The UH men’s basketball program added another coach into the fold — assistant Ronnie Hamilton from Tulane, Head Coach James Dickey announced.
Hamilton, known for his ability to recruit and plan, comes to Houston after spending two seasons at rival Tulane.
“I’ve never wanted to be pigeon-holed or labeled as one role – as a recruiter or as a Xs-and-Os guy,” Hamilton said. “I’ve always wanted to do everything because ultimately I would like to be a head coach.”
In fact, the Duke graduate was in charge of the aforementioned tasks at North Carolina-Pembroke, his first coaching stop, where he was a graduate assistant from 2003-2005.
“I got to do everything,” Hamilton said. “I was the strength coach. I was the recruiting coordinator. I did workouts. It allowed me a lot of hands-on experience right away, which helped early in my coaching career.”
As a former college football player, Hamilton said he understands the pressures of being a student-athlete and can relate to the balancing act, which has paid dividends in his ability to recruit talented players.
Dickey recognized Hamilton’s talent while he was on the other side of the floor.
“We knew coach Hamilton because we competed against him at Tulane and we’ve obviously been very impressed with the players that he helped Coach [Ed] Conroy bring in,” Dickey said. “He is a quality person, a relentless recruiter, a very good basketball coach (and is) extremely dedicated to the profession.”
Entering the Big East offers UH the opportunity to become a more nationally-recognized program. As a member of one of the best college basketball conferences, UH will have the appeal of national exposure to offer talented players who may not otherwise consider the program.
Hamilton, through his ties across the country, brings new opportunities to land talent in areas once foreign to UH’s recruiting inroads.
“(Hamilton) has a lot of contacts in different areas, so I thought that he gave us a different dimension,” Dickey said. “He’ll be a great mentor and role model for our players.”
