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Vernon Hamilton Class: Senior Hometown: Richmond, VA High School: Benedictine Height / Weight: 6-0 / 195 Position: G Experience: 3VL Major: PRTM (Sport Management)

Overview: Clemson's career and single-season steals leader...an All-ACC Defensive Team selection last season as a junior...named to the Defensive All-America team by CollegeInsider.com last season...starting point guard each of the last three seasons...started 17 games as a freshman, 19 as a sophomore, and 23 as a junior...first Clemson player in history to record at least 50 steals in three separate seasons...surpassed Terrell McIntyre's four-year steals mark of 194 in just three seasons...finished his junior season with 201 career thefts...shattered single-season record with 83 as a junior...led the ACC in steals per game as a junior...was a major reason Clemson ranked second nationally in steals per game in 2005-06...that team also established a school record with 352 thefts...earned Clemson's Defensive MVP honor at the 2005-06 awards banquet following the season...has ranked in the top six in the ACC in steals each of his three years, sixth as a freshman, third as a sophomore, and first last year...holds the class records for steals for Clemson freshmen, sophomores, and juniors...Clemson's career leader in steals on a per game basis entering his senior season, he has a 2.21 average for his 91 games so far...heading into his senior year he ranks just outside the top 25 all-time ACC steals leaders...he should easily move into the top 10 as a senior...named Clemson's Most Improved Player in 2004-05...led Clemson in assists and steals as a freshman, the first freshman to lead the Tigers in both areas since Terrell McIntyre in 1995-96...physical player who has missed just one game, he did not play versus Maryland in 2005-06 after injuring his elbow and thumb late in a game against Boston College a few days earlier...has played over 2,500 minutes in his career, he will finish in the top 10 in school history in that category...career 8.7 points per game scorer, he needs just 204 points to reach 1,000 for his career...improved shooter has increased his three-point percentage from 29.3 (27-92) after his sophomore season to 32.1 (54-168) currently...improved scorer increased his average from 6.8 points per game as a sophomore to 12.0 as a junior...has had a positive assist-to-turnover ratio in each of his three seasons with the program...has 277 career assists, needs just 53 to move into the top 10 in school history in that category...first native of Virginia to come to Clemson on a basketball scholarship since Jo Jo Bethea in 1973...all-state and all-conference in football as a wide receiver and defensive back his junior and senior year of high school...all-state in basketball as a junior and senior in Virginia...no relation to Vincent Hamilton, former Clemson Hall of Fame guard of the early 1980s.

In 2005-06: Starter at point guard for 22 of the first 23 games...only missed start during that time was against #1 Duke after cutting his forehead open during pre-game introductions after chest bumping teammate Steve Allen...came off the bench the final seven games of the season and missed home win over Maryland due to injury...sprained his thumb and elbow late against Boston College and was forced to sit out for the first time in his career versus the Terrapins...strong player off the bench, though, his top two scoring games in his career have been as a reserve...third-leading scorer on the team at 12 points per game, which was his single-season high...set single-season school record with 83 steals, right around 2.68 per game...led the league in that category...improved shooter at 44.7 percent overall, 35.5 percent from three-point range...reached double figures 19 times and led the Tigers in scoring on seven different occasions...second on the team in assists with 94 total, just over three per game...first on the team with an average of 30.2 minutes played per game...incredible player inside Littlejohn Coliseum, he averaged 14.9 points per game and shot 50.6 percent at home...had single-game highs for the Clemson team in scoring (31), field goals (14), assists (8), steals (6), and minutes played (42)...named MVP of the San Juan Shootout after leading Clemson to its first eight-team tournament title in 25 years...averaged 13.3 points per game and shot 60 percent from the field in three wins for Clemson at that event...had three or more steals in 19 of his 31 games played...season-high was six versus Wofford...played well again at the ACC Tournament, just as he did his first two years...scored 17 points and hit 3-4 from long range against Miami in the first round...more aggressive as a penetrator in 2005-06, he shot 127 free throws after shooting just 167 in first two seasons combined.

