Summer prep spotlight: Q&A with Adam Hamilton
Buckeye Union High School senior guard/forward Adam Hamilton sat down to talk with Prep Hoops writer Eric Newman about summer basketball and what he is doing to capitalize on his opportunities in his senior year for the Hawks.
Newman: Has this summer been the most you’ve practiced since you started playing?
Hamilton: Yeah, I’ve been working out hard with the team, and on days we have off I call my coach. I’ve gone over to his house to work out and keep making sure I get better.
With club and high school ball, how are you going to prepare to put yourself out there for colleges and recruiting?
I need to promote myself a little bit better, because the last few years I haven’t done as much film or recording. I’ve kind of been to myself a little bit, so I am going to get myself out there to coaches and others more.
There’s been a lot of great summer basketball, and Arizona has a lot of talent. What’s promising about your team?
We’ve got a few transfers that are going to make a difference, and we’ve got a lot of scorers.. There’s at least one player at each position that is hard to stop for other teams.
With so much talent on the Buckeye roster, how do you make yourself stand out?
When we all share the ball and move it around, everybody can get their shots. There’s nobody who really is too ball-dominant, so I just have to make sure I’m playing unselfishly, so that others will and I will get my chances to shine.
What are you doing to make sure you capitalize on your opportunities in your senior year?
I’ve been working out every day the whole summer, and I’m trying to get to know my teammates better to work on that chemistry between all of us, so it’s just trying to get everybody together more.
What’s motivating you to keep improving?
I want to be the best I can in senior year, and I don’t have an offer yet, so I need to keep getting better and make sure that I put myself in a position to get that offer.
What are some of your best strengths on the floor?
My help defense is key. I’m not too fast, but I’m long and I can get to the right spots. I also can score pretty well on the inside, both with my back to the basket and facing up a little bit.
How important is that exposure? Have any coaches said anything about it?
My coaches have told me I need film for a while now, especially colleges, so I’m going to make sure I have that so I can get recruited and hopefully go on to college ball.
What are you trying to improve on most this summer?
I’m trying to improve on my inside scoring, posting up and mixing it up on that end. This year, everybody on the team is more dedicated, so I have to be too.
What kind of work do you put in to make yourself a better offensive player?
It’s about reps, because I know what to do. I just need to keep doing it. My go-to move is my jump hook, so I want to keep working on that and keep improving.
Why do you think you have been so successful at the defensive end?
I love to shoot, so defense really wasn’t my first thought, but coaches always told me how if I used my length and got to the right spots, I could be really good at it. So I kind of bought in, and now it’s one of my strengths. When I am having an off night on offense, I just try to focus on defense and rebounding, so I can still help my team, and then the points will eventually come.