Even though former Pitt forward Eric Hamilton only played at Pitt for one season, the 6-foot-9 forward is still proudly representing the program as he continues his basketball career.
Hamilton announced on Monday that he would be participating in the 3x3U National Championship, representing Pitt on the ACC squad. The event will take place April 2-4 in Indianapolis, and will be televised on Twitter Live and ESPN2.
He will be one of a few players representing the ACC and the lone player representing the Panthers as of now.
“I’ve always known about the 3 on 3 tournament and I have always wanted to play in it,” Hamilton told Pittsburgh Sports Now. Especially as I got closer to my senior year. With COVID, everything got pushed back a year or so. This year, I have an agent now, and my agency reached out to me and presented me with this opportunity and it was something that I definitely wanted to take advantage of.”
Even after playing two years at both UNC-Greensboro, two at Wichita State, and just one at Pitt, Hamilton still chose to represent the Panthers in the tournament. In his Pitt career, he appeared in 31 games, starting 21. He averaged 5.5 points and 4.4 rebounds per game for the Panthers, making a solid impact inside.
“I love Pitt,” he said. “Obviously, it is the team that I was on when I was a senior. Hopefully we can win the tournament while I am representing them.”
The former Pitt forward says he still keeps in touch with the staff and the players on the Pitt team, and that he even got the chance to see the Panthers play this season.
“I have a really, really good relationship with them,” he said. “When they came to Atlanta to play Georgia Tech I happened to be in Atlanta at the time. I said what’s up to everyone, gave everyone big hugs, and all that. Coach Capel, coach Jason Capel, and everyone on the staff. And especially my boys. I got to see all my guys on the team. Before that, it had been several months since I had seen them. That was definitely good to see them when they came down to play Georgia Tech. Wish they would’ve came out with the W, but either way it was still good to see them and support them. But yeah, I still talk to them all the time.”
Hamilton spent the past year playing in the Dominican Republic, but is back in the States now as a free agent looking for a new team to play for.
“Life as a pro, it’s just about taking advantages of the best opportunities that you can. Nothing is really 100% long term, so I am just taking advantages of the best opportunities that I have and trying to become the best player that I can be. I am really focused on going out there and representing Pitt in Indianapolis and focusing on getting that next contract.”
More details on the tournament can be found at the link below.
https://twitter.com/i/events/1366496063373275137
