Tiger Tuesday: Vernon Hamilton

Tiger Tuesday features a Clemson athlete from the past that significantly impacted their program.

Vernon Hamilton: Point Guard, 2003-07

• All-ACC Defensive team: 2006 & 2007
• 83 career steals (Clemson’s all-time leader)

Vernon Hamilton was a major part of the Clemson men’s basketball rebuild in the early 2000’s.

Hamilton graduated from Benedictine College Prep in Virginia. As a senior, he led the Cadets to a state title, averaging 24 points, 7.7 assists, 6.2 rebounds and 3 steals per game. He was a 3-star prospect with 247 Sports and committed to Coach Oliver Purnell and Clemson in July of 2003.

Hamilton was a four-season contributor for the Tigers. He played in 28 games as a freshman, starting 17. He averaged 3.3 assists per game and was an honorable mention selection for the ACC All-Freshman team. Over the next few seasons, Hamilton became a player the team relied on for leadership and production. By the time he was a senior, he averaged 12.3 points per game, starting all 36 games he played in. The Tigers advanced all the way to the NIT Finals in New York City that season. Hamilton commented on his senior campaign a couple years ago:

"“Just really coming together as a team and down the stretch and getting to the NIT and all the way to the NIT championship, you know, being able to have memories such as playing in Madison Square Garden … we started that year 18-0, you know, a couple good home wins, good road wins. And, you know, that just carried us over into later in the season to be able to go to the NIT Championship.”"

Basketball has taken Vernon Hamilton from Virginia to Clemson and all over the world

For his career, Hamilton averaged 9.7 points, 3.1 assists & 2.1 steals per game. His years at Clemson were the four seasons under Coach Purnell that Clemson did not qualify for the NCAA Tournament. Purnell’s first tournament team came in the 2007-08 season. Hamilton was a critical component of the rebuilding effort.

He went undrafted in the NBA Draft, but that didn’t mean his playing days were over. Hamilton carved out a six-year pro career with foreign clubs in Europe, Asia & New Zealand and minor league teams in the United States. He won an NBA D-League Championship in 2009 as a member of the Colorado 14ers.

Hamilton’s Twitter profile lists him as the Director of Player Development for head coach Patrick Ewing and the Georgetown Hoyas.