is an American National Basketball Association player for the Detroit Pistons. He is 6 ft 7 in, 193 pounds (2.01 m, 87.5 kg) and plays shooting guard and small forward.
Playing Career
Hamilton hails from Coatesville, Pennsylvania, and played college basketball at the Connecticut from 1996-99. He was named the 1999 NCAA Tournament's Most Outstanding Player after UConn's run to that year's national title.
Hamilton was a lottery pick in that year's NBA draft and played for the Washington Wizards for his first three seasons as a professional. Hamilton, Hubert Davis and Bobby Simmons were then traded to the Detroit Pistons for Jerry Stackhouse, Brian Cardinal and Ratko Varda. Since the trade, Richard has become one of the NBA's top shooting guards, and helped the Pistons win the NBA Championship in 2004.
After fracturing his nose three times in the 2003-04 season, Hamilton began wearing his now-trademarked protective mask to preserve his ability to participate in the 2004 NBA Playoffs. He allegedly has continued to wear the mask in the wake of three reconstructive surgeries which are said to have left him without nose cartilage and vulnerable to a career-ending injury. He also told ESPN reporters that he wears the mask for good luck.
Hamilton, one of the NBA's best players without the ball, can wear down opponents with constant movement. He frequently curls off screens and picks and is one of the deadliest catch-and-shoot players in the league; Hamilton is often referred to as a young Reggie Miller. He is highly regarded by NBA analysts as one of the best mid-range shooters in the game.
On February 9, 2006, Hamilton earned his first all-star selection in the 2006 NBA All-Star Game in Houston as a reserve guard for the Eastern Conference, along with three other Detroit Pistons starters.
On December 27, 2006, Hamilton scored a career-high 51 points with a personal best 19 of 37 field goal shooting in a 151-145 triple-overtime Pistons loss to the New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden.
On January 9, 2007, Hamilton surpassed 10,000 career points with 22 points in a victory over the Philadelphia 76ers. That was against his home town team.
He represented the East for the second time at the 2007 NBA All-Star Game.
Trivia
- Hamilton got his nickname Rip from his dad who got the same nickname as a child because he would rip his diapers off.
- In the 1990s, Hamilton regularly spoke at his former elementary school, encouraging the students to stay away from drugs and gangs.
- On February 5, 2007 his number "32" was retired at Gampel Pavilion on the University of Connecticut campus in Storrs, Ct during halftime of the men's basketball game against the Syracuse Orangemen as part of the "Huskies of Honor" ceremony which recognized personal accomplishments of 13 former players and 3 coaches.
- Rip has his own clothing line and own organization called Rip City.
- "Yes-sir!" has become a popular catchphrase of Hamilton's. He uses it regularly when ending court-side interviews. Some of his Detroit Pistons teammates have also used this interview sign-off. It gained more notable popularity after he repeated it to the crowd at the Pistons' 2004 NBA championship rally. Now after Rip scores at the Palace of Auburn Hills, "Yes-sir!" is played over the loud-speakers.
- Rip once agreed to wear his hair in a style which looked like Goodyear Tires for about a week. For this, Goodyear gave him an undisclosed amount of money and a free set of tires.
