Senior Series: Ashley Hamilton

Loyola Marymount fifth year senior Ashley Hamilton has had a long and winding basketball journey. Born in Hamburg, though a native of London, his path to Los Angeles went through Las Palmas, Canary Islands, Spain and Boston, Massachusetts.

Like the Lions teams of late, Hamilton battled through injuries. His initial freshman season was cut short after six games. Despite all the time spent hobbled or too hurt to play, he put up some impressive statistics.

Green = Played, Yellow = DNP, Red = Redshirt.
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Before arriving in Los Angeles, Hamilton was an international commodity and not just because he had lived in multiple countries. His official bio from Great Britain Basketball opens with, "A 6’7” forward who is considered one of the most interesting and exciting athletic talents to have emerged in British basketball for a number of years". In 2005 and 2006 he played for England's Under-18 team at the European Championships. In 2007 and 2008 he moved up to the Under-20 team and once again played in the European Championships.

It's no wonder then that when he arrived at LMU he was given a spot in the starting lineup. He started his first five games as a Lion, making an immediate impact with a 7 PPG average in that span, before a back injury forced him to miss three straight. His sixth game of the season would be his last. The back injury persisted and it was decided he would take a medical redshirt.

His second season got off to a rocky start. He played in just two of the Lions first seven games and failed to reach double figures in scoring until his sixth game of the year. After that 10 point game against Notre Dame, Hamilton was reentered into the starting lineup. As a starter he was averaging 10.75 PPG until a knee injury against Portland temporarily derailed him.

The injury caused him to miss three games, then come off the bench in his first three back. He ended the season with a surge, averaging over 15 points per game in the WCC Tournament. The Lions tournament opener against Pepperdine saw Hamilton post a career high with 23 points to help secure an 87-84 victory. His performance as a redshirt freshman earned him WCC all-Freshman Team honors.

His sophomore campaign was up and down. He never hit double figures for more than two straight games, and he only managed to do that twice. A broken hand forced him out of six games in December and January while the flu caused him to miss the last home game of the year.

As a junior Hamilton began to hit his stride. He opened the season with a new career high, 25 points, in a win over UCLA. A 15 point performance in the next game earned him WCC Player of the Week honors. Then, in game three, he injured his foot and would not return until January. Somehow the hobbled Lions persevered and won seven of the twelve games in that span.

Upon his return he helped the Lions complete a surprisingly successful season. The Lions knocked off BYU in Provo,  #16 Saint Mary's in Moraga and Valparaiso in a BracketBusters game. The team earned a spot in the CIT after a loss to San Francisco in the WCC quarterfinals. Hamilton scored in double figures in all three of the Lions CIT games. His junior year, with 25 wins, was the winningest year of his collegiate career. It was also the first season he averaged double digits in scoring with 11 per game.

This past season Hamilton was one of only two seniors on the Lions' roster. He played in every game for the first time in his career. In 25 of the 24 games he scored in double figures. Six times he reached double digit rebound totals and four of those times resulted in double-doubles. On the season he averaged 12.8 PPG, second best on the team.  His 7.2 RPG was a team high.

He was productive all season long but really emerged, for the second time in his career, when the spotlight was brightest. After winning just one WCC game all year long, the Lions went on a magical run in the WCC Tournament, winning three straight before falling to #1 Gonzaga in the semis.

In the season finale against BYU he scored 18 but the Lions fell three points short of the huge upset. In their three wins in Vegas he scored 21, 11 and 13 points.

In the tournament opener against Portland, Hamilton had the game high in points with 21. In the second round game against San Francisco he recorded a double-double with 14 boards to go along with 11 points. In the quarterfinals against Santa Clara he performed just like any good senior should.
After a brief rest on the bench he returned to the game with seven minutes remaining. He scored six straight points and was extremely active on the defensive end. "It was winning time, we were down six and I knew it was winning time" he said of his play down the stretch, "I did what I could do to help the team win."  
Ashley Hamilton helped his team win a lot of games during his career. Now that it is over he can help himself to some spots in the LMU record books. With 95 starts he ranks fourth all time. His 3,020 minutes played rank seventh. He's tied for 9th with 112 games played. The 654 rebounds he pulled down put him in 13th place in that category. Despite averaging just over one block every two games, he ranks 15th with 57 swats. Finally, he sneaks into the top-25 in scoring with 1,132 points which is good for 24th.