First Hamilton Classic starts Friday

Thursday, December 4, 1997

First Hamilton Classic starts Friday

By MARC ERWIN
Enterprise sports editor

High-quality Division II basketball and a lot of sentiment will be the scene at this week's inaugural Hamilton Classic.

Cal State Dominguez Hills, Grand Canyon and North Dakota come to Hamilton Court on Friday and Saturday to participate in the tournament named for the longtime UC Davis men's basketball coach who died in December 1995.

``Having something in honor of Ham is very fitting,'' current UCD coach Bob Williams said. ``I've thought all along that I wanted to have a tournament in his memory, and I'm glad it's something we finally put together.''

The Aggies, who take on Dominguez Hills at 8 p.m. Friday following the UND-Grand Canyon game at 6 p.m., want this to be nothing less than a first-class tournament.

All four teams are arriving a day early to participate in a tipoff banquet tonight before the action gets underway Friday. The Classic concludes Saturday with the consolation game at 6 p.m. and the championship at 8.

But unlike other tournaments, there will be no Most Valuable Player award in keeping with what Hamilton would have wanted.

``Bob did not believe in MVPs,'' said Marietta Hamilton, who has helped UCD put the tournament together in memory of her husband. ``He always said it took a whole team, not one player, to make a winning situation.''

UCD named the basketball court at Rec Hall for Bob Hamilton two years ago, but he died just before the ceremony. Marietta Hamilton said those memories are bound to come flooding back this weekend.

``The first one will be more emotional than the future ones, just remembering everything,'' she said.

And there are plans to have future Hamilton Classic. Associate athletic director Larry Swanson said he hopes the tournament eventually grows to eight teams four women's teams and four men's teams.

Swanson said Hamilton epitomized the UC Davis way.

``Bob stressed academics first and athletics as a bonus that we all value highly,'' Swanson said. ``He was interested in his players as people, not just as athletes, but still typified someone who was very competitive, as the towels he chewed through showed. But he wanted to win the right way.''

And now the current crop of Aggies are trying to do the same thing against some very tough teams.

``This is going to be some of the best men's basketball ever seen at the Rec Hall,'' Swanson said.

Although Cal State Dominguez Hills is 2-3, Williams said the Toros are an extremely talented team under first-year coach Larry Hauser. From meetings with Grand Canyon over the last three years, including a season-ending loss at the West Regional last year, the Aggies know first-hand how good the Antelopes are. And although UCD has never faced the Sioux from North Dakota, they are off to a 5-0 start this season.

``We're gonna have our hands full, and I want it that way,'' Williams said. ``I want our guys to have to play well to win. Our level has to keep going up. We know this is a measuring block in terms of where we are, and we need to do a good job at both ends of the floor and need to compete with Dominguez Hills and either team Saturday night.''

Any profits made from attendance this weekend will go to the Hamilton Fund, which will help pay for basketball scholarships when UCD begins to award them next season.