A.W. Hamilton | Eastern Kentucky University Athletic
A.W. Hamilton | Eastern Kentucky University Athletic
A.W. Hamilton Is A Finalist For Skip Prosser Man Of The Year Award
The Skip Prosser Man of the Year award honors those who not only achieve success on the basketball court but who display moral integrity off of it as well.
"Having played for coach Prosser, it is a real honor to be a finalist for an award that carries his name," Hamilton said. "We had an unbelievable relationship. Coach Prosser was a real stand-up person. Even after I was done playing, we talked all the time when I was an assistant at Hargrave."
On the court, Hamilton led the Colonels (20-13) to their second 20-win season in the last three years. He also guided the team to the conference semifinals for the third time in the last four seasons. He is the only coach in program history to win 12 or more conference games in a season three separate times.
Last summer, Hamilton brought in the highest ranked recruiting class in program history, No. 65 by 247Sports, which included Isaiah Cozart and Tayshawn Comer. Cozart led the conference and ranked sixth in the nation in blocks. He was second in the league in rebounding. Comer earned a spot on the ASUN Conference All-Freshman Team.
Off the court, Hamilton has joined the team in multiple community service projects, including helping organize supplies for flood victims in Eastern Kentucky, and the program's annual Team Jared event that honors former ball boy Jared Chitwood and raises awareness for the fight against childhood cancer. As a cancer survivor himself, Hamilton has also participated in National Cancer Survivors Day events with the University of Kentucky Markey Cancer Center where he was the keynote speaker. Hamilton has traveled all over the East Coast to many other events and programs as the keynote speaker for commencement ceremonies, workshops, banquets, fundraisers and pep rallies.
In six years as the head coach at Wake Forest, Prosser posted a 126-68 record. For his career, he was 291-146 in 14 seasons including six as the head coach at Xavier and one year at Loyola (Md.).
At Wake Forest, Prosser's teams averaged 21 wins. He won 100 games at an ACC school quicker than all but two coaches in the history of the conference. He coached NBA stars Chris Paul and Josh Howard, led the Demon Deacons to the first No. 1 national ranking in school history and earned ACC Coach of the Year honors in 2003. Prosser passed away on July 26, 2007 in his office at Wake Forest.
From the list of 25 finalists, the recipient of the 2023 award will be announced in March at the site of the men's NCAA Basketball Championship in Houston.
Original source can be found here.
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