Best Games of 2005-06: Set his career-high with 31 points against the #1 ranked Duke Blue Devils...shot an amazing 14-19 in that game...also added three steals on top of his breakout offensive performance...his 31 points came off the bench, the most points scored by a Clemson reserve since David Young had 34 against Wake Forest in 1991...scored 24 off the bench versus Georgia Tech on senior day in just 27 minutes...shot 8-11 in that game and 7-9 from the free throw line versus the Yellow Jackets...also had four steals in that contest...started the season solid after posting 15 points, eight assists, and three steals against Coppin State in the second contest of the year...scored 16 points at Penn State and hit 5-8 from the field...also had six assists versus the Nittany Lions in that ACC/Big Ten Challenge matchup...followed that with fine performance against in-state rival South Carolina...scored 16 versus the Gamecocks and hit 6-12 from the field...also had three assists and three steals...hit a miraculous bank three-point shot as the shot clock expired at one point in that contest...scored 12 and grabbed six steals in slim Wofford win for Clemson...posted 15 points, eight assists, three steals, and two blocks against East Tennessee State...shot 8-12 and scored 18 points in San Juan second round win over Holy Cross...in the championship game versus Akron, he had 16 points, four assists, and no turnovers in 29 minutes of action to earn MVP honors...scored 13 and had four assists against Elon...posted 13 points, four assists, and four steals at Virginia...shot 8-18 and scored 21 points, then a career-high, in overtime victory over Wake Forest...hit 3-7 from three-point range against the Deacons and also collected four steals...helped spark comeback win at Georgia Tech with 12 points, five assists, and four steals...posted 15 points, five assists, and five steals against N.C. State in a double overtime thriller...had just two turnovers in 42 minutes played against the Wolfpack...scored 11 points and grabbed two steals at North Carolina...tallied four steals before injuring himself diving for a loose ball late at Boston College...scored nine points and collected five steals in home rout of Virginia...had key deflection late in the game at Virginia Tech, allowing Clemson to seal the come-from-behind victory over the Hokies in Cassell Coliseum...posted 14 points and hit 10-12 free throws in first round NIT win over Louisiana Tech...the 10 free throws tied his career-high for made charity shots...big reason the Tigers shot well from the line down the stretch in that game, allowing Clemson to win its first postseason game in seven years...tallied three of Clemson's 13 steals at Louisville.

In 2004-05: Started 19 games overall, including each of the last 15...had 68 steals against just 65 personal fouls, just the second Clemson player in the last 17 years to have more steals than fouls for the course of a season (Tony Stockman was the other)...in addition to his defensive abilities, also third on the team in assists with 82, and fifth on the club in scoring with a 6.8 average...fourth on the 2004-05 Tiger team in playing time with a 25.5 minutes per game figure...finished the year strong, he made 11 of his last 23 field goals and had a 24/15 assist/turnover ratio over the last five games of the season...scored in double figures in five of the last eight games after he scored in double figures in just three of the first 24...had at least one steal in each of his last eight games and finished the year with 68, second most in Clemson history for a season...his 2.12 steals per game for the course of the season was fourth best in Clemson history...ranked third in the ACC in steals per game, he was 14th in assists per game...more aggressive in getting to the foul line in the second half of the season, he took 29 of his 50 free throw attempts over the last eight games of the season, he did not attempt a free throw in the seven games prior to that and had just 21 free throw attempts for the first 24 games of the year...Clemson's second leading scorer at the ACC Tournament with an 11.5 average.... included a 16-point game against North Carolina in the second round that was his season high....made 7-15 shots from the field and 8-12 from the foul line in the two games of the ACC Tournament....played well against the National Champion Tar Heels, in three games he had 30 points and nine steals...improved in his ball handling at the end of the season, he had 35 turnovers in the last 15 games, after committing 49 in the first 17 games...started each of the last 15 games at point guard and had 19 starts for the year.... in those 15 games, had 106 points, 40 rebounds, 46 assists and 35 turnovers...his appearance in the lineup paralleled Clemson's improvement on offense over the last 15 games...Clemson won five of the last eight and Hamilton's performance at the point on offense and defense had a lot to do with it...played well in Hawaii, he was Clemson's third leading scorer with an 11.0 average and he shot 54.5 percent from the field....led Clemson with nine steals in the three games in the Rainbow Classic....had 15 steals over the first three games of the year, first Tiger in history to have 15 steals over any three-game period, never mind the first three games...had five in the opener against Hampton, then a career high six against UNC-Asheville in the second game followed by four at Boston College....the six steals against UNC-Asheville tied for the most by a Clemson player under Oliver Purnell.

