Lowell Hamilton facts for kids

Lowell Hamilton (born May 3, 1966) is a former American basketball player. He was known for his amazing skills in high school and college. He played as a center and helped his teams win many important games.

High School Basketball Star

Lowell Hamilton was an incredible basketball player at Providence St. Mel School in Chicago. He led his team, the Knights, to many victories. From 1982 to 1985, they won four straight sectional championships. These are big wins that help a team move forward in a tournament.

His team also reached the "Elite-Eight" (top 8 teams in the state) three times. In 1984, they made it to the "Final-Four" (top 4 teams). The biggest win came in 1985 when they won the state championship!

Winning Record

During his four years playing high school basketball, Lowell's teams won 116 games. They only lost 14 games, which is an amazing winning record of 89.2 percent! Lowell scored 165 points in 11 championship tournament games. He averaged 15 points per game. He was also named to the all-tournament team three times.

Becoming a McDonald's All-American

In his senior year, Lowell's team was ranked number one in Illinois. They won their regional, sectional, and super-sectional games. This led them to the "Final-Four" of the state tournament. They won their semifinal game and then dominated the championship game. They beat Chrisman High School 95 to 63. Lowell scored 21 points in that final game.

After this amazing season, Lowell was chosen as a McDonald's All-American. This means he was one of the best high school basketball players in the country. He played in the 1985 McDonald's All-American Boys Game with other future stars.

A Basketball Legend

In 2007, the Illinois High School Association honored Lowell Hamilton. They named him one of the "100 Legends of the IHSA Boys Basketball Tournament." This shows how important he was to high school basketball in Illinois.

College Career at Illinois

Lowell Hamilton went on to play college basketball for the University of Illinois from 1985 to 1989. He was a key player for the Fighting Illini.

Freshman Year (1985–86)

As a freshman, Lowell played in 24 games. He scored 88 points and grabbed 41 rebounds.

Sophomore Year (1986–87)

In his second year, Lowell's playing time increased a lot. He started 22 out of 31 games. He scored 334 points, averaging 10.8 points per game. He also had a great field goal percentage of .578. This means he made a lot of his shots. He was second on the team with 31 blocked shots.

Junior Year (1987–88)

Even with new talented players joining the team, Lowell continued to play well. He averaged 10 points per game. He also had the third most blocked shots for the team.

Senior Year (1988–89)

Lowell was a very important player for the "Flyin' Illini" team. This team made it all the way to the NCAA men's basketball tournament Final Four in 1989. He started 33 games and played in all 36 that season.

He was third in scoring with 488 points (13.6 per game). He was also second in rebounding with 204 rebounds (5.7 per game). Lowell was also second in blocked shots with 31. His strong play helped the team average 86.4 points per game. This was their highest scoring average since 1966! Lowell was a co-captain of this special "Flyin' Illini" team.

Overall, Lowell scored 1,241 points in his college career. He also had 87 blocked shots and a .534 field goal percentage.

Honors and Awards

High School

• 1983 – IHSA All-Tournament Team
• 1984 – IHSA All-Tournament Team
• 1984 – Parade Magazine 2nd Team All-American
• 1985 – All-State 1st Team
• 1985 – IHSA All-Tournament Team
• 1985 – Parade Magazine 1st Team All-American
• 1985 – McDonald's All-American
• 1998 – Inducted into the Illinois Basketball Coaches Association's Hall of Fame as a player.
• 2007 – Named one of the 100 Legends of the IHSA Boys Basketball Tournament.

College

• 1987 – Honorable Mention All-Big Ten
• 1989 – Honorable Mention All-Big Ten
• 1989 – Team Captain

College Statistics