Bryce Hamilton blossoming into top scorer for UNLV

By Mike Grimala (contact)

Tuesday, Jan. 21, 2020 | 2 a.m.

While Marvin Coleman has rightfully achieved folk-hero status during UNLV’s 6-1 run to start Mountain West play, another young Rebel is enjoying an equally impressive breakout year.

Bryce Hamilton’s emergence isn’t garnering quite as much attention as Magic Marvin, and there are a couple valid reasons for that. Hamilton doesn’t have an origin story as engrossing as Coleman’s — Hamilton is from California, not Las Vegas, and he was a 4-star recruit, not a humble, unranked prospect — and he is surely not as vocal as Coleman, who is as camera-ready as they come. But if you’re just talking basketball, Hamilton’s numbers take a backseat to no one on this UNLV team.

In fact, Hamilton’s stats strongly suggest he could be a star in the making.

Against New Mexico on Saturday, the sophomore southpaw scored a career-high 35 points on 14-of-19 shooting, and that was just the latest in a string of superlative performances. Through seven conference games, Hamilton is now averaging 20.7 points against MWC competition while shooting a sizzling 57.3 percent.

A month ago it would have been difficult to imagine Hamilton producing such prodigious numbers. He struggled to adapt to T.J. Otzelberger’s system during the non-conference portion of the schedule, and things reached a low point when Otzelberger didn’t think Hamilton competed hard enough in a home loss to Pacific on Dec. 18 (a charge the coach levied at most of the team).

The following game, Hamilton was pulled from the starting lineup and logged just seven minutes against Robert Morris. He took one shot from the field (he missed it) and went scoreless for the only time this season.

It may have been tough love, but it worked. Hamilton has been on fire since then, scoring at least 13 points in all seven contests as he has settled into a sixth-man role.

Hamilton credited an attacking mindset for his scoring surge.

“I’m just always staying aggressive,” Hamilton said. “The coaches want me to stay aggressive, and also my teammates. They look for me in the right positions and I just make the play.”

Otzelberger admitted he has pushed Hamilton hard behind the scenes, and after a half-season of being challenged, it looks like that approach is paying off for the Rebels.

“After that Pacific game we really challenged him,” Otzelberger said. “It’s time to grow up. It’s not time to be a 19-year-old sophomore and learn along the way. We need you and we’re counting on you. We’re going to hold you to a standard, and if you don’t, Bryce probably is the guy out there who has the quickest leash when he’s not playing at the level we demand from him. And I think that has helped him, because that accountability has continued to challenge him.”

Hamilton is not a natural fit in Otzelberger’s offense, as his game is predicated on making mid-range jumpers off the dribble. Shooting long 2-pointers is poison to the analytics-driven Otzelberger, but the two seem to have reached an equilibrium: in lieu of pulling up for so many jumpers, Hamilton is focusing on driving all the way to the basket more often.

For the season, Hamilton has taken 77 shots around the basket, according to Hoop-Math.com, third on the Rebels only behind center Mbacke Diong (89 attempts) and forward Donnie Tillman (79). As a freshman Hamilton only got off 24 shots around the basket for the entire 2018-19 season.

He has also emerged as UNLV’s most dangerous finisher in the open court, scoring 1.149 points per possession, second only to Coleman (1.368).

Otzelberger is loving the new version of Hamilton.

“He’s a dynamic scorer,” Otzelberger said. “He is a load to guard one-on-one, and when he gets the ball in space in the open court he’s tremendous. Hopefully he’ll keep working because I think his best ball is in front of him.”

The Rebels’ game in Reno on Wednesday will feature the two players atop the Mountain West’s points-per-game list, as UNR guard Jalen Harris leads the league at 22.3 per game. If Hamilton has another outstanding outing, it’s possible he comes back to Las Vegas as the league’s top scorer.

Coleman recognizes just how good Hamilton has been since the start of conference play.

“Oh my goodness,” Coleman said. “Something woke him up because he has been playing phenomenal. Right now, in my opinion, he’s playing like the best guard in the Mountain West.”

Mike Grimala can be reached at 702-948-7844 or [email protected]. Follow Mike on Twitter at twitter.com/mikegrimala.