Best Games of 2004-05: Had 16 points on 4-9 field goals and 7-8 free throws in head-to-head battle with Raymond Felton, the number-five selection of the NBA draft, and National Champion North Carolina in the MCI Center at the ACC Tournament...also had five assists, four rebounds and three steals in 28 minutes in his finest all-around game of the year...that was his season high in scoring and fourth highest scoring game of his Clemson career...had first double figure scoring game of the year in an ACC game when he had 10 against fourth-ranked North Carolina on Feb. 19.... made 3-6 shots from the field and had three steals in 28 minutes...had season high eight assists against just two turnovers at Georgia Tech in the final regular season game....had 11 points in win over Virginia Tech on Senior Night to join Sharrod Ford as Clemson's double figure scorers in that game....had big impact on Clemson's win at Maryland, he had eight points and four steals, he hit 3-5 shots from the field....had 12 points on one field goal and 10 free throws, and had just two turnovers in 29 minutes in the win over Florida State....had 13 points against Georgetown, he also contributed five steals, then had 11 points on 5-6 shooting in win over Indiana State...finished the year strong in the NIT with 10-point performance at Texas A&M, he also had team best six assists against just two turnovers and added two steals.

In 2003-04: Started each of the first 16 games of the year and 17 over the course of the season...just fifth freshman to start at point guard for Clemson for the course of the season since freshman became eligible in 1972-73...struggled from a ball handling standpoint early in the season, but improved at the conclusion of the season...had just four turnovers in four-game period from Feb. 18 to 28...had back-to-back turnover less games against Virginia and at Maryland....had four games without a turnover during the season.... solid rebounder for a point guard, he had 104 for the season, a 3.7 average...had 11 rebounds against Boston College, joining Edward Scott as only Clemson point guard in the last 10 years to have double figures in rebounding in one game...had a better scoring average, rebound average and field goal percentage than Edward Scott had when he was the starting point guard in 1999-00...held his own in matchups with freshman Chris Paul of Wake Forest, Hamilton had 25 points and nine assists and two games against the Demon Deacons...had nine double figure scoring games for the season....had 30/11 assist/turnover ratio in six-game period from December 20 to January 13... finished the year eighth in the ACC in assists and sixth in steals...second to Chris Paul of Wake Forest among ACC freshmen in both categories...named honorable mention ACC All-Freshman Team

Best Games of 2003-04: Aforementioned Boston College game was his best of the year when he missed a triple double by just one assists...played a big role in Clemson's win over 12th-ranked North Carolina on January 31, he scored 10 points, had five rebounds and four assists in 29 minutes....big reason for Clemson's win over Florida State on January 13, he had seven points, seven assists, five rebounds and five steals....had three steals in last 10 minutes of the game, all came at key moments....had defensive play of the year when he stole ball with a leaping deflection to prevent a certain dunk by Anthony Richardson....led Clemson in scoring, rebounding and assists at #4 Wake Forest with 17 points, six rebounds and five assists, his second "Triple Leadership" of the year....his 18 points were key to overtime victory against NCAA Tournament bound East Tennessee State...made 8-10 free throws in that game, many down the stretch...had nine rebounds at Cincinnati, the top rebounder in the game for either team. Had eight assists against High Point....had 12 points, eight assists and four steals to key the seven point win over High Point...contributed 15 points and five steals to go with no turnovers in 28 minutes in the seven point win over Wofford...had season-high 19 points in ACC Tournament game against Virginia to lead the Tigers in scoring.

