STORRS, Conn. — The jersey of legendary UConn men’s basketball great Richard “Rip” Hamilton will be retired next month, the university announced Tuesday.
The Huskies will retire the No. 32 and hang it forever in the rafters at Gampel Pavilion when the defending champions take on Villanova on Feb. 24. Hamilton joins Ray Allen’s No. 34 as the only other men’s basketball players to have their numbers living in the Gampel rafters.
Hamilton has one of the most decorated careers in UConn basketball history and led the team to its first NCAA National Championship in 1999.
He represented the Huskies for three seasons, scoring 2,036 points – second only to Chris Smith (2,145) on the all-time UConn scoring list. Hamilton and Smith are the only two UConn players in program history with more than 2,000 points.
During his time in Storrs, Hamilton was named two-time All-American and is one of six players to win Big East Player of the Year awards.
Additionally, with Hamilton at the helm, the Huskies’ 1998-99 team is still the only team in program history to win the regular season title and the national championship in the same season.
The Coatesville, Pa., native was picked No. 7 overall in the 1999 NBA Draft by the Washington Wizards and had a 14-year NBA career with the Wizards, Pistons, and Bulls. He was a three-time NBA All-Star and won an NBA Championship with the Pistons in 2003-04.
Tip-off time for the contest on Feb. 24 is set for 8 p.m. with the game airing on FOX.
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