Jordan Hamilton made his college announcement on national TV Thursday.
“I’m going to be playing college basketball for the University of Texas, the Texas Longhorns,” the 6-foot-7, 210-pound small forward out of Dominguez High in Compton, Calif. said on ESPNU.
Hamilton, the No. 1 small forward in the Class of 2009 according to Rivals, had initially narrowed his choices to Texas and UConn and said the fact that he had family in Austin, Texas was a deciding factor.
“That was a big influence for me,” he said. “When I came down there (for an unofficial visit), I spent time with my family. I thought it was a great thing. Last year I took an unofficial. I’ll be taking my one official to Texas and hopefully when I go down there I’ll have a great time with the coaches and also my family.”
Hamilton said he likes how Texas coach Rick Barnes uses his wings, such as former National Player of the Year Kevin Durant, now in the NBA.
“I just want to come in and be able to play my positions, the one through the four. That’s my game,” he said. “I can post up smaller people. I can also take bigger guys off the dribble, so I thought that would be a big thing for me coming in as a freshman.”
Hamilton is looking forward to playing with Texas commit Avery Bradley, the No. 3 shooting guard in the Class of 2009 out of Findlay (Nev.) Prep.
“We talk often, we text each other every now and then,” he said. “I think the AAU circuit is a good thing to use because you get to meet up with different guys. I got to know Avery Bradley really well and I heard he was interested in Texas.”
Hamilton added that he will be taking the SAT in December and “I will be getting everything situated with that.”