In High School: Top 100 player by Hoop Scoop...averaged 24.1 points, 7.3 assists, 5.7 rebounds, and four steals per game as a senior in 2002-03...scored 1,111 points in his two-year Benedictine career...scored 25 or more points 13 times for Benedictine High School...other prominent Benedictine graduates with ACC ties include Mark Crowe (Duke) and John Kuester (North Carolina)...Crowe is now the director of international scouting for the Atlanta Hawks...Kuester is an assistant coach with the Orlando Magic...led team to first VISBA Division 1 Championship in school history. . . his high school team won the Virginia State Catholic League Champions. . .Hamilton was MVP of VISBA State Tournament. . . scored 35 points in the semi-finals and 31 points in the finals of the VISBA Championships. . . MOP of the Virginia State Catholic Tournament. . . VISBA 1st Team All-State Selection. . . MVP of the City Rebel Classic Tournament . . . MOP of Benedictine Capital Classic Tournament. . . Led team to 24-5 record. . . . VISBA League Runner Up for Player of the Year. . . Co-captain of high school team as a senior. . . Richmond Times Dispatch first-team All-Metro Selection . . . Richmond Times Dispatch In-Sync Tournament All-Tournament team for four straight years and MVP of the event as a freshman in 2001. . . selected to ADDIDAS Invite Only Camp and All-Star Team during 2001 & 2002. . . played in the ADDIDAS Big Time Tournament in Las Vegas, NV in 2000 and 2001...on the gridiron, had eight interceptions and 40 tackles in 2002. . . had 71 receptions for 1,272 yards and 19 touchdowns in 11 games in 2002...regarded as one of the top receiver prospects in Virginia. . . 2002 Co-captain of football team. . . member of 2002 Division III VISFA Runner-Up. . . member of 2001 Division III VISFA State Champions. . . 2002 VISFA 1st Team All-State Selection at defensive back and wide receiver. . . 2001 VISFA 1st Team All-State selection at defensive back and wide receiver. . . 2002 Richmond Times Dispatch Newspapers 1st Team All-Metro selection at defensive back. . . 2001 Richmond Times Dispatch Newspapers 1st Team All-Metro selection at wide receiver. . . football team's Most Valuable Defensive Player of 2002. . . Football team's Most Valuable Offensive Player of 2001. . . two-year starter and letterman in football. . . son of Brenda and Vernon Hamilton, MPA...member of the Squires AAU organization in Richmond...selected Clemson over Utah, West Virginia, Colorado, Virginia Tech, and Richmond...also recruited for football by the Hokies...born Vernon Wesley Hamilton on December 28, 1984.

Career Highs
Points: 31 vs. Duke, 1/14/06
Field Goals Made: 14 vs. Duke, 1/14/06
Field Goal Attempts: 19 vs. Duke, 1/14/06
Field Goal %^: .833 (5-6) vs. Indiana State, 12/22/04
3-Pointers Made: 3 vs many (3). last vs. Miami, 3/9/06
3-Point Attempts: 7 vs. Wake Forest, 1/11/06
Free Throws Made: 10 vs. many (2), last vs. Louisiana Tech, 3/15/06
Free Throw Attempts: 17 vs. Florida State, 2/27/05
Rebounds: 11 vs. Boston College, 12/30/03
Offensive Rebounds: 3 vs. many (2), last vs. Wake Forest, 1/11/06
Assists: 9 vs. Boston College, 12/30/03
Blocked Shots: 2 vs. East Tennessee State, 12/9/05
Steals: 6 vs. many (2), last vs. Wofford, 12/6/05
Minutes: 42 vs. N.C. State, 1/29/06

