Richard Hamilton

Position	Shooting guard, Small forward
Nickname	"Rip"
Height	ft  in ( m)
Weight	lb ( kg)
Team	Detroit Pistons
Nationality	USA
Born	February 14 1978 (1978--) (age 29) Coatesville, Pennsylvania
College	Connecticut
Draft	7th overall, 1999 Washington Wizards
Pro career	1999–present
Former teams	Washington Wizards (1999–2002)
Awards	2-time NBA All-Star

Richard "Rip" Hamilton (born February 14 1978 in Coatesville, Pennsylvania) is an American National Basketball Association player for the Detroit Pistons. He is 6 ft 7 in, 193 pounds (2.01 m, 87.5 kg) and plays shooting guard and small forward.

Playing career

Hamilton hails from Coatesville, Pennsylvania, and played college basketball at the University of Connecticut from 1996-99. He was named the 1999 NCAA Tournament's Most Outstanding Player after UConn's run to that year's national title.

Hamilton was a lottery pick in that year's NBA draft and played for the Washington Wizards for his first three seasons as a professional. Hamilton, Hubert Davis and Bobby Simmons were then traded to the Detroit Pistons for Jerry Stackhouse, Brian Cardinal and Ratko Varda. Since the trade, Richard has become one of the NBA's top shooting guards, and helped the Pistons win the NBA Championship in 2004.

After fracturing his nose three times in the 2003-04 season, Hamilton began wearing a protective mask in the 2004 NBA Playoffs. He has continued to wear the mask, reportedly because three reconstructive surgeries have left him without nose cartilage and vulnerable to a career-ending injury. The mask has since become a symbol of strength, Hamilton says "It's like my [Superman] cape." ^[1]

On February 9, 2006, Hamilton earned his first selection to the 2006 NBA All-Star Game in Houston as a reserve guard for the Eastern Conference.

On December 27, 2006, Hamilton scored a career-high 51 points with a personal best 19 of 37 field goal shooting in a 151-145 triple-overtime Pistons loss to the New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden.^[2]

On January 9, 2007, Hamilton surpassed 10,000 career points with 22 points in a victory over the Philadelphia 76ers.

He represented the Eastern Conference for the second time at the 2007 NBA All-Star Game.

Trivia

Trivia sections are discouraged under Wikipedia guidelines. The article could be improved by integrating relevant items and removing inappropriate ones.

• On February 5, 2007 his number "32" was retired at Gample Pavilion on the University of Connecticut campus in Storrs during halftime of the men's basketball game against the Syracuse Orangemen as part of the "Huskies of Honor" ceremony which recognized personal accomplishments of 13 former players and 3 coaches.^[3]
• "Yes-sir!" has become a popular catchphrase of Hamilton's. He uses it regularly when ending court-side interviews. Some of his Detroit Pistons teammates have also used this interview sign-off. It gained more notable popularity after he repeated it to the crowd at the Pistons' 2004 NBA championship rally. Now after Rip scores at the Palace of Auburn Hills, "Yes-sir!" is played over the loud-speakers.^[4]
• Rip once agreed to wear his hair in a style which looked like Goodyear Tires for about a week. For this, Goodyear gave him an undisclosed amount of money and a free set of tires.^[5]
• The nickname "Rip" comes from his father. The elder states that there are about 10 reasons for Richard having that nickname. ^[6]

See also

• Big East Men's Basketball Player of the Year

Notes

1. ^ http://www.1up.com/do/previewPage?cId=3155988
2. ^ http://scores.espn.go.com/nba/boxscore?gameId=261227018
3. ^ http://www.uconnhuskies.com/AllStories/MBasketball/2006/12/26/20061226.html
4. ^ http://www.metrotimes.com/editorial/story.asp?id=9201
5. ^ http://www.detnews.com/2005/autosinsider/0502/01/C01-76155.htm
6. ^ http://www.1up.com/do/previewPage?cId=3155988

External links

• NBA.com Profile - Richard Hamilton
• Rip's Official Website

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