Tyler Hamilton is one of our favorite William and Mary players ever, even in just one season. His defense and demeanor endeared him to us on the court and off.

Overview

Hamilton may have only been in Williamsburg for one year, but he did not throw away his shot.

Just by looking at his box score numbers, it doesn’t seem as if Hamilton would have made a big impression. 3.2 points, 2.7 rebounds and 1.3 assists are, needless to say, not overly impressive numbers. But his impact was unquestionably felt, especially on the defensive end.

Meanwhile, I have a confession. The first half of the season, I was not enamored with starting Hamilton. Sure, he was an awesome defensive player, of which the Tribe sorely lacked the previous few seasons. In my mind, though, he was not a reliable enough offensive player. Admittedly, he was not a threat from the perimeter, and I felt Thornton Scott starting in his spot spread the floor better while not giving up too much defensively, especially with Luke Loewe’s excellent individual defense.

I was wrong.

The tide began to turn for me around the beginning of conference play — the team just played better with Hamilton on the floor. While it may not have been anything that he brought skill-wise, it was the (dreaded) intangibles. The chemistry just clicked with him in the starting lineup: Bryce Barnes, the floor general; Loewe, a three-and-d guard; Andy Van Vliet, a floor-spreading forward; Nathan Knight, dominating the middle of the floor; and Hamilton, a defensive-minded facilitator willing to do whatever it takes.

By the end of the year, it was clear why Dane Fischer had brought Hamilton in as a grad transfer. Maybe he didn’t contribute on the stat sheet as apparently as Barnes, the other grad transfer. But he brought leadership and the exact attitude that Fischer wants in his program.

He was competitive, confident, a great teammate. He cared a lot, but he also had a lot of fun. And that’s why we loved him. He was a perfect player to set a standard for the Fischer era. He may not live to see our glory (as a player), but he will forever be a part of W&M men’s basketball culture. And, hopefully, he’ll be around next year — he will graduate with his M.B.A. in Spring 2021.

Oh, and Tyler? Don’t forget to write.

Here’s a Number: 0.7

Tyler Hamilton’s 0.7 Defensive Win Shares (an estimate of how many wins a player’s defense contributed) was second among guards on the Tribe. Defensive advanced statistics are more like guesses, as so much of defense does not show up in the box score. However, it certainly helps our analysis to say that the stats also show Hamilton was a good defensive player.

A Lasting Memory

For as much as we love Tyler, fairly few of his shining moments came offensively. But the one moment that I cannot forget from Hamilton’s season is from that side of the court, and part of the reason it stuck with me is because it was so unexpected.

It came in the Gold Rush win over Delaware (who, it seems, always gets stuck being tagged as the Gold Rush opponent). In a crucial conference game, against the top team in the CAA standings, the Tribe was locked in a tough battle. With less than six minutes to go, down by one, Barnes dumped off a pass to Hamilton in the corner. With his defender (understandably) 10 feet off him, Hamilton launched a three that rattled around and went in.

Hamilton hit just three three-pointers all season long, and this one was by far the most important: in the midst of a 17-2 run, Hamilton’s trey took the lead back for the Tribe, and they would not trail the rest of the way.

Thanks for a great year, Tyler.