Vernon Hamilton, Game-by-Game, 2003-04
Date	Opponent	Min	F-Fga	3-3A	Ft-FA	Of-Rb	A-T	B-S	PF	Pts
11-21	•Gardner Webb	21	2-5	0-0	0-0	0-2	5-1	0-2	2	4
11-24	•High Point	31	5-7	1-3	1-2	1-2	8-4	0-4	3	12
11-29	•Wofford	28	6-12	0-3	3-10	0-1	2-0	0-5	4	15
12-3	•at Purdue	20	1-4	0-1	0-1	1-2	4-4	0-0	3	2
12-6	•South Carolina	33	2-7	1-3	0-0	0-2	2-7	0-2	2	5
12-13	•vs Georgia	16	1-3	0-0	0-0	1-5	1-3	0-1	1	2
12-15	•ETSU	32	5-10	0-1	8-10	0-4	2-4	0-2	4	18
12-17	•at Cincinnati	29	2-11	1-3	0-1	2-9	3-7	0-2	2	5
12-20	•SC State	23	3-7	2-3	0-0	1-3	3-0	0-1	3	8
12-22	•Radford	31	3-6	1-2	0-0	1-5	5-2	0-0	1	7
12-30	•Boston College	36	6-12	0-2	1-2	1-11	9-1	0-4	1	13
1-3	•Duke	28	1-6	0-0	0-0	1-6	1-3	0-3	2	2
1-10	•at Wake Forest	35	7-14	1-3	2-3	0-6	5-4	0-2	3	17
1-13	•Florida State	35	1-5	0-1	5-8	0-3	7-1	0-5	1	7
1-17	•at NC State	29	3-7	0-2	4-4	0-5	0-2	0-2	4	10
1-20	•at Virginia	21	1-7	0-3	2-2	0-1	0-9	0-1	2	4
1-25	Maryland	28	2-8	0-3	1-1	3-4	3-3	0-1	0	5
1-27	at Georgia Tech	28	0-3	0-1	0-0	1-3	6-5	0-0	3	0
1-31	North Carolina	29	2-6	1-1	5-8	1-5	4-3	0-0	1	10
2-8	at Duke	23	1-4	0-1	2-6	0-2	3-3	0-1	2	4
2-12	Wake Forest	28	3-7	1-1	1-8	1-5	4-4	0-4	5	8
2-14	at Florida State	29	1-5	1-3	0-0	0-3	0-4	0-1	3	3
2-18	NC State	15	0-1	0-0	2-4	0-0	2-2	0-0	1	2
2-21	Virginia	16	2-3	1-1	0-2	0-1	2-0	0-0	1	5
2-24	at Maryland	23	2-7	0-3	0-0	2-4	3-0	0-2	1	4
2-28	Georgia Tech	31	3-7	2-2	2-4	0-2	2-2	0-1	1	10
3-2	North Carolina	19	1-3	1-1	1-2	0-4	3-4	0-3	2	4
3-11	•Virginia (ACC)	35	6-10	3-4	4-6	2-4	2-5	0-1	3	19
	Totals	752	72-187	17-51	44-84	19-104	91-87	0-50	61	205

Vernon Hamilton Career Stats
Year	GP-GS	Min/Avg	FG-FA	Pct	3FG-FA	Pct	FT-FTA	Pct	OR/Reb/Avg	A-T	BS-ST	Pf-D	Pts-Avg
2003-04	28-17	752/26.9	72-187	.385	17-51	.333	44-84	.524	19/104/3.7	91-87	0-50	61-1	205/7.3
2004-05	32-19	815/25.5	79-186	.425	10-41	.244	50-83	.602	17/82/2.6	92-84	1-68	65-1	218/6.8
Totals	60-36	1567/26.1	151-373	.405	27-92	.293	94-167	.563	36/186/3.1	183-171	1-118	126-2	423/7.1