Las Vegas Sun

March 29, 2024

Bryce Hamilton is work in progress on both ends of court for UNLV basketball

1105_sun_UNLVMastodons2

Steve Marcus

UNLV Rebels guard Bryce Hamilton (13) takes the ball upcourt against the Purdue Fort Wayne Mastodons at the Thomas & Mack Center Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2019.

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The UNLV basketball team is searching for offense this season, which makes the development of Bryce Hamilton an ongoing story. A quarter of the way through the campaign, the talented shooting guard still appears to be a work in progress.

The former 4-star recruit averaged 4.3 points per game as a freshman last year, but he was unable to earn a consistent role, as he played 13.0 minutes and shot 35.3%. Now, as he adapts to the offensive system of new coach T.J. Otzelberger, Hamilton is showing some signs of improvement on the offensive end while his defense lags behind.

Hamilton is averaging 9.3 points so far this season while mostly playing a sixth-man role (21.6 minutes per game). His shooting percentage is still down (36.1%), and his tendency to shoot mid-range jumpers goes against Otzelberger's philosophy (34.7% of his shots have been 2-point jumpers, by far the highest ratio on the team).

UNLV's two most recent games have been Hamilton's best of the season. Hamilton scored 12 in a loss to SMU and tallied 18 in the Rebels' win over Jackson State on Wednesday, and he was efficient, connecting on 11-of-21 from the field over the two contests.

Two good games on the offensive end don't mean Hamilton is ticketed for stardom, however.

Otzelberger still wants to see better defense from the young swingman.

"On offense Bryce has definitely stepped up," Otzelberger said. "We need a more consistent effort from him defensively. We need him to rebound, we need him to guard the dribble, and we need him to play with energy."

The advanced statistics agree with Otzelberger. Opponents have averaged 1.00 points per possession when defended by Hamilton, which is the second-worst mark among UNLV players (behind Donnie Tillman's 1.339 PPP against).

Otzelberger believes the 6-foot-4 Hamilton has the potential to be a sturdier defensive player if he approaches it seriously.

"I'm not interested in trying to outscore people, I'm interested in getting stops," Otzelberger said. "If Bryce were really focused on getting stops the way I think he could be, he'd be a tremendous player for us and he'd be hard to ever have out of the game."

While Hamilton has been a more affective offensive player, his work on defense is hurting his overall value. In the 173 minutes he has been on the court this season, opposing teams have outscored UNLV by two points.

Otzelberger wants to see Hamilton attack the defensive end with the same verve he applies to his scoring opportunities.

"I think that that's something we're still working on with him," the coach said. "Hopefully his sense of urgency continues to increase."

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

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