Sophomore forward Daniel Hamilton rises up for a dunk during UConn’s 74-67 victory over Colorado in the first round of the NCAA tournament on Thursday March 17, 2016. News broke on Thursday March 24, 2016 that Hamilton has declared for the NBA Draft. (Ashley Maher/The Daily Campus)
This story was updated at 5:55 P.M. on April 5, 2016.
Sophomore forward Daniel Hamilton has declared for the NBA Draft, according to the New Haven Register’s David Borges.
According to Dom Amore of the Hartford Courant, Hamilton has signed with an agent, meaning he will not be able to return to UConn.
Former teammate Sam Cassell Jr. tweeted out his congratulations.
Congrats to my bro Dham for making the big decision to sign with an agent best of luck to you in the draft shawty
— Handsome Cassell Jr (@sam2ss2ll) April 5, 2016
The Los Angeles native averaged 12.5 points, 8.9 rebounds and 4.7 assists per game last season for the Huskies, joining Louisiana State phenom Ben Simmons as the only players in the country with 450 points, 300 rebounds and 150 assists this season. Hamilton led the Huskies in rebounds and assists, while finishing second in points (451) to Rodney Purvis (461). He has also led the American Athletic Conference in defensive rebounds in both of his seasons in Storrs, and also led the American in total rebounds this season.
Hamilton is projected to be a fringe second round pick at best and is not listed on the most current DraftExpress mock draft or the latest mock draft from nbadraft.net, two sites that project both rounds of the draft. However, an impressive showing in workouts with teams and at the NBA combine could vault the standout sophomore into the conversation for a second round selection. Second round draft picks receive no guaranteed money if they are to be selected in the draft.
Dan Madigan is the associate sports editor for The Daily Campus, covering women’s basketball. He can be reached via email at daniel.madigan@uconn.edu. He tweets @dmad1433.