Isaiah Hamilton - 6’7 C/O 2028

i watched Isaiah Hamilton at MADE HOOPS in PA, and got a look at him in Ohio vs Philly pride. It’s safe to say he’s an NBA player, but there’s a ton of stuff he’s gotta iron out first. Simply put, he’s very inconsistent and can be a frustrating player to watch.

He’s 6’7 and an elite athlete with a solid handle. He used dribble combos, but going east-west instead of north south. There were times it felt like he was taking bad angles to the rim, instead of just going straight. He likes using between the legs, behind the back, and in and outs. He does have some ball security mishaps sometimes but for his archetype it’s solid. He’s explosive in space, but way too many times does he go up and unnecessarily try to make finishes tough than what they are. He’ll go up and under, when all he had to do was go straight up. He settles for flip shots and they tend to be high degree of difficulty. The finishing efficiency needs to get better. He shot some odd leaners in traffic. But he has touch, and when he kept it simple he drew fouls and could show off the body control. When the fluidity connected, the finishing looked nice, going around defenders or manipulating the ball in the air when he ACTUALLY HAD TO.

He’s got great size and probably will be 6’7+ very soon, if he isn’t already. He can score over the top of smaller guards going downhill and despite the circus shots that he dosent need, he’s physical and draws fouls. His processing is another story. He settles for mid range pull ups, misses some reads, but in transition when his head is up he can make the pass. Saw some ball stopping like he was getting frustrated from not being able to have a good game. His shot looks fine, but he could bend his knees more and flick his wrist harder. The shotmaking is hot and cold. He’ll stop for mid range pull ups, and has flashes of hitting 3s off the bounce, even though it’s not consistent. The positive is that he’s fluid and has that creation to ascend. Dosent make advanced reads. Probably more of a pure wing to be honest, but compared to those guys he can handle the ball better.

In Ohio, his handle seemed looser than it was in PA. Probably because of the travel and stuff, wasn’t able to get in the gym a lot.

Turnovers, digs that get into his drive could poke the ball away, he can get stuck in the first ear, but he is aggressive. Flashed a fancy wrap dribble. The handle/creativity surprised me. Did get a charge call and looked frustrated.

When Hamilton is off the ball, he dosent cut when his man isn’t attentive. He stands and watches, and usually waits for a catch and shoot opportunity. His shot speed is fine, nothing to note. Even then, he loses effectiveness when he’s off ball since his shooting can be hot and cold.

Defensively, he needs a lot of work. He has the physical tools, but he can relax off the ball and get back cut, he dosent bend his knees in a stance, and he gambles too hard. I saw too many plays where he tried to get a back tip once he was blown by, or just to jump the passing lane and ended up getting behind the play. Has the elite athleticism to rise up and provide a shot deterrent, or swat balls off the backboard. Aggressive hunting blocks in transition. Didn’t really try to provide gap help, had another play where he was late to rotate. When he’s locked in, he’s a solid defender on the ball. When he wants to, he can keep attackers at bay and flip his hips, then time the block in the air.

I think canada elite was just giving up switches on purpose. In transition, Hamilton is an elite athlete. Dunks everything, has the body control to Eurostep or hop over defenders for layups. Lob threat from anywhere. Grab and go, can start the offense by himself from there. Gets up really high for layups and extends his arms.

His halfcourt scoring efficiency will play a huge part in what he is. He has the base of a handle, shot, and finishing, but it needs a lot of polishing first. His efficiency in the UAA is underwhelming despite his NBA tools.