Hargrave officially inducted long-time PG Basketball Head Coach A.W. Hamilton into the PG Basketball hall of fame on Thursday. Hamilton led the Tigers for six seasons, racking up 237 wins against just 22 losses. Over the last two years, Hamilton’s teams went 90-3, won the 2016 National Championship, reached the 2017 Final Four, saw 34 players sign full scholarships, set a school record for wins in a season (47; 2016) and set the school record for points in a game (163; 2017). Hamilton served as an assistant for fellow Hall-of-Fame member Kevin Keatts prior to taking over the reigns, helping guide the Tigers to their second National Championship in 2008. Hamilton began his relationship with Hargrave as a player in 2000, where he captained a Keatts-coached team to a 24-2 record and a #2 national ranking. Hamilton would sign a full scholarship with Wake Forest during his time at Hargrave and finished his playing career at Marshall where he still ranks among the all-time school leaders in assists and steals. Hamilton departed after last season to reunite with Kevin Keatts as an assistant at North Carolina State University, where Keatts was recently named Head Coach.
Following the induction, the 2017-18 PG Basketball team was introcuded to the school community in their annual “Meet the Tigers” event. The players competed in an intra-squad scrimmage after thrilling Dunk and 3PT Shooting contests. Bryce Beamer and Jon Mebane sent the crowd into a frenzy during the first round of the 3-point shooting contest, matching shot for shot down to the final buzzer, with Beamer sinking a shot as the buzzer sounded to win. Connor Crabtree was lights-out in the first round against Chris McGraw and continued his hot shooting into the finals, taking home the crown in convincing fashion.
The dunk contest featured high-flying action from all three participants, but finalists Tavin Lovan and Trey McGowens brought the house down with their acrobatic dunks. In the end, Trey McGowens sealed his victory with a self-passed, between the legs dunk that had everyone in Walter David gymnasium out of their seat.
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