Post by Portland on May 29, 2015 8:42:52 GMT -6
The Harlem Globetrotters announced today that they have signed veteran shooting guard Vicente “Vince” Hamilton to a veteran minimum contract. He’s expected to join the team shortly for his third stint with the team.
The 6’4” Hamilton was an undrafted free agent in 2021 following a highly-successful career at Clemson University. Known as a sharp-shooter (he made over 50% of his shots from the field in college) Vince had a hard time finding his place in the ABCA. No one signed him after the draft and he spent a year back in his native North Carolina staying in shape and hoping for an invite to someone’s training camp. The call came in 2022 when the Chicago Bulls signed him for their bench. He managed to get eleven minutes per game that year, appearing in all 82 games plus seven more in the playoffs, struggling with his midrange game but displaying proficiency from beyond the arc.
2023 saw Hamilton return to the Bulls, again play in all 82 games and the playoffs. His shooting fell off a little but in the spring of 2024 Chicago had enough confidence in him to offer a two-year contract to return to the team. At the time Vince caught the eye of new Harlem Globetrotters gm Gary Davis, a fan of Hamilton from his Clemson days, and surprisingly tough negotiations ensued over a player that few other gm’s were willing to give the time of day to. Eventually he signed with Harlem, just in time for the 2024 season.
In Harlem that first season Vicente saw his minutes double, and for the first time in his career he got some starts – 33 of them to be exact after Jiri Zednicek was traded away. His shooting from inside the arc improved dramatically and his already-strong three point shooting improved further. He hit 41% of his treys that season, finished with eight ppg overall, and returned to the playoffs for the third straight year.
The following season Hamilton got caught in a numbers game and he had to be sent away in a deal with the Boca Juniors, who promptly traded him again in a deal with Tel Aviv, who promptly released him. The Chicago Bulls however stepped in and brought him back to the Windy City. He got into 42 games with the Bulls that year, again getting twenty minutes per game, but his shooting took a nose-dive and at the end of the season was released. The London Towers then took a chance on him but he didn’t stick past preseason last year.
Vince was out of the game for a month and things were beginning to look bleak for him until Harlem brought him back in December for a second stint, and his shooting immediately got back on track. He hit 36% of his three-pointers and managed eleven points per game, his career high. Harlem let him go against last April with every intention of bringing him back at some point.
The Globetrotters’ 2027 squad is very thin in the backcourt, and the gm realized another veteran could be added to backup Jim Paxton in lieu of converted point guard Steve Colter. Now Hamilton is back in the Harlem fold; we’ll probably see him in limited minutes come December.
Why has this player that virtually no one else wants on their roster been so popular in Harlem? Gm Davis explains: “Vicente has an interesting skill set. Everyone knows he can shoot the three-ball. That’s primarily what he’ll do for us. He’s not very tall and not very quick, so while he’s not a shutdown defender he protects the perimeter well enough against other teams’ second-stringers. He gets a fair number of steals. He also has an uncanny ability to block shots from behind, so with the steals this gives us a lot of cheap takeaways. He’s a fan favorite also.”
Given that Hamilton is now thirty we’re not sure his declining athletics are going to suit the faster-paced 2027 Trotters, but we’re about to find out. Welcome back to Harlem, Vince.
